Following the previous guide, here are additional examples of how resource management can be handled.
In the 2nd round (after winning the first), the most optimal situation is going into the round with any resource situation that is better than Round 1 (1 meter, Blast, 2 Trumps), while the next best situation below that is having Round 1 resources minus a Trump, and anything below that is sub-optimal. This next section will cover various round start situations at different levels of resources and how each situation should be approached. When starting with optimal resources, the level of importance at which each resource should be used is as follows (starting from highest to lowest): Blast ≥ Meter > Trump. Meter is only as equally important as Blast in situations where you do not have Blast. Trump also has an exception in Round 3 (described later)
With full meter and Blast, the first hit confirm should use 2-3 meter, then either immediately using Power Blast (not hitting the opponent), looking for the next hit confirm to combo into Power Blast, or looking to hit the opponent with raw Power Blast (riskiest and greediest, but pays out the most in damage/resource gain, in this situation spend 3 meter on the first combo to maximize meter gain)
Starting with 4 meter and Blast is the most versatile situation as there are many choices to pick from. You can spend 1 meter and immediately Power Blast, or spend 2 meter and choose from the 3 aforementioned options
With 1-3 meter and Blast apply the Round 1 strategy
If the pattern was not clear by this point, using Power Blast immediately to start meter gain is the essential thing to take away from this. A good thing to remember that can be applied in situations outside of the start of a round is that a Power Blast that does not hit the opponent or spending 1 meter to combo into Power Blast will give you a net gain of 2 meter while hitting the opponent with raw Power Blast at the expense of no meter nets you 3 meter. Don’t forget that the extra bar of meter from a Power Blast fills up over time. Using a Power Blast with 4 meter without hitting the opponent (1 meter immediately + 1 gained over time) is essentially wasting a bar of meter because you are capped at 5 meter so the 1 meter that is gained over time goes to waste.
A good basis for gauging how well you are managing resources is if you rarely or never drop below 1 meter then you are doing well. Resource management is too important in this game and incorrectly spending it can be critical to the outcome of a match. In essence, the comeback factor of this game is meter, no matter the life deficit if you properly manage resources you can easily turn around a match. With that said, spending resources to ensure a win is just as important and goes along the same train of thought of managing meter.
Another important note before moving on is knowing when to not be stingy with meter and attempting to take the round by not spending an extra meter or Blast to ensure the kill. Touching slightly on Maru’s document, this comes from experience and character knowledge, knowing how much damage you can do based on each different resource situation, etc. There are many factors when it comes to deciding not to economize meter (having an overwhelming health lead over the opponent, confidence in your ability to win, passing time to recover Blast, etc.), but keeping this in mind will promote active resource management decision making.
A preface before discussing further, a general guideline for spending Trump is to use one per round. Spending no Trumps puts you in an optimal resource situation while spending both puts you at a severe deficit. I outlined the importance at which each resource should be used from a round start perspective, and I will now go over the level of importance for resources to spend when trying to defeat the opponent: Meter > Blast ≥ Trump. While this is a general idea, as noted earlier there are exceptions where certain resources hold higher value over others depending on the situation.
Because Blast Ignition exists there is almost little to no incentive to save meter or Blast if it will defeat the opponent. You can simply blow your resources, choose Blast Ignition and go into the next round with half of your Blast already returned. Trump holds the least value as a resource that should be used to defeat the opponent, but only when 1 Trump has already been used that round. In the case of a Trump not being used, it is perfectly fine to spend it to boost a Climax Arts if it will defeat the opponent. However, Blast still holds a higher value if either resource would kill in a given situation.
So you’ve spent all your meter to defeat the opponent and are now going into the next round with little to no resources. While the most common option would be to use Blast Ignition, I think it is perfectly fine to use Player or Support Ignition (as long as Escape Blast was not used in the round prior). A term coined from Counter-Strike which aptly describes the strategy involved is none other than the Economy Round. The goal of an economy round is to spend as little money as possible with the intent of going into the next round to be able to buy superior equipment and weapons, while still attempting to win the current round. This strategy fits perfectly into a game heavily based on resource management.
However, in DFC there is more interaction required between the opponent as the goal in the economy round, aside from saving meter for the last round, is to get the opponent to use as many resources as possible so you have the resource advantage going into the last round. I will describe different round start situations at various levels of resources and offer approaches to each situation, but before that, I would like to discuss various methods for approaching an economy round. Going for meterless combos by either maximizing damage or going for hard knockdown and using assists for oki, restrained use of reflection guard when you have the health advantage, and using Trump to increase your meterless damage output and overall utility are good strategies when going into an eco round. Another specific situation I’d like to mention is saving meter on air confirms. If you have a slow startup assist that aids neutral, ending an air combo while being positioned as low as possible below the opponent (i.e jB jC jc jA jB jC), land, and call the assist.
Starting with full meter and no Blast, how the meter is spent is at the discretion of the player, as most metered options will lead to the recovery of the Blast Gauge. However, I find that starting with full meter and from 0-40% Blast recovered, using EX moves as opposed to Ranbu is a better choice. While using Ranbu certainly increases the process of regaining Blast, it also lowers your resource pool much quicker, leaving you with fewer options and tools to work with. Spending meter on EX moves not only gives you a consistent flow of regaining Blast, but it also gives you leeway for how you can spend it. Whether it’s favoring hard knockdown for assist oki, canceling into EX moves or assists to make situations safe, or even extending pressure, there are more opportunities to spend meter by not immediately blowing it on Ranbu. With that said if you are above 50% recovered Blast by the start of the round, using Ranbu is an excellent choice as it can give you near-immediate access to Blast, followed by spending Power Blast and gaining even more meter.
When going into a round start situation where you do not have full meter, using the economizing strategies mentioned above are solid methods of buying time and regaining Blast. How far Blast has been recovered will greatly affect the approach taken, but generally the lower the meter you have when low on Blast, the longer you should economize. Conversely, having little meter when Blast is almost recovered, the amount of time spent economizing will be shorter.