METER AND BLAST APPLICATIONS

Written by: Maruyan

Here is a basic primer for how to use Blast and meter. This is only meant to cover the basics, so depending on the character or situation the correct or optimal decision may be different but as a general strategy the following ideas are easy to understand and expound upon. Each section will be structured beginning from the first round to the final round.

ROUND 1

This is the first round where both players start with one bar of meter, Blast, and two Trump Cards. Firstly, because you start with very little meter, your objective is to use your Blast. If Blast methods were rated it would look like the following.

Hitting the opponent with a raw Power Blast ・・・ 100 Points

Using Assists or EX moves to combo into Power Blast ・・・ 80 Points

Using a raw Power Blast (without hitting the opponent) ・・・ 70 Points

Combo Blast ・・・ 50 Points

Escape Blast ・・・ 0 Points

While looking for the chance to use your Blast, getting hit by the opponent’s raw Power Blast ・・・ -25 Points

While looking for the chance to use your Blast, getting hit by the opponent’s Power Blast combo ・・・ -20 Points

While looking for the chance to use your Blast, getting hit by the opponent’s full combo ・・・ -20 Points

Holding onto your Blast per second ・・・ -2 Points/second

Using your Power Blast before the opponent ・・・ 5 Points

I think the ratings will vary per character and some people might disagree, however, this is a general idea. The best tactic is to open up the opponent with 4AB, 5B, etc then combo into a meterless raw Power Blast, or hit the opponent with a raw Power Blast somewhere between his blockstring. The worst case is when the opponent uses his Power Blast and afterward, you are unable to find an opportunity to use your own and time passes, or you get hit by a damaging combo and are forced to Escape Blast. Holding onto your Blast and letting time pass, and Escape Blast is the worst, we should try to avoid this. Something often seen at the start of the round is immediately using Power Blast, and for now, getting 70 points is a safe choice. However, to take advantage of that decision, micro dashing at the start of the round to fish for your opponent’s Power Blast is a common tactic.

From the micro dash, if you see your opponent Power Blast, punish with 5B into an air combo into a raw Power Blast. This results in you having 100 points - 2 points/second, while the opponent has 70 points + 5 points - 25 points, the difference in points concludes with you having a considerable lead. Even if you were to lose in this opening situation it is alright, though if the point difference grows bigger than 50 the fight becomes substantially more difficult.

ROUND 2 (AFTER WINNING ROUND 1)

Winning the first round is desirable, but the situation very often ends up being like the above image

To have the resource advantage in this game, it is common for the player that won the previous round to start the next round from a disadvantageous situation. (Winning the round = using meter to deal damage to the opponent) About this, it is common for the player who won the first round to be unable to win the second round. Including the last round, it is beneficial to have a 2 bar lead over the opponent because when going into the last round, the goal is to have yourself in optimum condition while leaving the opponent in the least desirable condition. To achieve this, recovering Blast is a basic strategy. (Based on the image above the player has neither Blast nor meter so he has no choice but to run)

While moderately economizing resources, let’s create a situation that lets us go into the last round in optimum condition. This portion is slightly difficult, how to put the opponent in the least desirable condition for the last round. Even if you win the first round, it is meaningless if both players end up going into the last round with two Trump Cards, 5 meter, and a Blast. It is extremely dangerous if both you and the opponent economize while heading into the last round. It’s not like I have counted the exact number but from my impression, this is a game where the player who wins the first round will win 80% of the time.

Now back to the topic at hand of how to get the opponent to spend their meter, pressure the opponent into thinking that he’ll lose to get him to spend his meter or Trump Card. Economizing resources while cornering the opponent is extremely difficult, however, this is where the skilled players excel.

ROUND 2 (AFTER LOSING ROUND 1)

Unlike the player who won the first round, your objective is to make it into the last round. As far as methods are concerned, try to defeat your opponent while he is still recovering his meter, or if you are also recovering your own meter, make sure to use it efficiently when dealing damage. If possible try to make your opponent exhaust as much meter as he can, and since you lost the first round let’s do our best to avoid wasting meter on needless style.

FINAL ROUND

In the final round, it is necessary to assess your resources to determine how many times you will need to hit the opponent to win.

1st Combo 4000 ⇒ 2nd Combo 2000 ⇒ 3rd Combo 4000

To grasp how much damage your character can deal or know how many more hits it would take to defeat the opponent in a given situation, researching in Training Mode is necessary. Also, even if it takes just one extra combo for the opponent to defeat you, factoring in when to use Escape Blast to prevent losing is important. For characters with attack-type Trump Cards, when starting with a Combo Blast into Trump Card, as long as you do not immediately defeat the opponent, to a large extent your Blast will recover before they lose. Knowing when you have just enough meter to defeat your opponent and using Escape Blast to avoid a combo that would have defeated you are two key factors that need to be considered when composing your game plan.

CLOSING STATEMENT

While various topics were mentioned, this is meant to cover the basics so depending on the character many aspects can change. For instance, the top player GO1 uses Shana and Tatsuya and from round one uses Power Blast and defeats his opponents without saving his meter, or the Taiga player Ada, who opts to start his first round by using a Combo Blast combo. Depending on your character, support, and play style, the most optimal choices may differ from the advice offered so at the very least it would be beneficial to use this primer only at a referential level.

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