Tekken 6 Alisa FAQ Submitted by scarlet_puppy in 2010 This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited and a violation of copyright. 1) Why play as Alisa? 2) Pros and Cons 3) Key 4) Moves and their Properties 4a) Throws 4b) Boot Stance (BOOT) 4c) Destroyer Stance (DES) 4d) Dual Boot Stance (DUAL) 5) Appropriate Punishers 6) Match-ups 7) Juggles 8) The most amazing thing ever! 9) Credits 1) Why play as Alisa? --------------------------------------- Alisa is a newcomer to the Tekken series, and in fact was not in the original arcade release of Tekken 6. Alisa first appeared in T6's upgrade, Bloodline Rebellion, along with Lars, and this was ported to the PS3 and 360. Alisa is a robot created by Dr. Boskonovitch, who was designed in the likeness of his beloved daughter, and whose purpose was to serve Jin Kazama. Being a robot, Alisa has many special abilities. Among other things, she can sprout wings to fly, attack with chainsaws that come out of her arms, and use her head as a weapon to either smack her opponent or have it explode in their face. Alisa has frequently been attacked by various gamers for being too 'anime- esque' and not fitting in properly with the Tekken universe. Whilst it's true that she's much unlike many Tekken fighters, it can be argued that this is what gives her her charm. She's actually a very fun character to play as; she has a fairly low learning curve, yet has a lot of potential if you can get really good with her. I recommend at least trying her out if you haven't already; you might find yourself with a brand new, enjoyable main. 2) Pros and Cons --------------------------------------- When playing as a character in a fighting game, it's vital to know what their pros and cons are, allowing you to use their advantages to their fullest extent, and to minimise the impact of their disadvantages. Pros: - Great pokes: Arguably Alisa's biggest strength is her large variety of safe pokes she has, with solid highs, mids and lows. Great pokes she has include df+1,4, df+4 and db+3. - Good wall game: Alisa can carry opponents to the wall well via db+2,2, ff+2,3 and various other moves, and from there she has an assortment of powerful attacks to cause heavy wall damage. Her juggles without walls are about average. - Solid movement: Alisa's backdash and sidestep are among the best in the game, giving her extra tools for spacing and evading opponents. - Good oki game: Alisa has a number of mix-ups when her opponent is on the ground. This includes db+4, d+3+4 and db+3, which can track and do solid damage, potentially resetting the whole situation. - Destroyer Stance: Alisa can pull chainsaws out of her arms (how cool is that?) and use them to hit her opponent. Many moves can lead into this stance, and they can be used to give Alisa more pressure tools and mix-ups. Too bad that the chainsaws can be blocked... :( Cons: - Lacks tracking moves: Alisa's moves are fairly linear, and generally lack tracking, particularly to the right. Moves that do track either only do so slightly, or are unsafe and/or slow. This can make sidestepping hard to get by. - Lacks pressure moves: Though her pokes are, in their own right, good, she can't pressure her opponent well since many of her strings can be blocked, or parried, possibly even jabbed out of. - Risky lows: Alisa has one extremely good low attack: db+3. The rest are either short-ranged, slow, unsafe on block, or some combination of the three. This means that your low game may get predictable, since you have to rely on db+3 a lot. - Throws give poor oki positions: Actually, this isn't that big a problem at really high levels of play since people escape most throws. However, if they do connect, your opponent is often far away, and thus you can't get close enough to oki them. 3) Key If you're new to Tekken, I highly recommend that you read this section first before continuing with the guide. If you already know the basic Tekken notations, then by all means skip this section. 1 = Left Punch f = Forward WS = Rising from crouch 2 = Right Punch b = Backward FC = While crouching 3 = Left Kick u = Up SS = During sidestep 4 = Right Kick d = Down QCF = Quarter circle forward BOOT = During Boot Stance DUAL = During Dual Boot Stance CLOCK = During Clockwork DES = During Destroyer Stance BT = Back turned on opponent 4) Moves and their properties Before I start explaining how all of the moves work, I’ll tell you how it’s going to be laid out and explain. It will look like this: Move name: What the move is called. Move command: What buttons you have to press to do the move. Hit Level: Where the attacks hit (high, medium or low). Damage dealt: You can probably guess. Move analysis: Basically how useful the move is and when to use it (or not). With throws, it is similar, except that Hit Level is replaced with this: Position from opponent: Where you are in comparison with your opponent. If you are facing them, it’s listed as front, on their left, left, on their right, you get the idea. Also, there will be this extra section: Escape: The button press you need to press to escape the throw. NOTE: The damage dealt section assumes that your opponent is IN A NEUTRAL POSITION. Hitting them whilst they’re in mid-air will reduce the damage significantly. Now let's get onto the move analysis... Move name: Stop Bit Move command: 1,1 Hit Level: H,H Damage dealt: 9,21 (30) Move analysis: This is actually a really useful move. It's her best high poke, since it's her fastest move, and completely safe on block. As well as that, it's a very useful punishing tool when you can't use a launcher. For instance, if a person uses a move that's -12 on block, launching them is out of the question, but you can use 1,1 instead, which takes off a good 1/6 of your opponent's health, which isn't bad for a move that comes out in 10 frames. It also gives you a solid 9 frames of frame advantage. Use this whenever you want to punish minor mistakes. Move name: Coil Punch Combo Move command: 1,2,2 Hit Level: H,H,L Damage dealt: 9,12,20 (41) Move analysis: This is a terrible string. OK, the first two punches aren't so bad, though they’re nothing special. It's the last hit that takes the cake. It comes out so slowly that even if the first two hits connect, they easily have enough time to crouch guard or low parry and punish afterwards. Or even worse, they could sidestep, it whiffs completely, and you get launched. Don't use 1,2,2. Seriously, just pretend it doesn't exist at all (unless your opponent is inexperienced, in which case it isn’t quite so horrible). Move name: Down Time Move command: 2,3,3 Hit Level: H, M, M Damage dealt: 12,8,24 (44) Move analysis: In theory, this should be a great move. It's fast, at 11 frames, and hits for 44 HP, which is pretty impressive. Unfortunately, one fatal flaw ruins it: even if the first hit connects, the second and third can still be blocked, at which point it is jab punishable, and thus you really shouldn't use it too often. It can work for mix-ups if they don't expect it though, and for damaging wall combos. Move name: Down Link Move command: 2,3,4 Hit Level: H,M,L Damage dealt: 12,8,24 (44) Move analysis: This combo is risky, but with potential for great reward. Like with 1,2,2, the last hit cannot be comboed into by the preceding two hits, and if the last hit is blocked, then you'll almost certainly be launched. Despite that, if it does hit, your opponent is knocked to the ground, putting them into a perfect oki position. Mix it up with 2,3,3 to avoid being too predictable, and it can work out if used occasionally (or if your opponent is dumb ;) ). Move name: Quick Kick Move command: df+4 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 15 Move analysis: I should note that this isn't actually in the command list, but it's so useful that you need to know about it anyway. It's her fastest mid poke, making it a good tool for interrupting attacks or chipping away at opponents. It tracks to the right (slightly) and is also safe on block and gives frame advantage on hit. Its range isn't too great, but at close-range, this is a very useful poke indeed. Move name: Quick Access Move command: 3,2 Hit Level: M, H,H,H,H,H Damage dealt: 18,6,6,6,6,6 (48) Move analysis: This move is a quick and semi-safe way to transition into Destroy Form, since doing so manually leaves you vulnerable while she's pulling out the chainsaws. Using this allows you to attack while going into Destroy Form, and is more or less safe on block. It can also be useful for mindgames and wall combos due to its multiple hits and high damage. The first hit doesn't combo into the second though, which is a shame. That said, it's still one of her better transitions into DES. Move name: Accelerator Move command: 4 Hit Level: H Damage dealt: 28 Move analysis: This is actually a really good move. It's fast in start-up, safe on block, does good damage, and most importantly tracks very well to the right. The only real flaw with this move is that it can be ducked and punished with a WS launcher, but if you keep yourself unpredictable then that shouldn't happen too often, since it's extremely hard to crouch on reaction. Also, its range isn’t… that good, to be honest. Still, this is definitely one of Alisa's better tracking moves. Move name: Gigabyte Hammer Move command: 1+2 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 25 Move analysis: This is, for the most part, pretty terrible. It's laughably slow and obvious in its start-up, taking a huge 33 frames for the hitbox to appear. If you get it to hit, it launches your opponent into the air very well, but you have easier and more reliable ways to do so. It also causes Bound, though again you have easier and more reliable ways to bound. On the plus side, it does crush low attacks, so if someone's abusing them a lot you can use this to evade their attack and counter them, but even then you have other options like b+3+4,3+4. Move command: Triple Session Move command: f+2,3,3 Hit Level: M, M, M Damage dealt: 14, 9, 24 (47) Move analysis: This is quite a good move. It can be used to punish whiffs well, but generally a launcher is better suited for that purpose. The full combo can be used for some epic wall combos though, so that's a plus, and it wall carries extremely well. Also, the first hit of this string is very useful for juggling, since it keeps your opponent afloat slightly, and it also tracks to the right. If spaced correctly, this move is also safe on block. The only problem is that the second hit doesn't true combo into the third, though it's surprising just how often people fall for it anyway... Move name: Lost Access Move command: f+3, 2, 1 Hit Level: H, H, H, M, M, M Damage dealt: 20, 6x2, 6x3 (50) Move analysis: Another move which transitions into Destroy Stance. I quite like it; it's one of my most used transitions into DES. The second hit is safe on block and provides a solid frame advantage of 10 frames. I wouldn't recommend using the thrid hit, since it doesn't natural combo, and you lose the awesome frame advantage. Nonetheless, if you want to get into DES stance quickly, try this move out. Works well in conjunction with 3,2. Move name: Reverse Kick Crush Move command: f+4, 4 Hit Level: H, H Damage dealt: 24, 15 (39) Move analysis: Remember Accelerator? This move is a lot like that, only it hits twice and is slightly slower. It's completely safe on block, good for tracking sidestepping opponents, and the second hit sends the opponent miles away, giving you a golden opportunity to play mindgames with boot stance. Unfortunately, since it hits high, it can be ducked, though all in all it's still a very useful move. Sidesteppers and non-crouchers beware! Move name: Overflow Move command: f+1+2 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 26 Move analysis: This is a great move. It's fairly fast, with great range and solid damage. It especially works well if you backdash in anticipation of an opponent's move. Because her backdash covers a lot of distance, the move will often whiff, and you can use this to punish effectively. As well as good damage it also gives a good frame advantage. Unfortunately, it isn't very safe on block. It's not launch punishable, but they get a free jab combo since Alisa lunges herself towards her opponent. This means that you can't throw it out randomly and expect it to work. You have to use it carefully, waiting for your opponent to make a mistake or become predictable, but if used right it's a fantastic tool. Oh, and from it occasionally hits grounded for some reason. Just figured I should warn you so that you don't mindgame yourself... :) Move name: Cyclone Mixer Move command: df+1,1,2 Hit Level: M,H,H,H,H,H,H,H,H Damage dealt: 12, 20, 4x7 (60) Move analysis: A risky, but still worthwhile transition into DES. The first hit doesn't combo into the second, but since your opponent often expects df+1,4 they might not duck. After that, they're jailed into the final sequence of chainsaw hits, and from there you can use DES tricks to your heart's content due to the solid hit/block advantage. Not infallible, but worth using nonetheless. Move name: Cyclone Hacker Move command: df+1,4 Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 12,19 (31) Move analysis: One of Alisa's best poking tools. It's fast, at 13 frames, does decent damage, jails, has a solid hit advantage and is safe on block. You can also use this in conjunction with df+1,1,2 to keep your opponent guessing, though generally this is the less risky option against more experienced players, since it can't be ducked. Not an amazing mix-up, but for a character that lacks huge numbers of mix-ups it's a welcome addition. You can also use df+1 on its own if you wish, though generally it's worth going for some kind of mindgame afterwards... Move name: Pickup Move command: df+2 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 19 Move analysis: Alisa's bread and butter launcher. It's not very fast, at 16 frames, but it does have deceptively good range and it's safe if blocked, so you can use it for long-range punishing whilst avoiding punishment yourself. Frustratingly enough it doesn't launch crouched opponents, and compared to other launchers it's not all that special, but being a launcher, this should be your main punisher for unsafe moves of -16 or worse. Move name: Double Socket Move command: df+3,3 Hit Level: M,L Damage dealt: 18,19 (37) Move analysis: The usefulness of this move depends on your opponent's skill. Well, most moves do, but this more so. If they're not very experienced against Alisa, this is a brilliant move, since it does solid damage and mixes up pretty well. However, more experienced opponents can low parry or block the second hit if they block the first, and that's never good. The first hit tracks well to the left, which they may not expect and therefore trap them into the second. Alternatively, you could go on the defensive if you're risk- averse. I like to work it in as an occasional mix-up now and then, though it's certainly nothing to be spammed. Move name: Deadlock Move command: d+2,4 Hit Level: M, M Damage dealt: 20,28 (48) Move analysis: This move is pretty bad, to be honest. It's very slow on start- up, so it will almost always be blocked, negating the great damage it does. It can be used as a bound ender reasonably well, though you generally have better options available. And don't try using it on a standing opponent, since that almost certainly won't work. Oh well, moving on... Move name: Triple Click Move command: d+3,3,3 Hit Level: L,L,L Damage dealt: 15,6,16 (37) Move analysis: Oh. My. God. Horrible, horrible, horrible string. It puts your opponent in a great oki position if all three hits connect, but that will only happen against VERY inexperienced players. Even if the first two hits connect, you can still block the third, at which point you WILL get launched. Add in frame disadvantage for the first two hits and pathetic range, and you really shouldn't even be considering contemplating the very idea of potentially using this move. The only thing it could have been useful for is ending wall combos, and even then 2,3,3 does slightly more damage and has lower recovery time! But yeah, just don’t use it. Move name: Optimizer Move command: d+4,1+2 Hit Level: L,H Damage dealt: 18,24 (42) Move analysis: From a standing position, not a good move at all. After the first hit you can crouch and punish the second, and the first hit has little range and is unsafe on block. However, it's a useful juggle ender after B!, because the first hit pop them up just high enough to get hit by the second. It shouldn't really be used in any other situation, mind you. Move name: Harpoon Sweep Move command: d+3+4 Hit Level: L Damage dealt: 24 Move analysis: Another highly unsafe move. Ridiculously slow and death on block once again. However, if it does land, you get a free d+4,1+2 if you’re lazy, and a fully-fledged combo of 70HP if you’re prepared to put in more effort. Still, never use this unless your opponent is chronically incapable of blocking low attacks, in which case the damage output is pretty good. But seriously, just use db+3 or db+4 instead... Its only real use is catching tech rolls. Move name: Backup Move command: db+1 Hit Level: N/A Damage dealt: N/A Move analysis: Well, in itself it's not that great. She pulls back and crouches, allowing her to crush highs and mess up spacing, but unless you use a follow-up move from it, you won't get a whole lot of use out of it. Let's move on... Move name: Backup Recovery Hook Move command: db+1,1 Hit Level: H Damage dealt: 37 Move analysis: This is the move you should be using after db+1. After evading her opponent's attack, she follows up with her own punch, which causes impressive damage and sends her opponent miles away. It also gives frame advantage if blocked. A very useful 'evade and counter' move if you don't mind taking risks, and very useful against aggressive opponents. Too bad it’s a high attack and can be ducked… Move name: Backup Rocket Punch Move command: db+1,2 Hit Level: H (unblockable) Damage dealt: 30 Move analysis: This move is useless. U-S-E-L-E-S-S. It's unimaginably slow, ridiculously easy to duck on reaction and punish, and even if they don't duck it will sometimes fly straight over their head! Do NOT use. Ever. Move name: Daisy Chain (into DES) Move command: db+2,2 (1+2) Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 20,15 (35) Move analysis: This move is pretty slow, and fairly easy to block on most occasions, but if it does hit you get a huge frame advantage. If they're near a wall you get a free 4 afterwards, which wall splats perfectly. It's also a decent way to transition into DES as well, since the frame advantage keeps you safe. It can also be used after B! for good wall carry. All in all, it's fairly situational, but a deadly weapon when used at the right time. Move name: Deep Link Move command: db+3 Hit Level: L Damage dealt: 16 Move analysis: This. Move. Is. Amazing. Seriously, this is easily one of Alisa's best moves, and certainly her best low, perhaps even one of the greatest in the game. The start-up is fairly fast for a low, and on top of that it has +7 frame advantage on counter hit, crushes highs for almost all its animation and tracks well to the left. But the best part of it is its amazing range. Her leg sticks out deceivingly far, and this makes it an incredible spacing tool because many people simply don't realise what great range it has. This also means that it's completely safe on block if spaced right, since only WS+4 could potentially punish her, and they won't have enough range. The damage is fairly low in its own right, but since the risk in using it is borderline non-existent, you can use it repeatedly to rack up damage. It's also perfect for finishing off opponents in rage, and acts as a 'playing it safe' oki option. So yeah, if you aren't using this move already, START USING IT. Learn to love it; it won't let you down, trust me. Move name: Deep Web Move command: db+4 Hit Level: L Damage dealt: 26 Move analysis: Another risky but rewarding move, but this one stands out more than the rest. Yes, it's slow and very unsafe on block, but like db+3 it crushes highs, and it also tracks very well along the ground, allowing her to catch sidestepping opponents or those who use a lot of highs. Once it's hit, your opponent is in a perfect oki position. If you predict them right, you can follow up with ff+2,3, or ff+3,4,4, or db+3 if you want to play it safe. It's also great for catching techs after a wall combo. But remember, don't use it too much, or they'll catch on and launch you. Move name: Gadget Found Move command: b+1,1+2 Hit Level: M, SM, M Damage dealt: 21,1,36 (58) Move analysis: The full combo itself is useless. The second and third hits are ridiculously easy to see coming and block, and thus the damage and launch from the third hit is of no use. However, the first hit on its own acts as a decent poke. It's fairly fast, safe on block, decent hit advantage, and leads straight into WS. It's worth trying out occasionally due to its safety, but make sure never to use the next two hits... Move name: Trance Hammer Move command: b+2,1 Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 14,15 (29) Move analysis: This is one of Alisa's main moves for causing B! In most situations, you're better of using b+4,3 instead, since it does more damage and has better range. However, b+2,1 hits at a weird sort of angle, meaning that it can connect in some scenarios where b+4,3 might not. It's also easier to land in staple combos since you don't need the extra jab. So yeah, an OK bound move overall. When it comes to using it from a neutral position... I wouldn't recommend it. It's quite unsafe and somewhat slow... Move name: Trance Accelerator Kick Move command: b+2,4 Hit Level: M,H Damage dealt: 14,24 (38) Move analysis: If you're using b+2 from a standing position, this is usually a better move to follow up with. It does decent damage, wall splats well, and the second hit is guaranteed if the first connects. However, if the first hit is blocked, the second can be ducked and punished. If they block it rather than ducking, it's safe. It also tracks to the right well, which is always useful. A decent move. Move name: Spinning Top Move command: b+3 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 31 Move analysis: Ok... for a start, it's slow, and unlikely to hit from a neutral position. However, that's not the move is intended for. It's Alisa's only move that guarantees complete tracking on both sides, thus making it useful against people who like to sidestep a lot. If it does connect, it wall splats well, or if you're not close to a wall, sends them much closer to it. If spaced right, it's mostly safe on block due to the large pushback, and it has good range. If only it was just a tad bit faster... Still, complete tracking is always a plus. Move name: Double Threading (into DES) Move command: b+4,3 (1+2) Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 18,19 Move analysis: In most cases this is Alisa's best move for causing B! Decent damage, solid range, but fairly linear in form. Like most of her bound moves, it can't really be recommended for use in a neutral position, since it's not a natural combo (unless you counterhit) and you generally have better options. It also crushes lows for a brief time between the two hits... So yeah, most of her more damaging juggles involve this move, but be aware that sometimes f+1 is required to position your opponent high enough for b+4,3 to connect. Move name: Dynamic Range Move command: b+3+4,3+4 Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 24,36 (60) Move analysis: Treat this as an extremely risky version of uf+4,4. It's slower, and if the first hit is blocked, they can sidestep the second and punish you massively. However, if you do connect with it, you can do some immensely powerful juggles, even more so than a df+2 juggle! But like I said, it's very, very risky. Use it for low crush antics now and then, or if you're in a gambling mood, but you shouldn't really use it more than once a set or so... Move name: Hang-Up Move command: b+2+3 Hit Level: M! Damage dealt: 60 Move analysis: You know the drill. Immensely powerful unblockable that's so slow to come out that it will pretty much never connect in practice. Cool animation though. Move name: Docking Bay Move command: ub+3+4,1+2 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 30 Move analysis: Yet another cool-looking move that launches, but will never actually connect due to how easily telegraphed and slow it is. Yawn... Move name: Cradle Move command: uf+3 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 18 Move analysis: This move can be used for so many mindgames. This connects with your opponent regardless of whether it hits or is blocked, and after that you have the option of attacking immediately, or transitioning into Boot or Dual Boot stance. NEVER use this move on its own; if it connects, always follow up with something. Move name: Cradle Star Move command: uf+3,2 Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 18,36 (54) Move analysis: Ok, so if the first part actually hits, you should ALWAYS follow up with this, because it does immense damage. As well as that, this is also one of Alisa's best moves to use after B!, because it smashes them back into the ground for oki. A powerful combo; use it wisely and it'll pay off. Move name: Cradle to Boot Stance Move command: uf+3,3+4 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 18, N/A Move analysis: A quick transition into Boot Stance. Recommended if they blocked the first hit, as they have to guess whether you use a low, mid or high afterwards. Useful for mindgame purposes, though if your Boot stance game is too predictable it could land you in trouble. Move name: Cradle to Dual Boot Stance Move command: uf+3,f+3+4 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 18, N/A Move analysis: This time she transitions into Dual Boot Stance. I wouldn't recommend using this, since Dual Boot Stance has no low attacks, making it very easy to just block any follow-ups you try to come up with. Stick with regular boot stance in this scenario. Move name: Downstream Move command: uf+3+4 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 33 Move analysis: Again, this is a move that won't connect too often. But it does have humour value. For example, if you get a really high wall splat, using this can lead to a floor break, which is good for the lulz. Amazingly enough it's safe on block as well. If you want a serious use for this move, then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you by saying that there aren't any. Move name: Inbound Kick Move command: uf+4,4 Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 12,25 (37) Move analysis: This is Alisa's main punisher for moves that are -15 on block. It sends your opponent directly into B!, and because they're right next to you, your bound follow-ups can be extended to do more damage. Total damage from a uf+4,4 juggle can be over 50HP if you do the right moves. It also crushes lows, something that df+2 cannot do. It's not very safe on block though, so avoid spamming it. Move name: Jumper Switch Move command: ff+2,3 Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 21,30 (51) Move analysis: Arguably Alisa's best B! ender, as it allows not only impressive damage but also great wall carry because it sends your opponent miles away. It can also be used for oki as your opponent is getting up to smash them against a wall. You shouldn't abuse it in other situations though, as it's fairly unsafe on block and bad when whiffed. Still, mostly a very useful move in the situations it's intended for. Move name: Cutover (to DES) Move command: ff+3,4,4 (1+2) Hit Level: M,H,M Damage dealt: 14,18,15 (47) Move analysis: Think of this as a more situational version of ff+2,3. Whereas ff+2,3 will pretty much always work post-bound, ff+3,4,4 will often have the opponent sent too far after the first two hits for the third to connect, but if all three connect it does good damage. Oh, and it's also good for picking up opponents just as they're tech rolling too. Don't abuse it though. Whiffing it is nasty. (N.B. You can also transition into DES after the second hit rather than the third, if you wish. Move name: Sandbox Move command: ff+4, qcf+1 (only if ff+4 connects) Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 21,26 (47) Move analysis: I don't really like using this move much, but it has its uses I suppose. It's pretty slow, and jab punishable on block, but if you hit with the first part, you can follow up with a shoulder barge, doing a solid 47HP overall. Realistically though, you're more likely to land a launcher than you are to land this, so I wouldn't bother with it much. Move name: Worm Virus Move command: ff+1+2 Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 6,21 (27) Move analysis: Another one of those highly risky but very well rewarding moves, it seems. Many people don't realise this, but if it connects, you can get a juggle similar in damage to that of her df+2 staple. However, if it gets blocked or sidestepped, then you'll get launched yourself, which is obviously very, very bad. Only use this if you're sure you can get it to hit, certainly no more than once every set or so. Move name: Killer Worm Virus Move command: ff+1+2, 2 (first two hits must connect) Hit Level: M, M, M, M, M, M, M, M Damage dealt: 6,21, 2x6 (39) Move analysis: If you actually manage to land ff+1+2, do NOT follow up with this. You can get so much more damage off a juggle, seriously. The only exception is if you’re using it to end a wall combo, in which case fair enough (though I prefer ff+3,4,4). Move name: Double Rocket Punch Move command: bb+1+2 Hit Level: H (unblockable) Damage dealt: 60 Move analysis: How many stupidly slow and easy to avoid unblockables does one character need? Move along folks, nothing to see here... Move name: Overload Move command: b,f+2 Hit Level: H Damage dealt: 31 Move analysis: This was designed with the intention of mixing it up with fff+2, since the animations are so similar. This can lead to confusion from your opponent. As well as high damage, you can get a free f+1+2 if they don't backroll, meaning even more damage. It's also safe on block. Its only real flaws are that it's linear, and that it hits high, but as long as you don't use it too often, it shouldn't get ducked on reaction too much. Its main use is as a long range whiff punisher (i.e. when you’re too far away to hit with b+3+4, 3+4). Move name: Linear Punch Move command: fff+2 Hit level: H Damage dealt: 33 Move analysis: As I said before, it's very similar to b,f+2. It's faster, does more damage and has frame advantage ON BLOCK. You also get a free f+1+2 if it connects successfully. However, you have to run a bit before you can use it, so your opponent might duck or block because it's fairly easily telegraphed. However, if your opponent is a long distance away, then this is definitely a move that's worth considering, since low angles are covered by the generic sliding kick. Move name: Linear Dropkick Move command: fff+3,4 Hit Level: M,M Damage dealt: 12,30 (42) Move analysis: This move is good for chasing long-range opponents. If they try and use a get-up low kick, this move will crush them and either send them a long distance, resetting the situation, or put them in a perilous wall splat situation. Mix it up with fff+2 for best results and unpredictability. Move name: Thruster Double Punch Move command: While running, 1+2 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 36 Move analysis: Well, it's very slow and easy to see coming, but you can't get punished for it. If it's blocked, then it has too much block stun to punish. If it's whiffed via sidestepping, when they chase you for a counterattack you can follow up with BT 4 or BT 3+4. Or a low kick, for that matter. I don't tend to use it that much, but it's worth knowing all your options, so if you think it's worth using, by all means go for it. Move name: Spear Fishing (to DES) Move command: WS+1,2,3 (1+2) Hit Level: M,H,M Damage dealt: 14,10,24 (48) Move command: Ok, so although the third hit does launch, you're not going to be landing this that much because it's blockable even if the first two hits connect, though if they don't expect it you can sometimes catch people out. Ignoring the third hit, the first two parts of the combos are very useful indeed. It can't be ducked to evade it, so although it does only average damage it’s reliable. You can use these two hits after various moves that leave Alisa in a crouching state, such as her godly db+3. They're also very useful for juggle filler in her more damaging combos. Overall, one of her better WS moves, and one you should definitely use. Move name: Digital Left (to Boot stance/to Dual Boot stance) Move command: WS+2 (3+4 to transition to Boot, f+3+4 for Dual Boot) Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 28 Move analysis: Whilst very useful in its own right, I can't help but wish that she had a normal WS 2 similar to her df+2, allowing her to do a proper juggle more easily. See, the move sends her opponent literally miles away, which is great for wall carry, but not so much if you want to do a fully-fledged combo. You CAN get a fully-fledged combo, but it’s very difficult to time right, and takes a LOT of practicing. If you’re interested in what it is, skip to the combos section. The best option if you want to keep things simple is to transition to boot stance and do BOOT 1,2,1,3+4, which works whether or not there was a wall splat. Transitions into dual boot are only recommended if there’s a wall nearby. If not, stick with regular boot. All in all, it’s a great WS punishing tool, but to use it to its maximum requires a lot of practicing… Move name: Clockwork Move command: WS+3 (transitions into Clockwork stance; ~b cancels stance) Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 21 Move analysis: WS+3 is an interesting move, not least because it transitions into one of the most hilarious-looking stances of all time. If it connects, you can immediately follow up with CLOCK 3 for good damage. If they block it, they then have to guess whether you're going mid or low. In most cases you're better off going for WS+2, but if you have difficulty timing WS+2 combos, this is the next best option available. Move name: Clock Spring Middle Move command: CLOCK 3 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 24 (26 if she spins three times first) Move analysis: If WS+3 hits, immediately use this, as it gives a total of 45HP damage, and puts you at a frame advantage. If they block it, then you can mix this in with CLOCK d+3 to keep them guessing. After spinning for a bit, your opponent will be knocked down instead of being left standing. Move name: Clock Spring Low Move command: CLOCK d+3 Hit Level: L Damage dealt: 19 Move analysis: If they block the first hit, and you predict that they'll continue to use standing block, use this to bypass it and surprise them. It puts them in a useful oki position if it lands, though like most lows it's not exactly safe on block, so beware. Move name: Cute but Deadly Move command: WS+1+2 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 24, 28 or 33 (depending on how long you hold 1+2) Move analysis: For the most part, it’s not really that great a move. It’s pretty slow, even in its fastest form, and has a fairly obvious animation, so for punishing WS+2 is always better. However, it does have some uses. It continually crushes highs throughout the animation, and she remains in FC once it’s over, so it’s good for mix-ups. It also tracks to the left slightly. Overall, you probably won’t be using this much, but it’s worth having in your back pocket so that you don’t get too predictable. Oh, and it can sometimes be good juggle filler. Move name: Sad Hound (into DES) Move command: FC df+1+2 (1+2) Hit Level: L,L Damage dealt: 12,19 (31) Move analysis: Underappreciated, if you ask me. It never seems to get used much. The main reason is because it's pretty slow, but by low attack standards it's comparatively safe. It's WS+4 punishable, but that's it. If it hits, it makes a somewhat safe transition into DES. So if you ever end up in a crouching state, don't neglect to try this move out. They'll probably be expecting WS+2 and not block in time, since the animation isn't very extravagant. Move name: Happy Propellor Move command: SS+4,1+2 Hit Level: L,H,H,H,M Damage dealt: 18, 6x4 (42) Move analysis: In theory, this could have been a useful move. Despite being slow on start-up, it transitions quickly from low to high, with a single mid to catch any crouchers, does 42HP total whilst being jab punishable on block and tracks well. Unfortunately, the first hit doesn't combo into the rest, meaning that it is unlikely that you will land all of the hits. This essentially means that there's no good reason not to use db+3 instead, since it's much less risky and faster, and offers only 2HP less damage. Move name: Goody Two Shoes Move command: BT 4 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 24 Move analysis: You won't be using this all the time, but it has its uses. It's her best follow-up after a CH BOOT 3 or BT 3+4, and it can catch people who rush blindly towards your back. Otherwise, you won't get much chance to use it. Move name: Reboot Meteor Kick Move command: KND 1+2,3+4 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 42 Move analysis: When lying down, you can use this as an alternative option to get-up. If you want to attack afterwards, press 3+4. I wouldn't recommend it, since it's easy to see coming and block, though it might catch them by surprise if you don't use it often. All in all, it's another option to confuse your opponent's oki game, but it's one that I don't tend to use much. Really, though, it's personal preference. 4a) Throws Throw name: Trigger Shuffle Move command: 1+3 Throw position: Front Throw Escape: 1 Damage dealt: 35 Move analysis: Well, it's fairly basic by throw standards. Average damage, fairly easy for high level players to escape etc. Regarding oki, they get sent a bit far away for that most of the time, though you might be able to land ff+2,3 if they try to roll. But yeah, it's an average throw, no better, no worse. Throw name: Back Door Move command: 2+4 Throw Position: Front Throw Escape: 2 Damage dealt: 35 Move analysis: I'd say this is better than 1+3 overall. Why? Well, like 1+3 it does OK damage and is easy for pros to escape, with limited oki. However, if you press 1+2 during the throw's animation, she stays in DES mode. In this sense, the throw is a completely safe and unblockable transition to DES, so if your opponent isn't much good at breaking throws, go for it. Throw name: Compression Move command: 1+3 or 2+4 Throw Position: Left Throw Escape: 1 Damage dealt: 40 Move analysis: Well, it looks awesome, that's for sure. But it's not particularly useful. It does decent damage, but it doesn't do much in terms of being good for oki, which is always a good side-effect of throws. If you manage to sidestep to the left successfully, you're probably better off going for a juggle instead. Throw name: Hat Trick Move command: 1+3 or 2+4 Throw Position: Right Throw Escape: 2 Damage dealt: 40 Move analysis: Another awesome throw in terms of animation, and slightly more useful in practice. Why? Well, it puts your opponent on the ground in a face- down position rather than a face-up position, making oki possibilities greater. That said, you're still probably better off going for a launcher. Throw name: Random Typing Move command: 1+3 or 2+4 Throw Position: Back Throw Escape: No escape :) Damage dealt: 55 Move analysis: Like most back throws it's inescapable and does a great deal of damage. In fact, if you can use oki mind games enough it might well do more damage than a staple juggle. Of course, you might not meet many opportunities to do this move, but if you do, go for it! Throw name: Spam Bomb Move command: uf+1+2 Throw Position: Front Throw Escape: 1+2 Damage dealt: 40 Move analysis: Alisa's most infamous throw, whereby she takes off her head and gives it to her opponent to explode. If your opponent is a beginner, you may be able to catch her out, but unfortunately most players will be able to break it more often than other throws because of its incredibly obvious animation. This ultimately means that it isn't all that great, unfortunately. Random fact: If you use this to your opponent's side or back, she will do her standard side/back throws, but during the animation she will be missing her head and it will do 1HP extra damage. Move name: Double Bull Shoot Move command: FC db,d,db+1+2 Throw Position: Front Throw Escape: 1+2 Damage dealt: 45 Move analysis: Considering how hard it is to pull the move off, it doesn't offer that great a reward. Damaging? Yes. But again they're sent too far away to do any proper oki. Stick with a regular throw; it's not worth the extra hassle. Move name: Model Change Move command: b+1+3 or b+2+4 Damage dealt: 24 Move analysis: OK, this isn't actually a throw, but it didn't fit right with the rest of the moves, so I stuck it here. It's a counter, which when timed correctly with a high attack will cause her head to come off and for her to punch her opponent. If your opponent is being really predictable then go for it, but it's a very risky manouever, as you can get launched if you use it at the wrong time. Generally the risk isn't worth the reward, but you can by all means go for it if you wish. 4b) Boot stance Move name: Boot stance Move command: f+3+4 Hit Level: N/A Damage dealt: N/A Move analysis: In this stance, Alisa glides along the ground for a couple of seconds. I find this stance to be very underrated. If you're a long distance from your opponent, you can use this for various mindgames. It's not really meant to be used close-up, since it has some start-up time. It also crushes lows, a fact which many people don't realise, which is also useful. Appropriate use of moves in this stance can be used for all sorts of tricks to confuse your opponent. You can also cancel it by pressing b. Work it into your game. Move name: Hard Reset Move command: BOOT 1,2,1,3+4 Hit Level: M,M,M,M,M Damage dealt: 14,15,8,6,26 (69) Move analysis: As cool as this move looks, the full combo should rarely be used. The first two hits natural combo, but after that they can be blocked, at which point you can be launched. Not good. However, it does have its uses. It can occasionally be used in juggles and wall combos for intense damage, but from a standing position you shouldn't use the full combo. Use the first two hits to low crush punish if you wish, but beware that this has a frame disadvantage ON HIT. Move name: Linear Elbow Move command: BOOT 2 Hit Level: H Damage dealt: 42 Move analysis: Very similar to f,f,f+2, this can potentially be deadly. It does huge damage, continues to crush lows during the move animation, wall splats effectively, and if blocked, not only is it safe but it puts YOU at an advantage. The only problem with this move is that it hits high, and thus it can be ducked for major punishment. However, since she also has mid and low hits out of boot stance, as long as you aren't too predictable they shouldn't be able to duck on reaction. Move name: Eject Slider Move command: BOOT 3 Hit Level: L Damage dealt: 20 Move analysis: One of my favourite moves, and arguably Alisa's second best low. It slides along the ground, giving it great range, it crushes highs during its animation because it ducks really low, and if it counterhits you get a free BT 4 afterwards. The move is unsafe on block, however, and some characters can even launch you out of it! So yeah, still a very risky move, but if you mix it up with other boot moves the risk can be lessened. Move name: Upstream Move command: BOOT 4 Hit Level: M Damage dealt: 26 Move analysis: This is a real 'high risk, high reward' move. On the one hand, it launches brilliant, and the ensuing juggle causes over 80HP damage without walls! However, if it gets blocked, it's curtains for you, because every character can launch you during the recovery time. Thus, this move shouldn't be used too much, but it can work as an occasional mix-up if they expect BOOT 3 instead... 4c) Destroy Form (DES) Move name: Destroy Form (DES) Move command: d+1+2 Hit Level: N/A Damage dealt: N/A Move analysis: Alisa sprouts chainsaws out of her arms and starts cutting her opponents up with them. Now, the sheer awesomeness of that is reason enough to use it, even if it was useless in practice. As it stands, the stance itself is quite unsafe, because during this animation she has no kick attacks, any blocked high/mid attack will take her out of DES immediately, and she can't block lows. However, she still has a decent sidestep to evade attacks, so that's a plus. The stance's main use is mindgames, lots and lots of mindgames. She has pressure tools, pokes and a couple of lows to catch opponents off-guard, and even an extra sub-stance similar to Boot! DES is most effective when your opponent is close to a wall, since it can lead to quite damaging wall juggles, and once it's over they have to guess what they're going to do. Remaining unpredictable in this stance can lead to potentially deadly consequences for your opponent. That said, I wouldn't recommend using d+1+2 to transition into it; it leaves her vulnerable to attack. She has several offensive options to transfer into DES, which have already been discussed. If you're good at messing with opponents and being creative, DES is certainly worth working into your game, especially if you're good at inciting whiffs by sidestep. Move name: Shredder Move command: DES 1 Hit Level: M,M,M,H,H,H,M Damage dealt: 3x5, 24 (39) Move analysis: A barrage of chainsaws right to the face, and a move of mixed fortunes. On the one hand, it's fairly fast and sends your opponent in a beneficial grounded position. If blocked, you have to be careful, since your opponent is at a 9-frame advantage, so be prepared to crush or avoid any attacks that may come your way (if they use a mid that tracks you're pretty stuffed in that regard). As a result, you shouldn't disregard it completely, but be aware of the risks you take in using it. Move name: Shredder Uppercut Move command: DES 2 Hit Level: M,M,M,M Damage dealt: 7x4 (28) Move analysis: Yay, a DES launcher! Granted, it's pretty slow, but it's very safe on block, meaning that you shouldn't get punished unless they sidestep (in which case you're in a perilous situation). It launches pretty high, allowing a decent juggle, and if you're close to a wall, it wall splats them REALLY high, which means that, with good timing, you can pull off a deadly wall combo. Overall, it's a slow but mostly reliable move that can pay off dividends near walls. Move name: Death Marionette Move command: DES 1+2 Hit Level: H,H,H Damage dealt: 8,8,24 (42) Move analysis: I need to use this move more. It does a good amount of damage if it connects and it's completely safe on block. It wall splats well, and can compliment other wall splats by trapping the opponent for all three hits (sometimes you can use it twice!). There's only one problem: since all three hits are high, they can be ducked and punished. But as long as you don't use it too often, it shouldn't be ducked on reaction too much. Move name: Hertz Blade Move command: DES f+1 Hit Level: H,H,H,H,H,H,H Damage dealt: 3x7 (21) Move analysis: Easily Alisa's best DES poke, and a very good poke in its own right. It's fast, at 12 frames start-up, it's entirely safe on block, and provides a huge frame advantage on hit (11 frames!), meaning that if they try to do ANYTHING other than block, they're in for a mouthful of hurt. You should be using this often in DES stance in a neutral position. Like various other pokes, it can be ducked, but it's fast enough that most players can't do it on reaction and really, if it hit mid, it would be pretty damn broken overall... But yeah, use this a lot. Move name: Hertz Blade Aegis Move command: DES f+2 Hit Level: H,H,H,H,H Damage dealt: 3x5 (15) Move analysis: This move is really, really weird. Why? Because it can't hit grounded opponents. Like, at all. It passes right through their head without damage. It can only hit opponents who are stuck on a wall or in the air. Aside from this rather unusual disability, it's incredibly fast (10 frames), works as good wall combo filler, and if used in mid-air, it can wall carry quite well. An odd move with odd properties and odd situational uses... Move name: Hertz Blade Diablo Move command: DES f+1+2,1+2 Hit Level: M,M,M,M,M,M,M,M Damage dealt: 3x7, 24,3 (48) Move analysis: Another useful move. Slow on start-up, like many other DES moves, but it's good for several reasons. If it connects, you can press 1+2 a second time to pull your opponent into the air, though unfortunately you can't juggle. Still, 48HP isn't shabby. If they block instead, then that's fine too, because it gives you a +3 advantage on block. This means that if your opponent tries to attack you, DES f+1 will beat them out (unless their attack crushes highs, though she has other options for predicting such actions). If it does get blocked, make sure not to press the second 1+2, or you'll be punished hard. Move name: Hertz Blade Scud Move command: DES d+1 Hit Level: L,L,L,L,L Damage dealt: 6x5 (30) Move analysis: Well, of the two lows she has in this stance, this is the superior one. Like many lows, it's pretty slow, but it crushes highs well, does good damage if all hits connect, tracks slightly to the left (though it's a bit strange regarding its effectiveness...) and it's only WS+4 punishable on block rather than launch punishable (which for a slow low is good). If they keep blocking your attacks and it agitates you, try throwing this out to catch them out... Move name: Clock Setting Move command: DES d+2 Hit Level: L,L,L,L (an extra two low hits if you hold 2) Damage dealt: 6x4 (24) or 6x6 (36) Move analysis: In most circumstances, you shouldn’t use this move. Horrifically slow, and there's rarely a reason NOT to use DES d+1 instead. Granted, you can hold down 2 to get 5 or 6 hits rather than 4, but that doesn't mean it's a good move. The only use that this move has is for ending wall combos, because each hit causes a low splat against the wall, guaranteeing all of the hits. Otherwise, you shouldn’t be using it. Move name: Spindle Slash Move command: DES uf+1+2 Hit Level: M,M,M Damage dealt: 14x3 (42) Move analysis: Well, it's a bound move, so it has some uses if you launch them while in this stance, but as a general rule there aren't many situations where you'll need it, unless you manage to wall splat them and you haven’t use bound yet, in which case it’s great for racking up extra damage. As a standard move, it's jab punishable on block and very slow, but it crushes lows, so can potentially be a good low attack punisher when in DES (since you can't use uf+4,4). Move name: Hertz Blade Flare Move command: DES BT 1 (or DES BT 2) Hit Level: M,M,M,M,M,M Damage dealt: 4x6 (24) Move analysis: Well, this isn't such a horrible move in its own right (though it's hardly great), but you're really not going to see many situations where you'll even be able to use it. I mean, having someone behind you whilst in DES: it's just not going to happen very often... If you do get in that situation, it's your only option anyway... 4d) Dual Boot Stance Move name: Dual Boot Stance Move command: DES f+3+4 (or DES ff) Hit Level: N/A Damage dealt: N/A Move analysis: A variation on the regular Boot Stance since she still has chainsaws for arms. It still has the ability to crush lows and travel a long distance though. However, unlike regular boot stance, it has no low attack, so it's easy for your opponent to block or sidestep any attacks. This means that the stance is only really useful if you can catch your opponent off-guard. Move name: Thruster Left Move command: DUAL 1 Hit Level: H,H,H,H,H,H Damage dealt: 4x6 (24) Move analysis: A very situational move. It's very slow and easy to see coming, and if ducked or sidestepped you're pretty stuffed. However, if they block, you get +9 frame advantage. Yes, +9. On block. So if your opponent doesn't duck highs much, go for it! Mindgames galore will be handed to you! Otherwise, not recommended. Move name: Thruster Right Move command: DUAL 2 Hit Level: M,M,H,H,H Damage dealt: 10,12,6,5,10 Move analysis: I wouldn't use this. Yes, it launches, and if you're near a wall it can be quite devastating, but this move will almost always be blocked or sidestepped. A handful of characters can punish it with a launch, and everyone else can still do some unwanted damage to you. It does hit downed opponents, but really DUAL 1+2 is better for that purpose, since only part of it connects. Best avoided most of the time, I’d say. Move command: Thruster Drill Move command: DUAL 1+2 Hit Level: M,M,M,M Damage dealt: 6,6,24,5 Move analysis: Probably Alisa's best dual boot move overall. It's fast, safe on block, catches tech rollers and backdashers nicely. Again, it's still fairly easy to block from a neutral position, but really dual boot stance itself is hardly suitable for neutral positions in its own right. Usually your best option if you find yourself in the stance, especially for oki. 5) Appropriate Punishers ------------------------------------ If you want to get even decent at Tekken, then you have to know how to punish your opponent’s mistakes. I mean, who wants their opponent running rings around them and being helpless to stop them? When you block an opponent’s moves, sometimes they’ll be at enough of a disadvantage for you to be able to counterattack before they can do anything. Here are your punishers for various degrees of disadvantage: 10f – 1,1 or 1,2 1,1 is a fantastic 10f punisher if your opponent doesn’t know how to deal with it. It does 30HP damage total AND gives +9 frame advantage. However, there’s one downside: if you accidentally delay the second hit, it can be ducked. But if you don’t, it’s NC. So that shouldn’t affect you too much. Overall, one of the best i10 punishers in the game. 13f – df+1,4 or 4 This depends on where you’re positioned. If you’re close to a wall, go for 4. As well as the damage, it wall splats well, allowing you to pull off a deadly wall combo! It’s KND if no walls are near, which is still decent for you. If you’re not lucky enough to be next to a wall, go for df+1,4. It does 31HP and gives +5 frame advantage, leaving them in a crouching position. From there you make them guess whether you’ll go mid or low. Unfortunately, it’s not a natural combo on normal hit, but it’s surprising how many people fall for it! That extra 1HP from 1,1 CAN make a difference, especially with the Rage system. 14f – f+3,2 or f+1+2 This little combo does 32HP AND transitions you safely into DES stance. You also get +10 frame advantage to play around with. If you’re not a fan of DES stance (but really, it’s worth learning), go for f+1+2, which does 26 damage and gives you a +7 frame advantage on hit. This should also be used if the blocked move has a lot of pushback, since f+1+2 lunges Alisa miles forward. 15f – uf+4,4 Here’s where we get into REALLY damaging territory. As has been discussed, uf+4,4 is a semi-launcher of sorts, and if you land this and follow up with the correct juggle, you can deal a whopping 57HP. It’ll make your opponent think twice before using such unsafe moves again! 16f – df+2 or b,f+2 If your opponent has used something ridiculously unsafe, then you can use Alisa’s launcher. What’s great about it is that it has deceptive range, so block pushback isn’t as big an issue. Land this baby and you’re looking at an extra 72HP shaved off your opponent’s health. There’s also the benefit of either getting great wall carry OR a brilliant oki position. b,f+2 is for when your opponent is too far away for df+2 to hit. Not as damaging overall, but it brings about 40HP in its own right, and you can get a f+1+2 afterwards. 19f – b+3+4,3+4 Anyone using a move -19 or worse on block has got some serious practising to do! But if it does happen, you get 76HP off this juggle here, and also some impressive wall carry. Not to mention it looks incredibly awesome. Can also be used as a mid-range whiff punisher. 5a) Appropriate punishers from crouch If you’ve blocked a low attack, you’ll be in a crouching position. Here’s what your punishing tools are if that happens: 11f – WS+4 Plain and simple. Fairly short-ranged, but most lows that are only -11 on block are as well (with exceptions, of course) 15f – uf+4,4 This is a bit more like it, as you get a pretty damaging combo out of this move. Not a full juggle, but close enough. 17f – WS+2 Weird launcher, but if you time 3+4 BOOT 3 right you get slightly more damage than a staple df+2 juggle. Yay! Regarding lows that are between -11 and -14 on block, WS+4 is NOT the best options you have available, especially if the attack is well spaced. Take Alisa’s own db+3 for example. It’s so well ranged it cannot be punished if spaced right. So what do you do? LOW PARRY! It takes a bit of practice, but the frame window is actually fairly lenient once you get used to it. d/f at the appropriate time and they end up straight in B! Since they’re right next to you, you can do a longer juggle, such as the following: B! b+1, WS+1,2, d+4, 1+2 35 damage and solid wall carry. MUCH better than the 18 damage you get off WS+4. If you have trouble pulling that off, you also have: B! WS+1,2, f+1, f+2, d+4, 1+2 Exactly the same damage, and possibly slightly more wall carry IDK. There’s also a more damaging, but much harder to time, low parry punish: B! b+1, WS+1,2, f+1, ff+2,3 (42 damage) 6) Match-ups ------------------------------------ Knowing your character’s moves and when to use them or not use them is all well and good. But without knowing how to deal with specific characters, you’re not going to get very far. It’s very important to know how to deal with everybody in the cast. Walled or infinite stages?: If you have the fortune of being able to pick which stage you’re on, it gives you an advantage. But really, Alisa can function well on both walled and infinite stages. However, if you get the choice, go for infinite ones. Walled stages are useful because Alisa has pretty good wall carry and devastating DES wall mix-ups. However, infinite stages are even better. All you have to do is get a lead (not difficult with db+3 and df+4), then turtle like hell! No limits on backdash spacing, and you can often just run away for the whole round. If they rush in, they’re in a perfect position for some punishment! But as I said, she can function well on any stage, so don’t worry about it too much. That said, with some characters infinite stages are DEFINITELY recommended (*coughBryancoughBrucecough*). N.B. There are a few more now, but still quite a few to go. Watch this space! 6a) Alisa Boskonovitch ---------------------------------------- *gasp* A mirror match?! Yes, indeed, you’re fighting yourself! This essentially turns things into an alternative version of chess, as you both have exactly the same tools. Indeed, this is often what makes them frustrating! As you’ll know, the main low to watch out for is db+3, with its incredible range and safety on block. If you want to sidestep it, then sidestep to the right, as despite its linear appearance, it tracks to the left. In fact, Alisa’s tracking to the right in general is quite weak, so sidestepping right is normally best, though watch out for 4 and df+4! Other pokes you’ll need to keep an eye on are df+1 and their various mix-ups. And of course there are all the DES mindgames, though don’t forget that Alisa can’t block lows in DES. This makes tracking lows like db+4 useful. She also has lots of low crush moves, so don’t spam db+3 TOO much. Finally, if they try and use b+3+4, 3+4, sidestep after the first hit and launch them as they come back down! All in all, you basically have the same tools as your opponent, so just keep it cool and do what feels right! 6b) Anna Williams ----------------------------------------- If you’re on of those people who believe that Anna is a Nina clone, I’d like to point out that such a statement is completely false. If you already knew that, let’s move on! Anna in general has some pretty good poking tools at her disposal. df+1,2 is annoying because it’s fast, completely safe on block and can be done out of a crouching position. Sidestep to the left if they start spamming it. She also has some decent mix-ups like 1,4 and 1,2,3. Try and learn the animations so that you can block or parry them accordingly. df+4 is a similar story, though that also has quite poor range, so a backdash and f+1+2 can deal with that too! Anna’s launchers in general are slow on start-up but have solid range, a lot like ours really. So watch your spacing. Anna’s CAT stance is interesting as well. If you try and hit low she’ll auto- launch you with CAT uf+4! Try throwing her and she’ll reverse it (though uf+1+2 is immune to this). In this case, go for a quick poke to try and knock her out of it. Or sidestep, as the tracking moves are either unreliable or slow. Her chain throws are annoying, but you should be able to learn to break them with practice. It’s easier to do than King’s, at any rate. Lastly, Anna has great FC options. She could go for FC f+1 of FC f+2 to get you into an oki position, of FC+2 to try and launch you. Or she could use d+3 or d+4 to poke at you, or use a low punch to mid/high kick transition. Indeed, 1,2,3 and 1,4 are often used as transitions. Be very careful when she’s in this state. All in all, it’ll end up being a poking contest most likely, as you’ll want to avoid her using CAT or FC mindgames to trick you. Watch out for moves that leave her in a crouching position, and be aware that predictable backdashing might lead to a launcher. 6c) Armor King ----------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6d) Asuka Kazama ------------------------------------ Asuka has a lot of mix-ups in her attacks, with one string easily transitioned into another, but also some power strikes as well. Her strings can be fairly useful for mix-ups, since the mid/high strings are safe on block, whereas the low ones are less safe but can be quite fast. 1,3 is fairly reliable for her since it’s fast and even if you block it the worst that happens is a WS+4. Try to low parry these random lows if you can. That said, Asuka’s punishment from -10 to -13 isn’t that great, since her strings rarely have every hit natural combo, though once you get to -14 her punishment is much more deadly. In other words, moves that are -12 or so are not quite so horrid here, especially if you can space them well. This means that pressure can be more effective here. But regarding -14 as I said, she has d+3+4, which launches! Not good… Quite a few of her strings involve db+4, with her spinning leg. Against the wall, this is pretty deadly, but from a standing position it’s really, really easy to deal with. Although it’s safe on block, it also leaves her at minus frames ON HIT, easily allowing you to low parry even if one of the kicks connects to start with! And it lost all of its mix-up potential because the low to mid transition of db+4,3 has gone from two mid-hitting cartwheel kicks to a high launcher! So you can block it with no fear of being hit! But as I said, it’s pretty bad when you’re up against the wall… Her much-feared reversal is really not as deadly as some claim it to be. If someone is becoming too acquainted with her reversal, there’s an easy way to deal with it. Simply bait them to pull it out, and when they do, punish them with a launcher! They can sort of mix this up by making the reversal last longer, but this leaves her even more open to punishment if you don’t attack at all. If you wish, you can also try buffering chickens straight after attacks as well i.e. f+1+3 after 1 or 3 attacks, or f+2+4 after 2 or 4 attacks. I prefer the first option, since it has a much greater reward, but the last one is pretty much foolproof. Asuka has some skills worth being wary of, but not the ones that people tend to credit her with. From a standing position she has a number of fast mix-ups for safe pressuring, but ultimately the reward from them is relatively low. This means that her punishments are fairly light when at lower disadvantages. Oh, and I personally recommend infinite stages if possible, since her wall combos are pretty tight. 6e) Baek Doo San ------------------------------------ COMING SOON! 6f) Bob ------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6g) Bruce Irvin ------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6h) Bryan Fury -------------------------------------- Everybody hates Bryan, it seems. The word ‘broken’ seems to fly around a lot, and although he is tough, our little pink robot friend definitely stands a chance if she knows her stuff… His juggles are to be feared. Staple juggles cause around 73-81 damage, so not drastically more than our staples. But he has two things that put his juggles far above Alisa’s. For a start, he has CH juggles that can cause almost 100HP if he lands them! But the worst part: they have insane wall carry! Seriously, if you get launched, like, at all, you will almost certainly hit the wall, regardless of where the two of you were positioned. It doesn’t help that his wall combos are pretty brutal as well, leading to potentially upwards of 110HP on walled stages… from a single launcher! Also, watch out for taunt cancelling! Yes, his taunt actually has a use! It takes 28 frames to come out, but if he cancels it it’s a +17 frame advantage. That’s enough for a FREE LAUNCHER. And it’s unblockable. So keep your spacing up and interrupt that ****. Bryan has quite a few launchers available, but few of them are very reliable. One that you definitely SHOULDN’T fall for is df+3. Ludicrously slow and death on block. Get hit by that and really you kind of deserve to lose. As if all that wasn’t bad enough, he actually has decent tracking and poking tools as well. He has the standard jabbing tools, and a few pokes here and there that, though not exceptional, get the job done in pressuring safely. And sidestepping is potentially very perilous against him indeed… His low pokes are pretty good, but generally have quite short range; db+3, df+1 and df+4 out- space them. Overall, one of Alisa’s harder match-ups, but the important thing to remember is that HE’S NOT UNBEATABLE. You have to play it ultra safe though, since he has such good punishing tools with his launchers and wall carry. I mean, getting launched in general is bad, but getting launch by Bryan is horrid. If you see him try to use his launch, quickly interrupt him. And if at all possible go on infinite stages rather than walled ones. It makes life SO much easier against him… 6i) Christie Montiero/Eddy Gordo -------------------------------------- This seems to be the character that everyone and his mother hates. “OMG, I HATE CHREDDY! WHY MUST THEY KEEP SPAMMING KICK ATTACKS THAT I CAN’T BLOCK BECAUSE I SUCK?!?!” Yeah... That said, even at high levels Chreddy CAN be annoying. However, from a standing position they don’t have tons of safe pokes. They have some, but not many, so they’ll probably end up being quite predictable at any rate. Expect to see 1,2, 1+2 and df+1 for that purpose. They have good tracking abilities though, so sidestep with caution. They also have pretty good out of sidestep options as well: use 4 and df+3,3 to keep them in check. But they have lots and lots of options to try and trick you. They might be high crushing one minute, then low crushing the next, and using all varieties of kicks to trick you and launch you. Essentially, you have to try and guess what they’re going to do and punish accordingly. Backdashing is very helpful in this match-up, as it can give you some breathing space if they’re playing aggressively. One stance to watch out for is d+3+4 (the sitting stance). It crushes all highs and a lot of mids (even more so with Christie). Like other similar stances, sidestepping then db+3 is usually the answer, but be aware that they actually have decent tracking moves in that stance, so once again it’s a bit of a guessing game. Chreddy is a very unpredictable character if played right (i.e. not just spamming the kick buttons). But if you guess them right, they’re in for a world of hurt, put it that way! They need to remain unpredictable in order to survive. 6j) Craig Marduk -------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6k) Devil Jin --------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6l)Feng Wei ---------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6m) Ganryu ---------------------------------------- Ganryu has slowly evolved over the years, and has become a lot more than just a clone of Kuma and Jack with a stomp attack (hey, that rhymes!). They still bear (geddit?) some similarities, but not many… Ganryu, despite his physique, has some pretty decent (albeit limited) pokes up his sleeve. df+1,4,1 is fast and safe on block, same with f+2, and df+3 is a fast but short-ranged low, and fairly unsafe too. There’s also d+4, which is annoying. db+3 outdoes df+3 and d+4, and for df+1,4,1, you can sidestep and punish. There’s also the deceptive df+2+3, but that’s VERY punishable if you block it. He also has a sitting stance which crushes highs, but that doesn’t have too many options. A quick mid should counter that without too much trouble. Despite his jab being i11 rather than i10 like everyone else, from i13 onwards he has a very good punisher in ff+1+2. Before then it’s stuff like b+1,2 and 1,2 that does around 20HP, which isn’t much but is still best avoided. Try not to use moves worse than -12 too much. But his oki game near the wall is something to worry about. He gets d+2,2,2 for wall splats, and can rush you down terribly if he predicts you right. And if you get hit by f+1+2, that pushes you closer to the wall… Oh, and he also has a deceptive throw game. As well as the standard throws, he also has two 1+2 break throws, and also ff+2, with three different throws from which you have to correctly guess what break to use. Learn to identify these throws and break them, or you’re in for a lot of pain. All in all, Ganryu’s pokes are annoying, what with his good ranged d+4, but that’s why we have db+3. Sidestep his linear pokes, counter with your own pokes, all that sort of stuff you’re used to doing. And LEARN TO BREAK THOSE MIX-UP THROWS. 6n) Heihachi Mishima ---------------------------------------- Heihachi, as a whole, is a very tough character to fight. Yes, he’s been nerfed since Tekken 5. No, that does not mean he’s not still good. For a start, he has insane punishment. For a start, at -10, he has 1,1,2. It’s hit confirmable, 29 damage and wall splat/KND on hit. For -12, he can do f+1+2, and gets a free qcf+2 for 48 damage! Granted, it has very poor range, but if you mis-space a -12 move… Also, he gets a launch from -14 onwards if he can perform EWGF consistently. After blocking any low, he can counter with WS+4,4 for 33 damage, and after -16 he can get a launch. So you have to play it safe, that’s for sure, and don’t mis-space those db+3s! On top of that, he has great mids as well, arguably some of the best in the game. A lot of them track well, are safe and provide frame advantage on hit. Sometimes there’s even greater reward than that: df+1,2 is i13 and is HC, and it wall splats. f+3 is a bit slow but has great range, wall splats and is only -3 on block. b+4, his homing move, has solid range, is safe on block and wall splats, and it’s only i18. He even has an i12 interrupter as we do, and f+4, i19 mid that’s +8 on hit and +5 on block. Expect to be pressured by these a LOT: Heihachi has some ridiculous mids. At the very least he doesn’t have a launching hopkick, though his low crush moves are still quite hefty in the damage department… This mid prowess was evidently noticed because his lows are fortunately somewhat lacklustre. Hellsweep and FC df+4 are both options which track well to the left, and they can’t be blocked on reaction, but in the former’s case the reward isn’t too great: it doesn’t trip, and it can’t confirm into the next hit. The second one knocks down, but in both cases if they are blocked they’re so unsafe it’s ridiculous… He also has db+3, which is laughable compared to ours. It’s pretty similar, only minus a bit of range, make it launch punishable on block and -3 on hit. Db+2 could have been a big threat… if it weren’t blockable on reaction. All in all, Heihachi’s lows are not something you need to worry about too much. Heihachi is tough, but it’s less so if you spend most of the match standing rather than crouching. Sidestep to the right more so than the left: his tracking is weaker in that direction, especially with regard to his lows. The important thing to remember is that every mistake counts. You can’t risk a -10 move so freely as you might with, say, Asuka. Block low ONLY when necessary, or you’ll regret it soon enough. 6o) Hwoarang ----------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6p) Jack-6 ----------------------------------------- As far as Tekken 6 goes, Jack-6 is probably one of the more extreme ones, so to speak, in terms of his strengths and weaknesses. One of his best assets is db+1, especially FC db+1. Rivalling with our own db+3 for the title of “Tekken 6’s best low poke”, this move is almost unfair. OK, so its range is rather short, but close-up it is godly. It’s i12, for a start, yet provides 15 damage and +2 frame advantage on hit, and even if you do block it, it’s only WS+4 punishable. FC db+1 is worse: 18 damage and +9 frame advantage! And don’t even think about crouching on anticipation to deal with it: his mids are EASILY powerful enough to make you regret that decision. The best solution is to stay at mid-range as long as physically possible. It only hits you IF YOU’RE UP CLOSE. Jack-6’s punishment is rather odd. His -10 punishment is rather disappointing, in that it only does 18 damage. This means that you can, to an extent, ‘risk’ - 10 moves more often, though obviously 18 damage still adds up… From -11 his punishment instantly becomes very good: 2,1 at -11 grants 26 damage, at -13 he gets df+3+4 for 36, and from -15 he gets a free launch. -13 moves are really not recommended here at all, though, as said, -10 moves are less risky here. One important thing to note is that Jack’s sidestep is not good at all. Not only does it not cover much ground, but since Jack is huge anyway, it doesn’t help very much against otherwise ‘unreliable’ tracking moves. This makes tools like df+4 much more useful for catching any sidesteppers attempting to force whiffs. 6q) Jin Kazama ----------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6r) Julia Chang ----------------------------------------- Anyone else think that Julia looks a lot like Lara Croft? Oh, and she’s given up the hippy environmentalism. Yaaay! Unfortunately, Julia has tons of annoying stuff up her sleeve. For no particular reason, let’s start with Mad Axes, arguably the best throw in the game. It’s ten frames in start-up, has a 1+2 break and does pretty good damage. What really makes it effective is that they can buffer it out of all sorts of moves, which can easily catch you off guard. Obviously the best option is to learn to break it if you can, though doing so on reaction can be very difficult. Try learning the set-ups they use for the grab and escape it that way. And then there’s her juggle game, which overall is very stellar. She can get a juggle off of various things: df+2,1 is her standing launcher, uf+4,3 her low crushing hop kick (which is completely safe and has good range), a ‘magic’ 4 that launches you on counterhit (and is i11) and qcf+2. Her juggles without walls are good, but what you really need to watch out for are walls. Not only does she have good wall carry, but thanks to 1+2,4,1+2 and df+4, 2, b,f+1, she can do insane damage too. If you get launched on a walled stage, you risk taking 110HP or more! Unfortunately her poking game is pretty decent too. b+4 tracks well and is safe, she has df+1 to prevent people crouching, ff+1,4 to rush you down (and it’s also safe), all sorts of nasty tricks, but one last one you really need to watch out for is fff+1. It’s +7 ON BLOCK, meaning that if you try and attack you’ll get launched. It’s high, so you can crouch it, but if they bait a crouch from you and don’t actually do the attack you’ll get launched, and we know how bad that is against Julia… Her low pokes are limited, but very useful. d+3 for regular chip damage, but also 4~2,1, which has a fast low to begin with, an animation that doesn’t draw attention to itself and it can also wall splat! So it seems like Julia has everything, but she does have one weakness: a lot of her moves are very linear, including many of her pokes. So if you space outside of b+4 range and sidestep, she’ll have to resort to more unsafe and less rewarding moves to try and break through. df+1 and df+4 are absolutely vital here; use them. You really shouldn’t be crouching in front of Julia unless she’s just thrown out a low attack. If possible, low parry or low crush it instead. The risk of crouching is very great. If possible, PLAY ON INFINITE STAGES. I can’t stress that enough. I mean, would you rather take 80HP or 120HP damage from a juggle? If you do wind up on a walled stage, it’s still not unwinnable; it’s just very difficult because you can’t make ANY mistakes. Pretend that Julia is in Rage the whole match, and don’t let her rush you down. Evasiveness is key to beating her, and luckily Alisa has some of the best evasion in the game. So, happy sidestepping! 6s) Kazuya Mishima ----------------------------------------- The devil-infected head of G Corporation is still pretty powerful. And since Alisa serves Jin, he’s probably your greatest enemy canonically… if you care about the story, that is. One thing you need to know is that Kazuya is excellent at punishing mistakes. His EWGF juggles can easily do over 80HP damage if they learn them properly. That would be annoying in its own right, but to make things worse, his EWGF is i13. That’s right, 13 frame start-up for a launcher that can do over 80HP without walls. And it tracks left as well. This means that moves that are usually punishable with about 30HP are now launch punishable. Such moves include f+3, b+2,1, d+2,4 and ff+2,3. But even with moves that aren’t launch punishable he can punish you pretty well. He has an i10 punisher in 1,2,2 which does 31HP, and an i12 punisher in 2,2 for 38HP! This means you really, really have to play it safe. Take as few risks as possible. You can’t afford to make mistakes against Kazuya. Even without his punishers he’s pretty annoying to fight against. He has some pretty fast mix-ups with 1,2,4 and f,N,d,d/f+1,4, and ultimately you have to be on your toes the whole time to avoid being jabbed at. db+3 is useful as always, but use it too much and you’ll be eating a uf+4,4,4,4. That said, if they try and use that from a neutral position, just block the first hit and parry the second. Make sure to mix in df+1 and df+4 in there from time to time. Also, try baiting an EWGF or similar attack and follow up with a f+1+2 after backdashing. It works pretty well if you don’t abuse it. He has a bunch of other annoying moves as well. His db+3 is a bit like ours, except slightly slower and a little less ranged. He also has a ‘magic 4’ in b+4. It’s magic because it interrupts all sorts of things, has fast recovery and launches on CH. Also, if possible, try to avoid walled stages, since he has good wall carry and powerful combos, more so than we do. Long story short, you have to play ultra safe against Kazuya. Even small mistakes can bring about disaster with that EWGF of his. 1,2,2 and 2,2 cover punishment below that level, so really try not to use anything worse than -10 if possible (except db+3 obviously), and definitely nothing worse than -13. And learn to recognise his mix-ups and don’t sidestep too much. Backdashing is very helpful here; good poking is vital. He’s not unbeatable, but he’s bloody annoying. 6t) King ----------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6u) Kuma/Panda ----------------------------------------- A humanoid cyborg with chainsaws for arms up against a giant bear? Sure, why not? This is Tekken, after all. Just as a warning, Kuma isn’t garbage tier any more. They actually have some decent pokes, such as f+1,1,1, 2,1 and 1,2. They also have some decent kick attacks now, and a deceptive spinning sweep. Fortunately it’s quite short range and can usually be outspaced. It’s worth noting that Kuma doesn’t have very good mobility either, so use that to your advantage. He also has pretty good punishers against many of our moves that are -10 to - 13 on block, so you have to be very wary of any mistakes you might end up making. db+3 is still safe if you space properly though… Kuma also has some weird stances. He has a crawling stance where he crushes highs, and a number of low and mid pokes, and even a sub-stance where he rolls towards you. Aside from his low pokes, they’re usually quite easy to see coming. He also has sitting stance, but that’s really not very good at all. It’s worth noting that Kuma’s size affects gameplay a lot more so than most characters. For a start, his legs are really short. This means that after Bound, some B! enders that work on everyone else won’t work on him. Luckily ff+2,3 still works, but uf+3,2 and other enders aren’t too reliable. On the plus side, if you can get him towards a wall he’s pretty screwed, since he’s ****ing huge and gets hit by wall juggles that wouldn’t come close to working on anyone else. So work on wall carry! All in all, try to pick walled stages if you can, since that way you can possibly get huge wall combos. Otherwise, play it as safe as possible, take advantage of his poor mobility, and watch out for his usually fairly telegraphed but still usable stances. 6v) Lee Chaolan ----------------------------------------- Originally half-Law, half-Kazuya. Nowadays… 10% Law, 2% Kazuya and 88% original stuff… Lee is potentially one of the best characters in the game if you go about him the wrong way. Against some characters, you can keep attacking them and they’ll have no way to get you to back off. Not so with Lee; he’ll make you eat all sorts of counter hits and damaging punishers if you get too aggressive. You really don’t want to get launched by him either; his wall carry is absolutely insane! Don’t go attacking him too much if you don’t need too. Lee’s punishment is very odd, really. He has quite a lot of guaranteed damage after blocking attacks, but his most damaging options leave him at minus frames on hit. For instance, for -10 punishment he can use 1,2,2 (29HP, but -5 on hit), or he might choose to use 2,1 (only 21HP, but +6 on hit). He has similar issues regarding the difference between 4,3 and 4,4. WS punishment suffers this too: WS+3,3 is i10 and does 27HP, but is -9 on hit. Thus, if he does the most damage possible, you have free frame advantage. If he holds back… well, you have less damage, obviously. Lee’s biggest threats are people that can play defensively against him well. And what do you know, our character has the best backdash and the second-best sidestep! Lee’s lows are pretty poor in general; the fast ones do almost zero damage and are minus frames on hit, whilst many of the rest can be blocked or low parried on reaction. His bets low is probably db+3, but even that is -15 on block and +1 frame advantage. Ultimately, you want to try and force whiffs from him as much as you can; space yourself at max range and attack only when necessary. All in all, once you have a lead, you can often turtle him for the rest of the match. But don’t get aggressive, and above all else DON’T let him launch you, especially on walled stages. And don’t forget, if he does 1,2,2 or 4,3 for punishing… use that frame advantage wisely. 6w) Lei Wulong ----------------------------------------- The original stance-heavy character! This guy is crazy hard to learn properly, but is incredibly unpredictable if used right. Lei has about ten million stances he can use. Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. He has SEVEN stances, and more moves than normal when his back is turned to you and lying on the ground. Oki against him can be quite interesting, since if you’re not careful he can completely turn the tables by sweeping you to the floor or even launching you. The solution: don’t get too close. db+3 beats all of his options from the ground (except rolling to the right, but he can’t exactly do much to punish you afterwards). On the plus side, quite a few of these stances are not very safe at all. Tiger Stance, Crane Stance, Drunken Master and Phoenix Illusion lack moves that are both decent in start-up and safe on block. Most of them are safe on block, but they’re at least i17-18. This means that pitbulling can be very effective against them. Any move that you’d normally use to interrupt is good here: df+4, df+1,4 etc. Panther stance is also affected by this somewhat, but it has an i11, so can be used for interrupting quite well. Be aware that Tiger and Panther stance have high/mid parries at their disposal. His BT, Dragon and Snake stances are more annoying. Let’s start with BT. On the plus side, he can’t block (yay!). But he has a couple of pokes at his disposal. BT 1 is i10, safe on block, frame advantage on hit etc. BT d+1 is an i12 low that’s mostly safe on block AND allows a juggle. I say, MOSTLY safe because obviously he can’t block any attack you come up with. Anything i13 or slower he can turn around and block, and faster linear moves he can sidestep. db+3 often catches them off-guard. 4 works well too. Dragon stance is mostly unsafe, but has some good mix-up potential. After the initial 4, he can barrage you with mids, and you then have to guess whether he’ll do a low attack to finish or not. Oh, and all mid hits after the first are safe on block. Other than that, the other moves in that stance are pretty slow… Snake stance is the most annoying overall, as he has an i11 poking tool in 1,1,1,1,1, which is safe on block. 2,2 is annoying as well, but slightly less so. He also has a low kick which is i16, but it doesn’t do much and, whilst safe on block, provides a disadvantage on hit. All in all, Lei is all about mix-ups. The instant you successfully predict what he’s doing, he’s in a lot of trouble. His stances are useful, but not impenetrable, and you have to try and find their holes. Once you have, exploit them like hell! 6x) Lili Rochefort ----------------------------------------- Lili is all about somersaults, backflips and various other show-off moves, with some ballet throw in for elegance. The irritating thing about Lili is that she has about ten million different ways to start a juggle. Other than the standard df+2 and hopkick everyone has, she can also use df+3+4, or d+3+4, or ff+2 or db+4 etc. etc. And her juggles are pretty deadly too. Like Chreddy, Lili has lots of weird crushing moves as well, especially her somersaults, and also 3+4 which jumps so high she crushes almost every move in the game. You have to be very careful when attacking, because you’ll never know how she plans to launch you. Lili has a lot of moves in BT stance, like Xiaoyu, and these can be deadly for oki. BT 4,3+4 is good at catching out people who are predictable whilst getting up, as is BT d+3,4. Always mix up your tech rolls. Also, be aware that she can’t block when her back is turned, so try and space a launcher, though be aware of those weird crush properties once again. And if you’re near a wall you’re in a LOT of trouble… She doesn’t have many pokes, but they’re good enough to carry her through; nothing amazing, but they stop her being garbage. df+1 is the main one, a i13 mid with no disadvantage on block. It’s fairly short-ranged though. After her standard 1,2 jab she also has the chance to make you guess whether she’ll go for 3 (a low) or 4 (a mid) afterwards. And after 3, she can choose to stay in BT stance or follow up with 2,3 or 1. At short range she also has 1+2, which does 21HP, is i12 and wall splats well. She also lacks tracking moves, on both sides, meaning that your sidestepping is even more useful here. However, she has good mobility herself, so Alisa’s tracking problems come back to haunt her as well. Luckily, her low attacks aren’t very good. d+3 is unsafe on block and short- ranged, ff+4 is slow on start-up and short-ranged and db+4 is ridiculously slow and death on block. Her main low attacks will probably be standard d+4 (poor damage, minus frames on hit) or df+4,4 (easily telegraphed). This means you won’t need to crouch too much. Her b+3 and b+4 spins are annoying though. As well as evading linear attacks, they also crush lows, meaning that they can bait our db+3, at which point they can follow up with one of two attacks to punish. If you think they’re going to try doing this, 4, df+3,3 and b+3 are your friends. Lili is a slippery little devil, and she can walk over you given half a chance. But if you keep up your pokes, don’t let her get too close and counterattack her easily telegraphed lows, you’ll find that given half a chance you can walk over her too. 6y) Ling Xiaoyu ----------------------------------------- Xiaoyu is all about pokes and evasion. She has to try and overwhelm you with her fast but low damage attacks, whilst baiting whiffs and punishing wherever possible. But be careful! Her attacks may be low damage in their own right, but when you string them together they can be pretty deadly. Likewise, she can still pull off damaging juggles; it just takes more hits than normal. Her bread and butter pokes are 1,2, 1,d+2, df+2, 2,1, df+1, df+4 and several others. They’re generally quite short range, easily more so than db+3 and f+1+2, so bait those pokes and punish them. Be very cautious about using any attacks at all, because she has good mobility and evasion tools to incite whiffs like anybody’s business. Add in that her tracking is pretty solid on both sides and you’ll have to be playing a very safe game indeed. Xiaoyu also has an annoying stance know as Phoenix, d+1+2. It crouches very low down, crushing all highs and a lot of mids, and she even has an option to crouch lower still and crush all mids bar ground-hitting ones. It’s then a guessing game as to which way she goes. Will it be mid or low? Quick short range or slower long range? Low crush or high crush? Your best option is to try and sidestep ASAP, then use db+4 or db+3. If you’re close by, she might be able to hit you before you get that chance though. She also has RDS stance (i.e. her back is turned to you), which is very risky for both sides. She has some solid damage attacks in there, a roll that crushes highs and can be followed by with a launcher, and various pokes. But there’s one important thing to remember: in RDS stance, XIAOYU CAN’T BLOCK. Plus she can’t move backwards either (though she can sidestep). This means that you can potentially overwhelm her with pokes before she has a chance to hit you, unless she evades it first. Really, it’s a guessing game on both sides, because a minor mistake on both sides leads to a launcher. All in all, you have to play Xiaoyu very safe indeed. You’ll be wanting to use db+3 even more than normal, though be aware that she has various crush moves to punish spammed pokes. Whoever makes the first mistake will probably end up losing the round. 6z) Marshall Law ----------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6aa) Miguel ----------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6ab) Nina Williams ----------------------------------------- Nina is a real femme fatale, she has some of everything. Good pokes, good juggles, evasion and decent punishers. Her pokes are very annoying indeed. Like Anna, she has df+1,2, df+3,2 and d+4,1 at her disposal. The latter two can be followed up by a sidestep, where she can potentially launch you! Regarding d+4,1, you can duck and d+4 even if the first hit connects, and if they try the second hit they will be impacted. As for the others, sidestep at appropriate moments, or try and outspace them with db+3. Nina’s tracking is pretty good overall, but the left side is slightly weaker overall. You also have to play a guessing game regarding her strings. Like 1,4. The third hit afterwards is never guaranteed, but you have to guess whether they’ll go mid, low, or whether they’ll just not attack. Likewise, after d+3,4 she can follow up with a mid kick to catch crouchers, so always be on your toes. Nina’s launchers are quite diverse as well. She has a standard i15 df+2, but also a SS+2, and CH launchers like f+3, which is a fast poke otherwise. She has good punishing tools overall, so don’t take small mistakes lightly. If possible, go for infinite stages, because expert Ninas have insane wall carry thanks to iWS+1. They also have a great B! move in 1+4, and can punish wall splats well, with uf+3 to finish them off. Nina also has several chain throws: learn how to escape from these just in case they start using them. Overall, Nina is tough, but not unbeatable. You have to try and out-poke her, basically, and play a lot safer. Mistakes against her are even more costly than normal, though life is made a lot easier if you’re not on a walled stage. 6ac) Paul Phoenix ----------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6ad) Raven ----------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6ae) Roger Jr. ----------------------------------------- Devils, robots and bears not good enough for you? Then how about a joey/mother kangaroo duo? Good enough for you yet? His high/mid pokes are pretty decent overall, about the same level as ours, perhaps not quite as good. 1,2, 2,1, 1+2 etc. all works pretty well for him, so you have to try and space as well as you can in the poking contest. His low pokes are pretty annoying though (d+2 and db+3). For some reason they can’t be parried. In db+3’s case you can get WS+1,2 anyway, which isn’t as good as low parry but still OK, but with d+2 the best you can get is WS+4. Just deal with the fact you can’t punish it as bad… Like King and Armor King, Roger Jr. has quite a few throws at his disposal. Not so many chain throws, mind you, but the solution is much the same: learn the throw breaks. The only ones you can’t escape are df+3+4 (which you can block anyway) and their standard back throw. DDT is annoying, since it’s a 1+2 throw break, but ultimately, the frame window for breaking throws is a lot bigger than it seems, so practice, practice, practice. They also have a couple of stances they can utilise. There’s Rocket Stance, which looks quite volatile, but can be deadly. It shifts their hurtbox slightly, meaning that it might end up enforcing a whiff when otherwise it would hit, and then they can punish bad with a solid damage move. Otherwise, there’s one mid poke in ROCKET 4, and one low poke in ROCKET 3. Parry the low if possible, and try to block any other hits. Not always easy, but that’s Tekken for you. Animal Kick stance, after db+4 is VERY limited. They can only do mid hits, making it super easy to block. If they try to side roll, go for db+4 or d+3+4. If they back roll, ff+2,3 for wall carry. Roger Jr. has a lot of things to worry opponents with, regarding their powerful throw game, frustrating pokes and mix-ups. But, as said, their stances aren’t too safe, and their throws can be escaped. As for their unparriable lows… yeah, you’re just going to have to live with that. Of course, if they try it too much you can just uf+4,4 them… 6af) Sergei Dragunov ----------------------------------------- COMING SOON! 6ag) Steve Fox ----------------------------------------- Hey, a boxer! Wait! He’s using his feet to fight as well? Cheater! Steve has a lot of things going for him, but to start with I’ll tell you a key weakness. Steve’s launchers are not good at all, some of the worst in the game. His fastest launcher from a standing or WS position is i19, unless he manages to get a CH. Those extra few frames DO make a difference. However, he has pretty solid punishers below -15 compared to everyone else. His jab punisher does OK damage (23HP) and also sets him up into his flicker stance (more on that later), and he has an i13 that does 28 damage. His WS punishment is also pretty stellar. At -11, most characters only get WS+4, right? Well, he gets WS+1,2, which does 35 damage! That means that if you mis-space your db+3, they’re going to make you regret it. He has a lot of good pressures and mix-ups as well. He has lots of jab combos with many hits, so you have to be careful not to let your guard down too early. He has safe pokes, safe tracking moves and all that stuff. If he tries to abuse these jab combos, backdash cancel is your friend. His lows are… not amazing, but good enough to be irritating. He has fairly fast but short-ranged low pokes in the form of d+1 and db+3. In the latter’s case, he can follow up with a quick punch that knocks you down. Don’t get too close up, since db+3 outspeeds all our lows from a standing position. He also has a jumping variant, uf+3, that provides insane hit advantage. Fortunately you can see that one coming a mile away. Low parry these if you see them. He can also tack low attacks onto the ends of strings, but you can usually see these coming and have time to block or parry them. He also has various feints as well. Being a boxer, he doesn’t use too many kick attacks, so the kick buttons become feints. These are excellent at forcing whiffs if you simply attacks blindly. Many moves also transition into these stances, so try and figure out the patterns the player in question is using. His weaving with 3 and 4 is irritating, since it crushes highs and can dodge various attacks. A well-spaced b+3 is ideal, otherwise use df+4 or df+3. He also has b+3 and b+4, which also crushes highs and he can counter with a launch. Although he doesn’t get launches too often, when he does they’re very damaging, so don’t let your guard down. Another main stance is his flicker stance, which doesn’t crush anything. He’ll likely use this after hitting you with a jab and use the frame advantage to mindgame you. These stances can be pretty damaging, but the only one which has low options is 3+4, Albatross spin. This means that you can easily block any follow-ups otherwise, so long as you don’t get caught up in the rush and pull out a high attack. Steve relies on forcing whiffs and jab pressuring to excel. 1,2 becomes very dangerous here, and being on the defensive works to your advantage. Sidestepping has diminished effectiveness, so backdashing is a must if you want to succeed. Don’t let him catch you up in any of those stances, and if you get launched and hit a wall… there will be blood, and it won’t be his. 6ah) Wang Jinrei ----------------------------------------- This guy has two things going for him. First, it’s pretty impressive that he can still fight when he’s 105 years old. Second, few people play as him, leading to a lack of MU experience most of the time. First of all, it’s worth noting that his juggling game isn’t all that great. His main launcher is i15, like most, but his juggles only tend to do around 60HP without walls. The only exception is if he lands d+1+2 or f+1+4, but then, the former should only happen on whiffs, and the latter not at all. 60HP is still pretty hefty, but not quite as much as most character’s juggles. They also aren’t as good at carrying people to the wall, because they involve fewer hits… At lower levels of punishing, however, he’s surprisingly stellar. For -10 or worse, he can punish with 2,3, which does 28HP, and unlike our 10f punisher, the last hit is mid, making ducking out of the question… Wang has quite a few mix-up strings as well. After an i11 standing 4, he can quickly transition into a low kick, and then you have to guess whether he’ll go for another low or for a mid launcher. If possible, try to parry the low kick to avoid this guessing game. He also has a rather deceptive WS+2,2,2, which does hefty damage and has a low at the end that looks like a mid. At -13 or worse, he can punish with WS+1,1, which is quite damaging. His pokes can be annoying too. He has a new db+2,4 series, b+2,1, 1,4, etc. These can all be blocked fairly easily, but you can’t really punish them, so he has a lot of ways to pile on pressure. His lows aren’t too great however. He mainly has SS+3, df+3, db+3 and the d+4 series. The first two are lacking in range somewhat, the third does poor damage and is very unsafe on block (can be punished by WS+2!) and as for the fourth… annoying, but slow enough to low parry without too much trouble with practice. If you get hit by it… try and guess their patterns regarding what follow-up they choose. All in all, Wang is very annoying if you don’t have much practice against him, what with all his pressure tools and mix-ups, but outside of his 4,4 antics and his pokes, you can usually find some sort of opening to exploit in some way. db+3 is best if you can space it really well, since then he can’t low crush you with uf+4 right. Sure, it won’t hit, but you won’t get launched. Stay on your guard at all times, and don’t underestimate the power of -10 to him. 6ai) Yoshimitsu ----------------------------------------- How is it that someone who wields a sword in hand-to-hand combat can’t win a tournament? He should be able to kill everyone with ease, but he never does. Talk about pathetic… Yoshi got nerfed pretty badly in this game, but if you let your guard down he can walk all over you. He’s very unpredictable if he plays it right. He has a stance where he rests on his sword and crushes lows, a sitting stance where he crushes highs, a back-turned stance, flying stance, and even a stance with no sword! In order, here’s what you have to do: quick mid, quick mid/low, launcher, sidestep and launch, play normally. See, if you know what to expect it’s very easy to deal with, but if you don’t you’re screwed. For instance, in those sitting and back-turned stances (too many to learn their proper names! lol), he can recover health. And at any moment he can transition into a teleport or an attack. No sword stance isn’t usually a threat since he leaves himself vulnerable as he transitions to it, and ultimately he ends up with less options rather than more. Overall, keep your cool and you should be OK. One good thing is that he doesn’t have very many fast pokes. He relies on slow start-up but safe on block moves, meaning that if you’re on the defensive you could be at a disadvantage. Therefore, what you need to do is try and pile as much pressure on as possible. Yoshimitsu lacks effective tools for dealing with pitbullers, and thus you can just keep poking him and usually you’ll come out on top. 1+4 could, in theory, pose a problem, because it’s i6 and could be great at interrupting, but since its range is so pathetically small you’re unlikely to have many problems with it. He also lacks safe lows as well. Long story short, Yoshimitsu relies on being unpredictable to win. If you don’t know his stances, what he can do out of them and all that, he can potentially walk all over you. But if you can correctly predict what he’s doing, he’s in a lot of trouble, since his poking and defensive game is ultimately quite poor. Also, it’s worth knowing what can transition into what, and in particular his no sword stance lacks transitions. 6aj) Zafina ----------------------------------------- Zafina is a very confusing character, with three stances and some very odd looking moves that even experienced contortionists would struggle to do. That said, it’s all style and no substance, as Zafina is one of Alisa’s easiest match-ups. Zafina’s main advantage is that she can seriously mess with your head. She has tons of moves that low/high crush when it looks like they shouldn’t, and some odd stances to keep you guessing. But once you get past that, you realise her fatal flaw: she’s stupidly unsafe. Zafina has very few effective pokes and options, because many of them are unsafe on block (or even have minus frames on hit!) What this basically means is that if you turtle a lot (play defensive), there’s not a huge amount she can do. Zafina has great mobility, like we do, but unlike us she can’t utilise that to her advantage as much. Almost every move when blocked can be countered with 1,1, or df+1,4 or even a launcher. That said, she has a lot of annoying lows if you’re not use to them, such as b+1+2. You should be able to deal with them after some practice. Dealing with her stances is fairly easy. In SCR, she can’t block at all, and the sidestep is quite poor, so space yourself and use db+3 or f+1+2 to knock her straight out. In MNT, she can block mids and crush highs, but is defenceless to lows. TRT is a similar story, except in that stance she can’t move backwards or sidestep at all, so simple move to the side and low kick. In fact, Zafina’s tracking in general isn’t great, so use that to your advantage. Overall, Zafina is based around mindgames and weird moves. If you can get yourself accustomed to these and start punishing her a lot, you’ll find this is a lot easier to win than other MUs. 7) Juggles ------------------------------------- Like it or lump it, juggles are a big part of Tekken 6. Sure, against good players you shouldn't be launching them more than once or twice a match, but a good juggle can take off a good 1/3 of your opponent's health, and even more if you manage to carry them to a wall. And if you're in Rage mode as well... wow. Juggles are well worth learning, so here are some strings, bound moves and bound enders to know. Bound Moves: Moves that Bound (represented by B!) cause your opponent to be smashed into the ground and lifted back into the air, allowing the juggle to be continued. These are very important, so learn them carefully. Here are some of Alisa's more useful bound moves: b+4,3 - This is Alisa's most useful bound move overall. It does solid damage, pretty good range, and also it isn't too slow either. Expect to use this bound move the most. b+2,1 - Alisa's second best bound move. It doesn't do as much damage as b+4,3 so in most cases you're better off using that, but on some occasions b+2,1 will hit when b+4,3 won't due to it's strange angle. It's also slightly faster to connect with. 1+2 - Only use this if your opponent has hit a wall. It's much too slow to bound under other circumstances. In fact, against the wall b+4,3 does more damage. So this isn't actually all that useful, but it's worth knowing all your options I guess. uf+4,4 - This one is interesting. You can use this after a launcher if you want to, but really its horizontal range isn't that great, so it will probably whiff. Instead, you're supposed to use the first upwards kick to launch opponents into the air, and THEN you use the second kick to bound them. So basically you're putting them straight into bound without any of the juggle filler a la low parries. This allows for bound enders that you would not connect with otherwise. It's risky, but it crushes lows, and has a high reward. b+3+4,3+4 - An extremly risky, extremely damaging version of uf+4,4. df+2, b+1, WS 1,2, f+1, b+4,3 B! ff+2,3 (or uf+3,2) (72 damage) Alisa's main staple juggle from df+2. If you have trouble landing f+1, b+4,3, then you can substitute that for b+2,1 instead (bear in mind this does 67HP rather than 72). Also, you can use uf+3,2 as a bound ender if you want oki rather than wall carry. You can use this juggle after 1+2 or BOOT 4 as well, though realistically you're more likely to land df+2 than either of those. Regarding the B! ender, ff+2,3 is if you want wall carry and uf+3,2 is if you want a good oki position. I often go for ff+2,3 personally, but it’s up to you. WS+2, 3+4, BOOT 1,2,1,3+4 (56 damage) Does slightly more if you hit the wall during this time. Simple juggle, solid damage. If you want more than that… WS+2, 3+4, BOOT 3, WS+4, b+2,1, ff+2,3 (75 damage) The BOOT 3 part is very hard to time right. The hitbox stays out for a little while, and you have to make it so that it sticks out and your opponent lands ON TOP OF IT. If you can do this consistently, the more power to you. uf+4,4 B! f+2, f+1,1, d+4, 1+2 (57 damage) If you can't do that, then here's an easier alternative: uf+4,4 B! f+2, f+1, f+2, d+4, 1+2 (54 damage) ff+1+2, d+1, WS 1,2, f+1, b+4,3 B! ff+2,3 (73 damage) Similar to her df+2 staple, except more difficult (mainly the d+1 part) and also you're less likely to land ff+1+2 than df+2. b+3+4,3+4 B! b+1, WS 1,2, d+4, 1+2 (76 damage) See what I mean about it being an extremely risky but highly rewarding move? BOOT 4, d, WS+1+2 (full charge), WS+1,2, f+1, b+4,3 B! ff+2,3 (90 damage) This is Alisa’s best juggle from BOOT 4. If you can’t pull this off then use her df+2 staple (84 damage). 8) Conclusion Well, the guide is at its end. I hope you found it useful. There may be some problems that you've spotted, like typos or critical omissions or anything like that. This guide is by no means set in stone. Expect updates later to make it better. If you think that there's something I should add to the guide, email me at: mcihardy@yahoo.co.uk I will give you credit for any suggestions you make that end up in the guide. Now what are you waiting for? Get out there and kick some butt with Alisa! :)