How do (Just) Inputs Work?

Question

While browsing through the move lists for some of the characters, I've noticed some of them have the term (just) in with their button combinations. After a bit of searching online, I found them being referred to as 'J frames'.

I don't think I've been able to do a single one of these yet. How do J Frames work?

Asked by GnomeSlice

Answer

Just inputs, also known as just frames and all those things you said above, work mostly the same way as normal moves. The difference is that they requires a very precise timing in order for the move to come out as advertised. Most of these also make your character glow white upon successful execution so that you know you did it right.

The game runs at 60 frames per second, and most just inputs have a 3-frame window or less for successful input. This means that you have one twentieth of a second or less to put this input in. The exact window is dependent on the specific move in question.

Mashing the button as fast as you can is not a viable strategy for just input. This is a finesse mechanic, and not a brute force mechanic, and while I'm not 100% sure of how the engine handles mashing just inputs to keep them ineffective, I am 100% sure that it is not a reliable way to get these to work.

As for strategies on how to learn these inputs, keep trying different timings until you get it right. Once you do, you have to learn the rhythm of the move. Most just inputs are followups to other moves you can use, and thus inherently give you a basis to time your attack off of. Each just input has a different rhythm, but if you practice one enough you can get surprisingly reliable at it.

Answered by StrixVaria

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How can Voldo safely close distance against Hilde?

Question

Against Hilde, who has an extremely long spear that she likes to stab you with from across the level, I've been having trouble getting in close enough to deal damage.

Against many players, 236A+B is a solid choice because it is a long-ranged low, but skilled players can block this on reaction and punish you pretty hard for it, not to mention that Hilde keeps you so far away that even this probably would come short anyway.

The crouching 3[A+B] is easily sidestepped, and leaves you just as open.

Are all Voldo's long-range moves like this unsafe? I know throwing out random moves in general is not a good practice, but is there some string of attacks that will safely close distance? Does Voldo have a move with a secondary Guard Impact effect that will counter Hilde's long-range thrusts?

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

You simply cannot whiff moves against Hilde.

If she's not charging her A (charging B), advancing and then sidestepping is very strong, and if you feel like she's not charging her B (charging A), use a medium range poke if you have one. I'm not familiar with Voldo so I can't give you matchup specific knowledge, but that's my experience as a Hilde player.

Alternatively, baiting her C3B with a whiff with fast recovery and then using a Guard Impact to go through it will leave you with plenty of advantage.

Answered by Decency

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What exactly is a “clean hit”?

Question

Every once in a while I will get a "clean hit" message. I was wondering what specifically causes this, as I have managed to do it without even hitting my opponent. Does it cause any extra damage?

Asked by Maxx

Answer

Best I can tell, it's just a "Critical Hit" as most games would call it, a small random chance of extra damage. Apparently certain moves for each character have a chance of getting a clean hit, not all attacks.

From Penny Arcade's Forum (emphasis mine):

A clean hit is a completely random damage boost that can proc on 3 or 4 different moves for each character. These were said to be "signature" moves, ones that they would focus on and probably use a lot. Siegfried's 3b is a clean hit move, for example. There are also some weird ones like Pyrrha's b throw. It's a 20% damage boost and there's currently no way to predict or control it. As Daishi explained it the purpose was to give new players both a guiding light and a better chance to compete. Generally the amount of clean hits will average out for every player over time, but in a smaller setting it has the potential to be very random.

PROC is short for "Programmed Random OCurance".

Corroborating is this answer on gaming.SE:

Clean hits are apparently a pseudo-random chance of getting improved damage. There are some attacks that can increase this chance, and just inputs are said to slightly increase the chance of a clean hit.

Answered by Ben Brocka

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Tira's mood changes: Is there random chance involved in whether the switch occurs

Question

I've been playing as Tira and I've noticed that changing her mood doesn't always work. For the most part it almost seems random. Is it based on any factors? I also noticed that after several A+B mood changes she seems to get a headache. Does this affect anything?

Asked by Maxx

Answer

Tira's stance changes are random, in the sense that there is not a dedicated combination to change her stances. They are not completely random; certain attacks and combos have a higher or lower chance of changing her stance, and she has a chance to change stance when taking damage.

From 8wayrun (combos changed by me for readability):

It's still random when people are beating you up. Compared to SCIV, Tira stays in Gloomy Stance much longer in SCV. There are ways to to get out of Jolly Stance reliably.

• 100% Mood switch - JS 236236ABK, JS 66B~BE, 236K~BE, whiff [A+B], A+B
• High mood switch - 666B (and 666B~BE), K+G
• Medium - UD A
• Low - whiff A+B, 4K, 66B (I think)

It seems her A+B is often used; on a whiff (miss), it's got a pretty low chance, but on a hit, it's a very high chance.

Answered by Ian Pugsley

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Can armor break more than once per match?

Question

Is it possible to break your opponent's armor more than once per match?

Asked by Maxx

Answer

No. After your armor breaks in a round, it does not come back for the next round. Also, your character has an armored and unarmored state, with no third. In IV, you could break off specific pieces, but the whole of armor breaks this time so, again, no second or third armor break.

See this video (and description) for more info about equipment destruction in the game.

Answered by Ktash

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Global Colosseum: What's the difference between tournament and random match?

Question

I tried out the tournament feature for the first time last night and it wasn't really what I expected. There was no ladder, no indication of where in the tournament you are or what the context of the "tournament" is.

The tournament had 17 people at the time. I won 5 matches, but was still prompted to search for the next battle. Really, I don't see any difference between this and a random match.

Can anyone fill me in on the difference between the two?

Asked by Maxx

Answer

In tournament play, it will register how many wins you get during the period of validity of the tournament (displayed on the popup when you hover it). You can then compete with other players in the leaderboard.

Random matches are more casual. It will track your total win ratio but nothing more.

Answered by Zelgadis

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How do I Turn Yoshimitsu Around?

Question

I've scrolled through the entirely of Yoshimitsu's moves list, but I guess I've missed something because I absolutely cannot figure out how to turn him around so that he's facing away from his opponent. The only consistent method I've found of doing this is to do the deathcopter move and fly over the opponent, but it's not very practical.

Asked by GnomeSlice

Answer

Here are a few basic, reliable ways to turn Yoshimitsu around so his back is facing the enemy:

66B+K (i.e. while running forward, hit B+K) will do a leaping somersault and end up with your back turned.

66A+K (i.e. while running forward, hit A+K) will turn you around and do nothing else. Make sure you don't hold A+K too long, though, or you'll stab yourself through the stomach, committing seppuku.

Answered by StrixVaria

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What is the significance of the recommended height of a custom fighter?

Question

When customizing a fighter in Soul Calibur 5, upon choosing your preferred weapon (or soul), the next prompt is for the height of your character. There are 5 choices, and one of them is selected by default and marked with a star. This default height is different for different weapons, and the text claims something about that being the "optimal" height for fighters of that weapon.

What does this mean? What does height affect, gameplay wise? What downsides are there for picking a height other than the recommended one?

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

Bigger characters have a longer reach and less power. Smaller characters have shorter reach and more power. The optimal setting is the size of the character who uses that specific fighting style. (i.e. if you create a character with Voldo's style and choose the optimal height, that character would have the same reach and power as Voldo in arcade mode.)

Answered by Sharnaff

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How can Astaroth get his opponents out of his face?

Question

Astaroth is a long-range fighter. He has long windups, sweeping attacks, and tons of options if your opponent gives you space to work.

Unfortunately, most opponents know this, and don't give you space to work. They get right up in your face and just keep up the pressure, and as Astaroth, I don't know what to do but keep blocking and hope they get tired of pressing buttons.

In Soul Calibur 4, his 6K was a really fast, reliable option to get out of these tight spots, but it seems they've slowed this move's startup down considerably. Throws are too slow and are usually ducked or interrupted.

How does Astaroth get his opponent away from him so he can breathe and start annihilating?

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

How to Use 6K

First off - his 6K has been slowed slightly, yes. It's still an alright interrupt as far as speed goes, but it isn't safe, and it isn't great for moving your opponent (unless it's a CH¹). It is very good for ringouts if it is a CH, however. Take advantage of it if you manage to back someone up to an edge or if someone's close and starting something slow (to guarantee a CH unless they cancel). If somebody does seem like they're eating these, take advantage with a 44B (combo), or 6K into 1A.A (tech trap, I believe).

Actually Zoning

My preferences for for zoning (and a bit for punishing people at close range without actually zoning) are as follows:

• Crouch throws

  You mention throws being too slow, getting ducked, and interrupted. Astaroth's throws are actually fairly quick - if you initiate one after a block, it'll be pretty hard to interrupt. As for ducking, after a throw or too they'll probably try to duck (especially if you keep heaving on horizontals), which let you use Astaroth's even-better crouch throws. Alternatively, you can set up a good crouch throw off of a few moves.

  Setting up Crouch Throws

  • As far as distancing recommendations, one of my favorites is his 3K.A - it's a quick mid kick, followed by a fairly wide horizontal. It's not the best, though - the horizontal is pretty easily to duck.
  • Another good one is 6A - probably his best interrupt at close range. You get a second hit with 6A.A, and the second is a crouch throw setup on CH. However, it too suffers from the second hit being duckable.
  • I like 4A a lot at mid-range (it's slower) to build distance - on CH it's that same crouch throw setup.
  • Lastly, at midrange with their back turned, B+K sets up a crouch throw.
    
    

  Ruining Their Day with Crouch Throws

  Your options are 2A+G or 2B+G - both have BE² to take advantage of. Either do a pretty decent job distancing you from your opponent, ending with you at medium range with them on the ground.

• Command throw

  Astaroth's command throw 63214B+G (where he hurls the opponent straight up) is great for building distance if you follow it up with 22B or 88B. If you want to get real scary, use the 22B~BE or 88B~BE that knocks them up in the air again, so that you can follow up with a second 22B or 88B, 44B, or the A+G air throw. You're using his command throw as a launcher which lets you land things that you usually wouldn't be able to get away with at close range like that.

• Low attacks and quick interrupts

  Low Attacks

  • It doesn't build distance well, but 2K is great for quick pokes, and transitions well into his crouching 3K bull rush.
  • For ringouts and to make them afraid of horizontals, 1K.A is nice. Another quick first hit (this one's low) with duckable second, but it's very hurtful and distancing if the second hit is a CH. 1K by itself can be used interestingly as a low hit that leaves you crouching (ready for a bull rush, for when they duck the horizontal they think is coming).
    
    

  Quick Interrupts

  • Everybody loves 4B after they get used to it. It doesn't feel like you have advantage on hit, but try bull rushing or another 4B - it's weird, but it works.
  • 1B.B is great - it's quick, and on a CH you end up tossing them away from you. Makes for some hilarious ringouts, and could actually get you some okay distance on a CH.
  • Don't forget 6A and 6A.A, mentioned above.
    
    

• Bull Rush

  Astaroth's bull rush in this is insane. People literally eschewing his CE³ in favor of his 66K~BE - this particular attack provides a shield of some kind between the first and second hits. For any non-strong attack (which is most attacks they could pull off between the two hits), you'll see Astaroth flash red, and the attack will do nothing. It usually guarantees a second it if they try to attack, so mixing up the normal 66K and the BE is great. Plus, 66[K] (holding K) lets you mess with their timing, and if you hit with the fully held version it's a launch (if they're close).
  
  

_{Footnotes:
[1]: CH = Counter Hit
[2]: BE = Brave Edge, performed with A+B+K
[3]: CE = Critical Edge}

Answered by Ian Pugsley

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Do counters, clean hits and other similar attributes modify damage?

Question

Soul Calibur V seems to be much more mindful of specific types of hits than previous versions. I was wondering how these new hit attributes modified damage.

1. Do clean hits, 8way run counters, regular counters, etc modify the damage done to the opponent?

2. Do hits from the back, or hitting someone in the head modify the damage?

3. Do the damage properties stack? Does a clean hit counter do more damage than a clean hit or a counter individually? What is the most stacking that can happen on a single move? Can hit attributes be stacked with additional damage done as a result of hitting your opponent in the back?

Asked by Maxx

Answer

As far as damage by position and type of counter, in general, Normal < Side < Back for position and Normal < Run Counter (Side) < Run Counter (Back) <= Attack Counter for counters. Tested with Astaroth's fully charged 44[B]:

• Normal hit: 65
• Side hit: 68
• Back hit: 71
• Normal hit attack counter: 78
• Side hit attack counter: 81
• Back hit attack counter: 85
• Normal hit run counter (side): 71
• Side hit run counter (side): 75
• Back hit run counter (side): 78
• Normal hit run counter (back): 78
• Side hit run counter (back): 81
• Back hit run counter (back): 85

Clean hit versions not included, as I have yet to find a way to make the system grant clean hit damage automatically (the way you can set counter damage).

Attacks that hit someone in the head (highs) don't do more damage specifically, as far as I can tell. I have yet to find a character with an attack that can be either high or mid, though.

Just inputs (inputting an attack using the fastest/perfect timing) will also increase damage slightly. This is separate from a clean hit.

Clean hits are apparently a pseudo-random chance of getting improved damage. There are some attacks that can increase this chance, and just inputs are said to slightly increase the chance of a clean hit.

Any of the individual elements stack (just input, clean hit, position, and counter), which makes a just input clean hit attack counter back hit likely the highest damage for any individual attack. How exactly they combine (i.e. is the whole greater than the sum of it's parts) remains to be seen.

Answered by Ian Pugsley

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What is the timing of Yoshimitsu's K attack from Super Dragonfly?

Question

While in the Super Dragonfly stance (spinning his sword like a helicopter far overhead), Yoshimitsu has an attack that is listed in the movelist as KK. All this does is the same thing as the normal K attack, except that he doesn't damage himself at the end and stays on his feet. This is much more useful than the standard version.

The problem is, I have no clue how to execute it. If I mash K as fast as I can, he always falls. The 2 or 3 times (out of 100 attempts in training mode) I've actually gotten this command to execute properly, I couldn't emulate it immediately afterwards.

What is the timing for the second press of K? There is also a just version of this attack as well, but I would be fine just being able to consistently execute the normal version without damaging myself.

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

The proper time to hit the second K is slightly before his feet are about to hit the ground (but definitely before his feet hit the ground).

Doing this was particularly difficult if I was trying to perform it off to the side of an enemy - I actually found it much more reliable to practice this as part of a combo. I suspect this is due to the zoomed-out camera shake when you have distance and are moving quickly vertically.

I'd recommend getting close to an enemy, using his 1B launcher, his 8A into Super Dragonfly, then immediately hit K for the kick. You'll come down and hit your opponent; try and time it so that you hit the second K right as you make contact with your opponent. This will allow you to get a feel for exactly when it should be hit.

Answered by Ian Pugsley

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Weapon clash: Is it possible to knock bullets out of the air with an attack?

Question

I know that you can't just guard projectiles, but is it possible to slice a bullet in half using a regular attack?

EDIT: Despite what the manual says, you CAN just guard projectiles such as bullets and arrows.

Asked by Maxx

Answer

Yes, it is possible to deflect bullets using a regular attack. The result is the same as a weapon clash for the person being shot at.

I just confirmed this in training using Mitsurugi and Ezio's B+K unblockable shot from a great distance. Deflecting bullets works with either A or B, but not K (understandably). I think it generally follows the same rules as weapon clash.

What's interesting is that despite what it says in the manual, just guard can be used to block bullets as well.

Answered by Maxx

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What's the maximum player level?

Question

There is an achievement/trophy for getting to "the maximum player level" (unspecified in the text of said achievement/trophy).

In researching, I found the highest unlock comes at player level 53 (the joke weapons). Is that the highest player level? If not, what is?

Asked by Ian Pugsley

Answer

The highest player level achievable is actually 99. As much of a pain as that is, I guess Namco/Bandai really really want you play this game to death.

Answered by Kotsu

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How do I properly execute Manji Carve Fist?

Question

I am referring to a move with Yoshimitsu, seen below:

While seemingly a simple move to input, I can never seem to get this move off, no matter how hard I try. Seeing how it is an extremely fast attack that is very useful in the competitive scene, I would love to learn the proper timing so I can pull these off with ease.

Asked by Kotsu

Answer

The input for this move has to be executed extremely fast. If you messed it up, it's because you were too slow. I'm talking consecutive frames fast.

The best way to practice this is to crouch and just put in the aB as fast as you can. This way you eliminate any motion on the joystick and learn just how fast the button press has to be.

The only way I can perform this move consistently is to place my thumb on one side of the A button, then slide it as fast as I can across the controller, hitting A and B in succession in the process. It's fast, and even that's not reliable. Remember that you must release A before hitting B for this to work. If the game registers that B is pressed while A is still held, the input will fail.

Strategically, unless you plan on going to high-end tournaments, I don't think this should be a move you add to your arsenal. The input timing is just too strict and the move is physically difficult to execute. You're probably better off looking for another quick Yoshimitsu move. On the other hand, tournament players consider this one of Yoshimitsu's bread and butter moves, so if you really want to get to the top of your game, prepare to spend quite a while mastering this.

Answered by StrixVaria

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Is it possible to knock bullets out of the air with an attack?

Question

I know that you can't just guard projectiles, but is it possible to slice a bullet in half using a regular attack?

EDIT: Despite what the manual says, you CAN just guard projectiles such as bullets and arrows.

Asked by Maxx

Answer

Yes, it is possible to deflect bullets using a regular attack. The result is the same as a weapon clash for the person being shot at.

I just confirmed this in training using Mitsurugi and Ezio's B+K unblockable shot from a great distance. Deflecting bullets works with either A or B, but not K (understandably). I think it generally follows the same rules as weapon clash.

What's interesting is that despite what it says in the manual, just guard can be used to block bullets as well.

Answered by Maxx

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Are rankings and player point based levels separate?

Question

You get player points for doing pretty much anything in the game, but does your ranking (E5-A1) only go up for online matches? Ranked games only?

Also, are the player points you get at the end of a ranked match counted towards your rank, or are those the regular player points you always see and your rank is counted separately from that?

Asked by Maxx

Answer

Yes, they are considered separate and leveled separately. Playing the more casual modes such as the Global Colosseo online will not count towards your online ranking, only ranked matches do. You can easily test this out yourself by playing a quick ranked match. After the fight is finished, you will gain a certain amount of online rank points based on the results of the match, the difference between both of your current ranks, etc.

Answered by Kotsu

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Does armor break have any impact on gameplay?

Question

Does breaking your opponent's armor effect gameplay in any way or is it all aesthetics? Does wearing different armor effect anything?

Asked by Maxx

Answer

Armor breaking now appears only to occur on a KO, so it's a very different affect than in SCIV. It no longer breaks your block or leaves you open to a critical finish.

Since armor doesn't add to your stats in this version, the destruction has no real effect.

Answered by Stephen

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How do you build Soul Meter?

Question

Correct me if the name of this meter is wrong; I am referring to the curved one at the edge of your health bar, that has the number 0, 1, or 2, depending on how full it is.

I know that this generally just goes up through the course of play, and it goes up quickly enough that casual players don't really need to think about how exactly they're building the meter. However, depending on how the meter builds, this could make strategies focused around that, like strategies focused around breaking armor in Soul Calibur IV.

What actions build up your meter, and how much do they build it up? Do some attacks build it up more than others?

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

According to a sticky on 8WayRun (popular fighting forums for all things Soul Calibur related):

Building the Meter:

Good meter build: Landing hits and counter-hits

Moderate meter build: Just-guard, ukemi, landing blocked attacks, guarding attacks, breaking throw (little meter gain).

Things that build random or uncertain amount of meter: Taking damage, getting up from ground, low hits (debatable), whiffing attack. Whiffing certain attacks however don't build meter. Weird.

ZERO meter build: Throws - They build no meter for anyone (thrower or player being thrown). Breaking a throw, however, builds a little meter as stated above since you now take a bit of damage from breaking a throw.

After your opponent has won TWO rounds: If your opponent wins two rounds, you begin the new round with +100% meter (ex: if you had 25% meter, you now have 125%). You notice this from the character's super saiyan power-up visual at the beginning of the round. Comeback mechanic!

Answered by Kotsu

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How to cope with the new Guard Impact?

Question

Now that guard impacts require a full soul meter to perform, their utility seems to have flown out the window. They aren't even improved from in the previous games, where through them out was completely free.

Guard Impacts were a big part of my game, and now I am having trouble figuring out how to initiate an attack against an aggressive opponent. Are there any generic strategy changes that would help me, being an old player of the Soul Calibur franchise, adapt to this new system? Are there any new tricks that were added to the game to compensate for the decreased utility of Guard Impacts?

Edit: After playing a bit more, I have noticed I seem to be blocking too much. My health bar is often flickering yellow or red, and it's because I don't know exactly how to deal with an aggressive offense without Guard Impacts.

Edit 2: All the answers so far are focusing on how to use the new Guard Impact. While this is good information, it's not what I'm primarily asking for in the question. I want to know what my other options are that don't require any soul meter to employ, with a specific emphasis on strategy.

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

Maxx already gave a good answer for when to use Guard Impact so I'll focus on how to play without it.

This is coming from someone who played semi-seriously for months before starting to incorporate GI in SC4.

The first thing to know is your character's fastest moves. It's often just a straight horizontal hit. After that it's a matter of knowing your opponent's attacks and knowing when there's going to be an opening. There's always going to be some time interval either in between or at the end of a combo where you can get in a quick swing,by which I mean you can safely do attack, not necessarily that it will land unblocked. Even if your counter attack is blocked, at least now you're on the offensive.

I've only played SC5 once so far, but it seems like Just Guard gives you a slight edge where you might be able to get in a quick attack before the opponent has a chance to block in some cases, but it comes down to knowing your opponent's moves and how to react to them.

Also some moves have a higher tendency to supersede the opponent's attack than others. I know in general a vertical hit usually cancels out a horizontal hit. Some moves are also faster than the initially appear. I know personally I've found moves that I previously disregarded as not useful turned out to quite useful as they are faster than their animation would make it appear. I think it's an issue of our mind typically watching the time between the start and end of a swing, rather than the time between the start and the time of impact, which may happen well before the end of a swing.

Finally there's a rule of any pretty much any competitive game that has a meta-game component: Set up expectations, then break them. Repeat a pattern until the opponent figures it out, then break the pattern with something that counters what the opponent's going to do to counter you. For example, lots of characters usually have variations on combos, so there's mid-mid-low, repeat that a couple times, then occasionally throw in mid-mid-mid. They'll go to block the low and get slammed with the mid at the end (bonus points if it's a ring out!). It's like in Starcraft, making your opponent over-commit to anti-air, then coming in with a big ground army instead.

Answered by Davy8

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How can Voldo safely get into his mantis stance with his katars towards the enemy?

Question

In previous games, there was a distinction between 2B+K and 3B+K. They would both go into the mantis stance, but the first variant would have katars away from the enemy, and the second would have katars towards the enemy. Now, it seems the only way to get into the mantis stance with the katars towards the enemy is to roll around on the ground like a lunatic or to start in blind stance.

Since the mantis stance is quite a bit more useful with katars towards the enemy, how can I reliably get into this position?

Asked by StrixVaria

Answer

Figuring out how to do this is effectively trying to figure out how to get into Mantis Crawl from various stances, specifically so that you're not in Blind Mantis Crawl.

From Standing, Facing Opponent

• You mentioned not liking not liking "rolling around on the ground like a lunatic," but you can use 2 or 8 from Death Roll and be in the stance you want immediately. A quick transition to Death Roll from this position is 2[A+K] or 8[A+K], which is at least a vertical dodge. Not particularly ideal.
• My preferred move from this position is [B+K] - it's a mid hit, followed by a transition directly into the stance you're looking for.

From Standing, Facing Away

• From here, you can use the normal Mantis Crawl stance move 2[B+K] directly.
• Another option in the same dodge vein as before is 4[A+K].

From Lying Face Down, Facing Away and Lying Face Up, Facing Opponent

• 2B+K takes you directly into Mantis Crawl.

From Lying Face Up, Facing Away, Lying Face Down, Facing Toward, and Blind Death Roll

• Don't bother - figure out a good transition out of these stances and into the positions above, 'cause you're not going to get to non-blind Mantis Crawl from here.

Answered by Ian Pugsley

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