Guilty Gear X2: Sol Badguy Guide/FAQ By Grolin ---------- © 2002 Grolin The Guilty Gear series and all characters in it are the property of Arc Systems. This guide is intended to provide information for GGXX players to learn a bit about Sol. I'm not going to claim that I'm thegreatest Sol player in the world. But I know a little, so I'm sharing it. Don't even think about taking this guide and claiming it as your own. There are serious legal consequences, and to be honestI don't want to put up with it. You are free to download this onto your computer, if so anything that goes wrong isn't my responsibility. If you want to use something from this Guide, ask permission. My email address: crimsondisaster@yahoo.com This Guide should only be found at the following sites: GameFAQs.com ---------- Table of Contents: 1) Intro: Why Pick Sol? (Quick overview of Sol) 2) Notation 3) Normals 4) Specials and Overdrives 5) Combos -No Tension -Tension -Dust Loop 6) Strategies -General -Character Specific 7) Closing & Thanks ---------- 1) Intro: Why Pick Sol? Sol is a pretty easy character to pick up for first time GG series players. He has a relatively varied movelist, he has simple combos, and he has more advanced combos that cause very good damage. Sol has a great pressure move in his FRCGunflame. The list goes on. Pros: Good normals Some good specials Best wakeup in the game (Volcanic Viper) Great pressure and mixups with FRC Gunflame HIGH damage combos Cons: Gets a little predictable Some moves laggy Many moves easy to see coming. ---------- 2) Notation P- Punch K- Kick S- Slash H- Hard Slash D- Dust []- Hold button in between brackets. j.- Jumping dj.- Double Jumping hj.- High Jump ad.- Air Dashing iad.- Instant Air Dashing JC- Jump Cancel HJC- High Jump Cancel RC- Roman Cancel FRC- False/Force Roman Cancel FD- Faultless Defense For a Capcom game, I'd use standard Street Fighter notation(ie QCF, DP, etc.). But the GG series is pretty complicatedsometimes, and that notation just doesn't make much sense sometimes. So I'm going to use the keypad notation for this. Basically, look at your keyboard's number pad, and think of everything as if you're facing right. 789 456 123 Simple. That much should be easy to figure out. Now, the button layout. 5 buttons, it's kinda weird at first, but you'll get used to it. KSH P-D I'm going to assume you know the basic commands like Burst, FD, RC, etc. If not, read the manual, it's there for a reason. ---------- 3) Normals Sol's normals are good. Not much more need be said about them in general. Punches- 5P: Little hilt jab. I don't use this unless I screw something up. I suppose it may have its uses, I need to mess with it more. It is sort of fast. Bufferable, though nothing I know of combos. 2P: Same, but lower. I use this a bit more, still not too much. Useful tick into Wild Throw. jP: Downwards punch. Combo filler if you want to scale your damage a lot. Also good to jump in a blocking opponent to keep them in blockstun and push up their Guard Meter. Bufferable. 6P: Leaning punch. Upper body invincibility makes this a decent anti air. It knocks down and causes a wall bounce, which leads to combos. Bufferable, but the only worthwhile time to do so is to combo a Gunflame in the corner... and you still have better options off the Gatlings from this move. __________ Kicks- 5K: This is the reason why you're not going to use 6P for AA. This is the fastest normal in the game, it has some good priority too. Think Rock's s.RH from CvS2. Bufferable. JCable. 2K: Hits low. Prorated, so it really messes up damage on combos. Other than that, bufferable, decent speed and priority. jK: Jumping kick. Pretty much a combo filler. May serve some air-to-air purposes. __________ Slashes- 5S(c): Good poke, also bufferable. But at this range, unless you're comboing into it, you're probably better off with 5K. 5S(f): Sol's best distance poke. Fast, good priority, bufferable. 2S: Low slash. Bufferable. Hits pretty low, good for catching people just before they hit the ground from a juggle. Leaves Sol at +2 frame advantage. jS: Downwards angled slash. Great move to jump-in with. JCable. Bufferable, too, I think. __________ Hard Slashes: 5H- Horizontal slash. I don't really use this move too much, but it can be useful for pressure strings when cancelled intoGunflame, or when JC'd into an IAD. Bufferable, JCable. 2H- Upwards vertical slash. You'll use this a lot, but never on its own. This is Sol's primary means of popping hisopponent up after a juggle setup to start his combos. Obviously, then, it's JCable, bufferable too. jH- Downwards stab. Hits twice. Bufferable, JCable. Decent jump-in on people who can't Instant Block well. Mostly a combofiller for air combos. 6H- Big downwards chop. Slow, easy to see coming. Staggers if it connects. Bufferable. Useful sometimes, not too often. __________ Dusts: 5D- Overhead elbow smack? Sol's ground Dust is tied with Ky's for fastest in the game, but it's horribly telegraphed. Sol doesn't really need this move too much, he has better combos off of other moves than his Dust. Still, it's an overhead,don't overlook it. Obviously JCable, will activate the Dust float screen. 2D- Sweep. This is a good sweep. Fast, decent priority, bufferable. More importantly, it makes Sol go really low, dodging some attacks. jD- Perhaps the most hated normal in the game. JCable, bufferable, great priority, damage, and speed. What people hateabout it is that it inflicts just enough float stun that, done correctly, you can loop with multiple air Dusts in the corner (the infamous Air Dust loop). More on that later. Knocks down. __________ Throws: ground throw: Headbutts his opponent. Some characters can tech late in the falling animation. On some characters, in thecorner, you can link sK > 2H into Dust loop. air throw: Sol grabs his opponent and burns them. Decent, but it's the tech point is rather early, so it doesn't set up stuff like Johnny or Dizzy. ---------- 4) Specials and Overdrives 236P- Gunflame (FRCable) Sol sticks Fireseal (his sword) into the ground and fire goes in a wave. Typical ground projectile, it'll stop going after ashort time. Usually you can't combo this move, but you can combo from it. Very important to Sol's offense when FRC'd. More on that in the strategy section. Recovery is such that it's pretty safe when blocked if you're not right on top of them. Good damage. 214P- Gunflame Feint Sol sticks Fireseal into the ground and does nothing. Quick recovery. Good to build Tension and to fake out people everynow and then. (air) 236K- Bandit Revolver Flying flipkick thing. Good for combos, not much else. Easily punished if you are blocked. Still, a great way to get your opponent to the corner quickly. 236[K]- Bandit Bringer (FRCable) Sol jumps up, flames appear on his hand, Sol punches down. Overhead, floor bounces. Sets up combos, but it can be seen from a mile away. However, FRC it and you start some mind games. 214K- Riot Stomp (FRCable) Sol flies back to the wall behind him and flies back with a kick. This wall bounces. Decently safe if not instant blocked. Leads to combos due to the wall bounce. FRCing it (done right as he leaves the wall) will make him drop down with a little momentum. Good runaway trick. In general, the Riot Stomp is a decent enough wakeup against non-projectile meaty attempts. 623K- Wild Throw Command grab. Sol grabs his opponent and slams them on the floor. Floor bounces. Obviously leads to combos, more on thatin the combo section. Setups for the WT in the Strategy section. 214S- Grand Viper Sol slides with fire, then uppercuts with fire. Hits low. Decent if you trick someone with it, also decently easy to combo. Horrible lag time if you mess up. Mash it for more hits if you do connect. (air) 623S/H- Volcanic Viper (may be done in air) --214K A flaming flying uppercut. This move has crazy invincibility. Thus it's a great anti air, good for getting out of traps, it messes with your opponent's okizeme... too good. Sol's best combo finisher. The followup will ground your opponent, and they can't tech it. Thus you set up okizeme, so try to finish all VVs with the followup. 41236H- Fafnir (FRCable) Sol lunges a bit with a flaming punch. Wall bounces. FRC basically lets you RC it for less meter. You can't cancel any normals into this, so it's impractical for combos... uses to be discussed in strategy section. Untechable wall bounce on CH. __________ Overdrives: 632146H- Tyrant Rave v.Beta (requires 50% Tension) Sol punches, then shoots a massive stationary fireball. Easily combo'd, fast, great priority, wall bounces. That said, not too useful compared to Sol's other Tension options, but it's still good. Sometimes you just need that quick, damaging poke killer. One of the better ODs around, not that it means much. 214214S- Dragon Install (requires 50% Tension) Sol powers up and starts flashing for 6 seconds. During those 6 seconds: -Speed is dramatically increased (both moving speed and attack speed) -The following specials change: --Gunflame: One big Power Geyser-esque move. --Bandit Revolver: Flaming flying flipkick, more hits. --ground S Volcanic Viper: 3 hit uppercut --ground H Volcanic Viper: Massive flaming trail, hits up to 12 times. --air H Volcanic Viper: 3 hit uppercut Once the 6 seconds end, Sol stops and is wide open to attack. Anything hitting him then is considered a counter hit. Not too useful, it's a flashy way to finish someone. Sol keeps his DI infinite from GGX, but it's still a bad Overdrive overall. Too risky. ---------- 5) Combos All combos starting off a 2K do 70% less damage per hit, along with damage scaling and Guard Meter scaling. I'm not listing much off a 2K, but you can use it, just be warned. On the ground, Sol can conceivably Gatling chain from P all the way to D. For practical purposes, stick to K > S and S > S Gatlings most of the time. Air Gatlings work much the same, except j.H doesn't chain to j.D. __________ No Tension: 5K > 5S XX 214S (mash) Generic combo, easy, but not too strong. dash 5K > 2D XX 236K juggle with 2H JC, jS JC, djS > djH/D XX 623S/H > 214K "The Rest," (not my name, that's what people call it). Do the jS as soon as you jump/dj or your opponent can tech. Unless you're near the corner, stick to djH XX 623S/H > 214K 236[K], "the Rest" 236[K], dash jK > S JC, djS > D XX 623H > 214K 623K, "the Rest" __________ Tension: dash 623H(1 hit) RC, dash sK > "the Rest" 236P FRC, 236[K], dash jK > S JC, djS > D XX 623H > 214K 214214S, [dash close sS > sH]x until around 5.5 seconds (real time), 623+H > 214K The Dragon Install semi-infinite, it's still here. More to come later, but really, anywhere you can combo a Volcanic Viper or Bandit Revolver, you can combo the TRB. __________ Dust loops: This is going to discuss setups more than the actual loop itself. The basic concept of the Dust loop is this: Setup, [hjD, D]x2-4, (extra stuff) 623H > 214K. You have to time the second Air Dust so that they're stuck in float stun long enough for you to catch them with the rejump into hjD. That means delay it a bit, not too much or they'll fall too low or tech out. Once you land a setup, then what? For heavier characters(that don't float as high), you'd do: (5K/2S >) 2H JC jD JC djS > djD, land, Dust loop For characters that float higher, you'd do: (5K/2S >) 2H HJC hjD, D, land, Dust loop. The sK is often necessary to quickly push them up higher so you can 2H them in time. Using 2S instead of 5K is for a bit more damage, but it's a bit harder. 5K is really all you need to learn most of the time. Now, the setups. Unless otherwise noted, this is all done with your opponent near the corner(preferably in the corner) 5K > 5S(c) > 6P wall bounce, start Dust loop off either 5K or 2S (opponent in corner) 623K floor bounce, dash under 2H, start Dust loop from the jumping part (requires 50% Tension) 2D XX 236K RC(1st hit) jD, land, start Dust loop from 5K (dash a bit if necessary) (requires 25% Tension) 236P FRC, dash 2H, start Dust loop from jumping part. (opponent near corner) adS > adD, dash and start Dust loop from 5K iad 623S, land, start Dust loop from 5K (1 hit) or 2S (probably preferable) __________ Dash Jump Dust loop You can normal jump D, pause, D on some characters, or after a bunch of hits in a combo. However, to fit in even more Dust loop reps, you can dash, jump immediately and hit D just as you jump, then D as you fall. So it'll look something like: [dash jD, D, land]x whatever. The input looks something like: [669 D, D]x whatever. As always, end it somehow, S VV into knockdown is good. __________ Triple Dust Dust loop Again, similar concept, except you're gonna fit THREE Dusts into one jump. Devastating, but hard. You usually can't fit in too many triple Dust reps, but you can transition to dash jump Dust loops. These happen to work pretty well on Potemkin and Johnny. Three ways: 1) For the initial loop, you can Jump Install: Setup, 5K8(JI) > 2H HJC, hjD JC, djD, D, land. 2) Setup, [jD JC djD, D, land]x whatever, ender 3) Setup, [dash jD JC, djD, D, land]x whatever, ender __________ FRC Gunflame, Bandit Bringer loop Character specific, will check who this works on later. But basically, off a connected FRC Gunflame, a Bandit Bringer will combo. On some characters, they'll be close enough for ANOTHER FRC Gunflame, Bandit Bringer to connect. The easiest setup is off a Wild Throw, but plenty of characters can tech before the Gunflame hits. Concept: (Setup,) [236P FRC, 236[K]]xN __________ Bandit Revolver loop Pretty much a ghetto loop... good damage for no Tension and little effort, though. Generic form is: near corner, 6P > 5H XX 236K, [5K > 5S XX 236K]x whatever, end VERY character specific, though. For the most part, a lot of Dust loop setups set this loop up, too. Good way to get damage in on Johnny if you just CAN'T get the Dust loop to work on him. __________ More combos to come. ---------- 6) Strategies General: Overview- Best close pokes: sK, 2S Best distance pokes: sS(f), 2D, Fafnir Anti air: sK, Volcanic Viper, 6P Best jump-in: jS > D Best wakeup: Volcanic Viper, Tyrant Rave v.Beta, Riot Stomp against non-projectile meaty attacks Overheads: Bandit Bringer, sD Gunflame: FRC it and run after it... what you do afterwards is up to you. Gunflame Feint: Get far away and do a lot of these, with a few real Gunflames here and there, to build a little meter before going on the offensive... that's about their only use, they don't recover so quickly that you get Mist Cancel-like results. Bandit Revolver: Due to the lag on it, this is pretty much a combo exclusive move. Too easily punished with throws and the like if you try to use it in pressure strings too much. Bandit Bringer: Pretty much a combo tool... it's very easily punished by throws if done too close, it's not really too safe even if not IB'd. It's okay here and there against people who don't have great throw followups or quick punishment combos (ex Chipp) Riot Stomp: FRC'd, it's runaway. Regular usage- it's an okay "surprise" move if you use it sparingly. Newer Sol players like to spam it, but when anticipated, this move gets 6P'd into Sol's demise. If you're cornered and your opponent is trying to start up some pressure string to mix you up or jack up your guard meter, Riot Stomp is a decent way to turn the tables: in the corner the actual kick comes out pretty much too fast to react to, it's an overhead that'll go over low attacks, and on a clean hit it'll knock them away. If blocked, it's safer than trying to Volcanic Viper your way out. Wild Throw: This move can make or break Sol. Used properly, it gives Sol a good mixup tool up close that leads to good damage. Improper usage makes Sol predictable, and very punishable. Generic setup is FRC Gunflame, dash 2P x1-2, pause, Wild Throw. The other generic setup is blocked Grand Viper (mash) RC before Sol jumps, dash Wild Throw. In terms of widely used, effective setups, that's about all you're likely to see... but any string ending in 2P or 2S can potentially turn into a Wild Throw setup, especially if you've conditioned them to keep blocking in fear of a 2D XX pain. Grand Viper: Another essential, yet risky move. The Grand Viper is pretty much Sol's answer to people who zone him out with long pokes, especially Johnny, Axl, and to a lesser extent Ky. Since it goes under said characters' best pokes (and plenty of other characters), it often becomes Sol's best chance at getting in and winning. It's weakness is, of course, huge lag if blocked. We're talking frame disadvantage of like 40+ frames, IIRC. Not good. If you have meter, you can salvage a blocked GV with RC, dash Wild Throw... this move also beats a lot of low pokes, but the characters Sol REALLY needs it against (Johnny, especially) tend to have pokes that beat GV(Johnny 2H). In general... look for patterns, or wait till you have 50% Tension and pray. Volcanic Viper: Obviously, it's a great AA. Useful against people who like to airdash with aerial DPs(other Sols) to beat out 6Ps and such. Otherwise, stick to 5K as your AA of choice. It's also a good combo ender, but where this move shines is it's ability to stuff, well, pretty much everything. VV alone forces your opponent to be more cautious with their okizeme- it also prevents Sol from being killed by Eddie unblockables for free. It can also pass through projectiles, though the only real use of this is against Venom. Decent poke stuffer- GV does a better job at that, though. One stupid trick that works here and there is to run straight at your opponent, then do H VV > 214K. If you whiff or get blocked, vary the time of the 214K followup to affect how far away you land- this is pretty much safe against Johnny and Potemkin so long as they weren't near the corner. It can be decently safe against other characters, too... especially if you manage to land and VV their punishment attempts a few times. Still, it IS a pretty stupid tactic- it works occasionally, but it's not something to rely on. There are many characters that can punish Sol HARD if they catch you. Fafnir: It has great range and priority- it also jacks up the guard bar a LOT. Useful in some block strings, works decently after a 2S due to the frame advantage on 2S. __________ Character Specific Strategy Coming soon... ---------- 7) Closing & Thanks -Arc Systems for making this game. -Sammy for publishing this game. -The Sugar Land crew for competition. -The Stargate crowd for competition.