It’s time to start studying, as the latest version of Guilty Gear Xrd, subtitled REV 2 (I won’t miss writing out Xrd -REVELATOR- all the time) has officially launched in Japanese arcades. After many presentations, pre-release streams, events, and character overviews, arcade competitors can play REV 2 at will and begin competing for the highest rank.
As usual, Jonio has already streamed a ton of footage from Mikado on his Twitch channel.
This first segment features mostly the returning characters; Hase’s Slayer is very prominent, though an Answer player shows up around the 1:28:00 mark.
The second clip shows off a returning character, Baiken. Jonio’s Johnny fights her at the eight-minute mark. Later on, as Taka’s Slayer shows up, Baiken’s on the stream again at 0:41:00. About seven minutes later, there’s an Answer player on screen.
The last clip prominently features 310’s Venom as he fights an Elphelt and Slayer. Toward the end of the video we can see 310 practicing on an Answer dummy and CPU.
Stay tuned to SRK as we explore more REV 2 gameplay footage.
As Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 rolls out into Japanese arcades, there will soon to be plenty of new footage to look at. Until then, Arc System Works put up a pre-release stream that focuses on REV 2 gameplay and once again gives a detailed overview of the newcomers, Business Ninja Answer and the Lone Samurai, Baiken.
The presenter first shows off Answer by going through his move set. The presentation for Baiken is similar, but a little extended. In addition to her special moves, which include a Tatami mat and a mid-range chain, Kabari, she has a special guarding stance called Azami. The follow-ups to this stance can be used during combos as well. Baiken still has a Blitz Shield, but the command is different for her.
Post the one-hour mark, the stream gets some matches started. The new Daredevils face each other as well other members of the cast.
Arc System Works did a similar–though not as thorough–overview of Baiken and Answer previously at a weekend event.
In the coming days, as Japanese players get their hands on the Arcade release of REV 2, expect a lot of footage and analysis on the game to gear us up for the console release in late May.
For the first time since its November 1st, 2016 release, the current installment in the BlazBlue series is on a big sale. Whether you were holding off on owning a copy of BlazBlue: Central Fiction or that friend of yours has been on the fence, it’s cheaper than ever to try the 2D fighter.
PlayStation Plus members will be happy to see that the game’s regular $59.99 tag is sliced in half. The 50% discount comes out to $29.99. PlayStation users who aren’t Plus members are sadly out of luck. Make haste, as the deal lasts until the evening of April 3rd.
This weekend, Arc System Works held an event in Japan to showcase the upcoming version of Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2. The event included overviews of the new characters, as well as returning ones, and some important news–especially for those going to Evolution 2017.
Later on, top players staged some exhibition matches. First up is Answer. They go through most of his moves and show off his air-dashing capability. By setting scrolls on the screen, Answer can cling to them and then expand his movement options as well as chain combo hits. That starts at 1:08:10.
At 1:19:50, Baiken comes up, the second new character in REV 2. The Lone Samurai brandishes a blade and stomps the ground to spring Tatami mats. She also can enter Azami, a parry stance that allows several follow-ups to turn the table against the opponent.
After that, the new characters fight each other, and the rest of the stream also has returning REV 2 characters duking it out with the balance changes applied. Another big news from the event is that Arc System Works and Aksys Games are donating to the Guilty Gear and BlazBlue:Central Fiction Evolution 2017 prizes–$10,000 for each game.
Enjoy the stream below from Mr_Biscuits, and look forward to seeing a lot more REV 2 footage soon, as this version is officially launching in arcades this week.
(Note there is some NFSW language in the video below.)
Paid content, or short-cutting game unlocks with money, are no strange things in mainstream video games–though it’s not something that’s a good fit for most fighting games. There’s an interesting intersection of design principles in For Honor, a quasi-MOBA/fighting game/RPG. Ubisoft recently came under fire, as a reddit user put their math skills to practical use.
bystander007 calculated exactly how much money is needed to unlock everything in the launch version of Ubisoft’s medieval fighter. Steel is the in-game currency, and among emotes, new execution types, effects, outfits, and more, it takes 91500 to unlock everything for one hero. Multiply that by twelve heroes, and you get 1,098,000.
The poster did some further calculations for how many hours a player would have to grind to get those. About 1,200 Steel a day is a fair estimate, depending on what Contracts (daily quests, but they actually become available every other day, which slows the gain) the player gets. Doing 1,200 a day equals 915 days–about two and a half years. A hardcore player could get it in about 326 days.
If you take the real money route, buying 150,000 Steel with $100 packs, it will take $732.
Ubisoft responded to this situation:
“We never had an intention for you to unlock everything in the game. For us that doesn’t really make any sense,” Damien Kieken, game director, said. “We applied RPG mechanics on top of a fighting game in a PvP environment. Let’s say in World of Warcraft, you would never try to unlock everything for all the characters. Same thing in any MOBA.”
“We forecasted that most players would play one to three characters–and that’s what we see today in our game. Most players focus on one character, one hero, and others go up to two or three heroes. All of the design is based around that. The cosmetic items… for us, are endgame content.”
It’s an interesting clash of mechanics, as the genre mix in Ubisoft’s title brings various audiences into the fray. bystander007 goes further into explaining their opinion on the matter and what Ubisoft could do about this. Read up on that on the For Honor reddit.
Which route would you take with For Honor? Do you prefer to fork over a few dollars, or are you a vehement grinder?
Arc System Works and Aksys Games have supplied a fresh batch of interesting tidbits about the upcoming Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2, the update to Xrd -REVELATOR-.
First up, we have confirmation of the pricepoint for the digital upgrade option. As we have reported, -REVELATOR- owners can opt to upgrade their console version to REV 2 by paying less; Aksys Games confirmed that $20 USD boosts the version by adding the two new characters–Baiken and Answer–rebalancing the cast, and providing a swath of new content.
The Japanese Arc System Works site now includes a nice outline that gives a detailed look at user interface changes and features.
Story aficionados will be happy to hear that, other than new, individual episodes for characters like Baiken, Answer, Dizzy, Kum Kaehyun, and more, there will be additional story content coming in a later update to REV 2. For those who missed out on earlier story content, a new summary can get them back to speed.
Here’s a teaser of a revamped menu in the game. The online lobby is more green, too!
There’s also welcome improvements to Player and Ranked match modes. Players will be able to do a “FT2” with Ranked players by challenging the opponent to a rematch, and it will be possible to watch a match that was already in progress in Player Mode lobbies.
Yet another option that fans will surely welcome: it will be possible to select the older version of REV 2 (-REVELATOR- in the menu options).
It’s nice to see so much transparency from Arc System Works as to what exactly REV 2 will improve, as fans often question whether putting money into an upgrade is worth it. Stay tuned for more news as we get closer to REV 2’s May 25th release date.
BlazBlue: Central Fiction’s Izanami is an oppressive force. Fittingly for a villain, she can dominate a lot of the match easily with her levitate combos that corner carry, and can endlessly pressure the opponent. She does sacrifice the ability to block and can spend a lot of her Barrier Gauge, but that might matter very little in the end. Dora, who’s made some videos to battle top-tier characters, puts himself to the test, right after Monster triumphed at a recent, national Japanese BlazBlue tournament.
Dora shows his fighting spirit in the first, dominant round, not letting Monster do much at all. Things turn around in the second as Izanami starts to unwind her pressure, cornering Bang. The onslaught is endless as Dora uses up all of his Barrier and Monster gets under his Counter Assault (Alpha Counter). The first match gruesomely ends in Monster’s favor.
In the second match, Monster properly shows off his knowledge of the matchup by correctly baiting out an punishing a Drive move from Bang. The ninja manages to last long enough to have Hades enter Danger state, though with correct blocks, she supers out of his pressure. Dora’s comeback, however, shows promise.
It’s really good to see an exciting FT5 between these two top Japanese players. We don’t see Bang much in Central Fiction, so it’s a valuable look at a rare matchup.
Monster just triumphed at Braver’s Revel 2017, so check that out for more Izanami action. Wondering what to do about the oppressive death god? Dora made a “How to Defend Against Izanami” video.
The Guilty Gear online league continues this week with a new set of Daredevils. This time, the Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League has four new combatants once again. We’re going to see some zany techniques from Faust and smart countering from Leo Whitefang. Then, Potemkin will show the strength of patience against Dizzy’s onslaught of spells and critters.
Here’s a breakdown of the fighters this week, and a little on their background:
ElvenShadow
On the match: “Zidane and I have played in tournament only twice if I recall correctly. The first time was APEX 2015 Grand Finals where I won in a close set. The 2nd time was at NEC 2015 where I won in top 16. At APEX we also played two FT5 exhibition sets in which we went 1-1, and finally a FT5 at a Frosty Faustings IX after party, in which he beat me. I feel like if I am on point and apply my matchup knowledge well, I can take the set.”
On his opponent: “I think I first met Zidane during the Guilty Gear XX Slash era. He had one of the best Anjis in the U.S. along with KBnova, and since then has been regarded as one of the best U.S. players, though I don’t recall actually playing against him much in the XX series. He has been one of the most consistent U.S. players in Xrd, despite the fact that he doesn’t travel that much, and his performance at Evo 2015 was also, of course, great stuff. He’s a smart player, so it’s going to be a really tough match, but I look forward to the challenge!”
On his own playstyle: “I love zoning with long pokes and fighting from a distance, but once I am able to find an opening, I also really love rushing down! I always have a general gameplan when I play, but things can completely change at any moment depending on what items come out, so I am always ready to adapt on the fly. Because of that, I feel like I play using instinct and feeling a lot of the time. This can be either a good or bad thing at times. I could probably stand to be a little more mentally disciplined in some regards. I also feel like I play even harder when my back is to the wall, and I am on the verge of losing. The Chicago FGC refers to it as ‘EX Bozac.’ I need to learn how to play like that all of the time.”
Zidane
On the match: “It’s going to be an uphill battle since Leo vs. Faust is one of Leo’s harder matchups. It’s tough to approach Faust; his buttons out-range mine, Leo has very low mobility, and I always have to deal with Faust items like bombs, meteors, Mini Faust. If I get in, I have to worry about his options on wakeup. 5D being invulerable is another thing I have to look out for besides things like backdash/super/YRC. If I’m able to cover his options or guess right, the bright side is Leo deals massive damage and could win any around off a few stray hits.”
On his opponent: “ElvenShadow has been playing GG longer than I have, I came from #Reload. He’s always been an amazing player, he’s placed high in U.S. tournaments since I’ve been around the game. I feel he’s more aggressive than the average Faust player, but it works out for him. We played against each other throughout the years, but I’m not sure we played each other in tournament until Xrd. I haven’t actually beaten him in an Xrd tournament.”
On his own playstyle: “I think I’m an aggressive player. I want to go in, keep players locked down and generally make them play my game rather than playing theirs. I enjoy reacting to what they’re doing with the proper punish or hit confirm, it’s one of the most enjoyable things for me.
“Gameplay style is kinda funny. I enjoy well-rounded characters, characters that have almost every tool: Good buttons, reversals, mobility, etc. Even if I want to go in, I prefer having tools to disengage or play from a distance. The character I play in Xrd is not a well-rounded character. Leo’s sole strength is offense, so I’ve had to change how I play. A lot of Leo players I watch go 100% on offense even if the pressure is fake (which it mostly is).
“I’ve had to dial down aggression because I recognize what situations are smoke and mirrors, and I try to play a more… ‘honest?’ game. I think going crazy with the character from time to time is a good way to keep someone off-balance. Making players second-guess themselves is needed for a character like Leo who has very little options. So yeah, I have to be less aggressive playing a max-aggressive character.”
Octopimp
On the match: “I’m a little nervous! Potemkin vs. Dizzy is one of those matches where you can either completely stamp her into the ground, or she won’t even let you get started. Because of her low health, it doesn’t take that much to end a round, especially after a Pot Buster (command throw). However, if she starts to gain momentum, it takes a couple of good reads and a lot of patience to get your turn again. Using Slidehead against her 421S (homing ice spike) and all her summons is very important. Also keeping Flick in mind for 236S/H can stop her cold (no pun intended) if timed well.”
On his opponent: “I play tenpai!! a lot, and I would say we are about at equal skill. I’m at that point where I can do some reads based solely on ‘I know tenpai!! is looking for <x> so I’m gonna do <y>’ and it keeps our matches really interesting. tenpai!! is the type of Dizzy player who loves to run away and try and trip you up so that he can engage on his own terms. He’ll use things like 236S>YRC (Ice Spike) a lot to try and catch me using Hammerfall. He also likes to use the D fire fish to bait out Flick, since Flick is very strong against dizzy, but if you Flick the D fish it’s bad news. Hopefully, I won’t fall for that, though. tenpai!!’s corner mix-up game is REALLY strong, and I still have trouble blocking it effectively. Potemkin also doesn’t have a whole lot of ways to get out of the corner, as he lacks a true reversal against someone like Dizzy who can just instant-airdash all over the place and not worry about reversal Pot Buster or Trishula, unless he plays very aggressively.”
On his own playstyle: “First of all, I would like to describe myself as the U.S.A.’s top fraudulent Potemkin player. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I tend to fall back on gimmicky stuff when I’m really pressed into dire situations. Very dangerous, but sometimes it pays off! Every match I try to play very patiently and figure out their habits, then exploit them and attempt to do wacky stuff that they wouldn’t really expect. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes down to it, I’ll play the waiting game for an opening, but I try and play a balance of defensive and aggressive that frustrates and intimidates my opponent.”
tenpai!!
On the match: “I think Dizzy has a slight advantage over Potemkin just because she has so much freedom to dictate the pace of neutral, but it’s a much more complicated matchup than it might seem on the surface. Potemkin can Flick, Slide Head, or even Hammerfall through lazy zoning, and his normals can be hard to deal with head-to-head, so it’s a grinding, patient battle where we both try to trick each other into choosing the wrong option. I’m pretty confident in my ability to dictate the pace of the match against Pot, but any slip-up leads to extreme damage, so keeping cool for such a long set is a rewarding challenge that I’m really looking forward to.”
On his opponent: “Octopimp and I play each other a fair amount, so I have a decent grasp on his playstyle. He’s a very active player for a Potemkin main, with a particular fondness for Blitz Shield, raw Potemkin Buster on defense, and of course 5D. In general, this committal style can sometimes get him into trouble, but the reality is his character has twice as much health and does twice as much damage, so it’s a good fit for the matchup to take risks. It sounds like he’s been preparing for the matchup a lot from our conversations, so I look forward to seeing what tricks he has up his sleeve!”
On his own playstyle: “Oh jeez, I don’t really know – I think it’s really hard to describe one’s own playstyle accurately, especially as a weak player like myself. I generally like to play defensively and lame, running away from the opponent and frustrating them with zoning until they make a fatal mistake. I’ve been playing a lot with strong players like BjornSonOfBear and DEB to break myself of my many bad habits, though I’m still far away from making a breakthrough and end up taking a lot of steps back, because I don’t have a lot of confidence in my decision making. Hopefully, I can overcome this in the future and show the world what my Dizzy can really do!”
tenpai!! fights Octopimp first in a FT7 set. After that, it’s ElvenShadow’s Faust vs. Zidane. Catch the action tomorrow, Thursday, at 10:00 PM EST/9:00 PM CST/7:00 PM PST. As usual, it will be on silva_hime’s Twitch channel. NerdJosh and Rynge_ will commentate.
Last week’s Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League brought a showdown between Mynus’ I-no and doren2k’s Jam, as well as Gekioh’s Axl-Low and DaveO’s Sol Badguy. Catch up on that set here:
Online warriors have a new chance to shine. As the Steam version of Guity Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- offers a superior net connection in comparison to the console platforms, a new league plans to take advantage of this. Level Up Gaming, a company that streams and organizes fighting game tournaments, is teaming up with Stream.me to host the Overdrive Series. Following the success of online leagues for Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct and Street Fighter, Stream.me are now branching out into anime fighters.
The series plays out over four tournaments in April. The dates divide into qualifiers, and then top 8 matches the following day. What are the stakes? Nothing less than a free trip to Las Vegas, NE, for Evolution 2017 (including lodgings). Runner-up prizes are yet to be determined.
Users have to be in the United States, Mexico, or Canada. Using a wireless connection isn’t allowed, and the players must have an upload speed of at least 3 MB/s.
As per the website, here are the dates for the tournaments:
Dates / Times
April 3-4
April 10-11
April 17-18
April 24-25
Mondays are qualifiers starting at 6 PM PST
Tuesdays are top 8 finals at 7 PM PST
Everything will be streamed over at Stream.me. Players can stream their matches, but only on this platform. Level Up invites interested parties to view the Guilty Gear subreddit and sign up via smash.gg.
Are you gearing up to participate in this online league? Let us know in the comments.
Super TSB ran this weekend, and while TSB is the name of the typical monthly gathering at New York City’s Next Level, this wasn’t just any tournament. A lot of top Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- and BlazBlue: Central Fiction players made the trip to participate in the tournament, play casuals, and show some exhibitions.
First up, we have footage and results from Guilty Gear contained in a playlist from TSB|Blaze’s stream. The YouTube clips start with top 8 matches. If you want to rush ahead to the Grand Finals, here’s the link to the Guilty Gear matches.
Here are the results (full bracket and all spots visible on Challonge).
There’s no BlazBlue footage just yet, but stay tuned to Blaze’s YouTube account, as he plans on uploading more. You can always view the archived footage on his Twitch channel as well.
