ごぼうさん、BeeproCup優勝おめでとうございました！ (Congratulations on winning the Beepro Cup, Gobou!)
Gobou - widely regarded as the strongest Asuka user in the world - has finally won a major tournament (where strong players attended) with none other than, Asuka..!
Despite the fact that I just haven't felt motivated to write any analyses as of late, I Had to write about my all-time favorite Asuka player, Gobou, after securing this vital win. For those who have the time to read it (it will be long), this community post will go into detail about Gobou's triumphant major tournament victory with Asuka last weekend (Beepro Cup), as well as some essential information on the Asuka match-up from the champion himself.
For those who are unaware, the Beepro Cup was a Gold+ Arc World Tour tournament that took place in Taiwan on 11/21/2025 ~ 11/23/2025. Some notable strong players that attended include: Gobou (Goldlewis/Asuka), Leo (Faust), 下水 (Gesui) [Leo], Aranea (Jack-O'), MetallicCake (I-No), and Tim119 (Giovanna).
Delving into Gobou's first top 8 match: He faced a player called GGyro - who was a surprisingly strong Sin player from Malaysia. Not wanting to give his opponent any unnecessary advantages, Gobou decides to swap to Goldlewis for this match-up. Despite losing the first game, Gobou made some amazing adjustments such as using more jump-ins to be beat grounded pokes, and playing a more patient neutral game - because he was getting whiff-punished a lot in the first and second games.
Also, for a bit of trivia: One can tell how strong Gobou believes an opponent is if it's an in-person tournament - the clue here, is that Gobou always wears a military-style hat, and when his opponent is strong, he tends to take it off. Now, a bit of a spoiler, but GGyro was the only opponent Gobou faced in the entire tournament where he took his hat off - meaning, Gobou must have felt he was the overall strongest player he faced at the Beepro Cup.
Furthermore, Gobou's match vs. MetallicCake was quite interesting... I mean no disrespect to MetallicCake by any means, as they're a very strong I-No player in their region (Australia). However, I suppose it is due to them probably having no Asuka users in their area, but I was a bit disappointed to see no Asuka countermeasures (aside from HCL and STBT) from a player this good... their score was 2-3 against Gobou's Asuka - which is impressive, but I will say much of why Gobou lost those games was due to him trying to challenge I-No's normal attacks - therefore, losing the micro-interactions, even if he had the right idea/normal move - due to I-No's normal attacks being superior to Asuka's; another factor was Gobou not reacting to MLA/or trying to back dash it (the extra active frames added with [Ver. 1.48] made that impossible). Although both players had a decent performance, for me, personally, this set was a bit hard to watch as both an I-No and Asuka user, as it really put into the spotlight the power dynamics when match-up knowledge is not a major deciding factor...
In the end, the set was 3-2 - Gobou - which placed him in the grand finals - winner's side, but it looked like it could have gone either way... but one strength of Gobou's is that he is fantastic at adapting to his opponent(s)......
Well now, I had forgotten that today was October 1st...
I understand he's a work of fiction, but I'd like to say Happy Birthday to Asuka R. Kreutz, "The cutest war criminal in Guilty Gear history!" (He's enjoying "Asuka R♯'s Space Donut" - a refreshing melt-in-your-mouth donut with rose ice cream and inspired by Asuka R♯).
(It's still 10/1/2025 in some places in the world right now...)
I felt that with this community post centering around Asuka's birthday, it would be appropriate to discuss his character in detail. Some information you may already know, but this post will also contain data I've never discussed anywhere else. So please give it a read if you have a bit of time (Long Post Warning):
With Asuka giving the nonentity of a Zoner at first glance, many have classified him as such; but is that really an accurate description of such a complex character..?
While many seem to label him as a "Zoner," that is not the case. Please allow me to further elaborate using GGST's most mislabeled character as an example - and Asuka's teacher - Chaos. Chaos is Not a Zoner. A zoner is a character that wants to maintain a certain distance to win; which is typically close to full screen away (Zoner = keep-away for those very reason). In seasons 1 and 2, Chaos was not a Zoner, but since it had the best zoning in the game, Chaos users engaged in the classic Guilty Gear adage, "If it's working, then why stop now?" Gobou said early Chaos was so strong, that (in Japanese) "The entire flow of the match was decided at the very beginning, to the end of the match." But again, Chaos was not a Zoner back then - and especially not now - the reason comes down to one simple question; "What can Chaos achieve at full screen that he cannot at mid, or close range?" Concentration regeneration is less effective full screen away, chipping the opponent using charged shot would take years to finish, and Chaos has no opportunities to mix the opponent up using the Roll at that distance. Therefore, Chaos is said to be, "An All-Purpose Character." With Chaos' strongest mixups being up close, such as the ability to wall-slump loop, use unreactable - true string roll setups, and much more at this distance...
Moreover, the same question can be asked about Asuka - but to keep this conversation on the shorter side - Asuka will never be a Zoner as long as Case 2 is a part of his game plan. Case 2 is the converse of a Zoner - as it revolves around close combat, mixups, and system mechanics as its strengths. Additionally, like Chaos, Asuka regains Mana very poorly at 1/2 and full screen distance; this causes a delay in his gameplan, and gives the opponent (that knows Asuka countermeasures) room to take the advantage, and possibly the round/game. That being said, a full screen "zoning" gameplan with Asuka is not cost effective, gives the opponent room to launch a counterattack, and is not the ideal way to play the character. The optimal spacing for Asuka - or what I like to refer to as, "The goldilocks zone," is about 1/4 screen distance. This allows Asuka users to bait YRCs (or avoid them all together), regain Mana quickly to continue their pressure, go for instant overhead or fuzzy options, bait throws, Bursts, and much more. So what is Asuka's archetype? The most precise categorization is that he is a "Setplay Character with zoning capabilities." He is his strongest when fairly close to the opponent (1/4 or closer distance) - is constantly creating setups to force and keep his turn - and is weakest full screen away...
One can emulate a zoning playstyle with Asuka, but we must understand that playstyle/strategy =/= character archetype; as just about every character in the game has zoning tools to an extent - and if a character does not excel at zoning - it cannot be deemed a zoner... a character's archetype is determined by where its strengths lie at the granular level - not its appearance on the surface level...
It's also important to note that during Asuka initial release to GGST as a playable character, Daru_I-No, one of the best players in the world - and a Guilty Gear veteran for over 20 years, categorized Asuka a "Frame Trap Character." Even to this day, this remains an incredibly accurate explanation of Asuka's archetype. Some of you may be wondering what a frame trap character is - if you've played other fighting games aside from GGST, frame trap characters include Psylocke from the game, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and Dante from the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 series. These type of characters are designed around trickery, as their attacks give the illusion it's "your turn," but in reality, the gap between their moves is so minute, that your character will lose the next interaction. For a bit more detail, their attacks look like they have more recovery than they actually do, but the opponent launching a counterattack will most likely lead to a counter hit and possibly losing the game - since the attack window is typically small enough for these characters to continue their offense. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
But much of this is through watching hours of gameplay from the best Asuka users out there, along with also playing the character first-hand. But what does the player that defined Asuka's character in tournaments, and the inventor of the "Solitaire" playstyle have to say about Asuka's character archetype?
At last, the discussion around Asuka's character archetype has been answered by the strongest Asuka user in all of Asia, Gobou. For a bit of context, in Asia, zoners are typically referred to as "long-range" or "long-distance characters."
My goal was to make this community post relatively short in comparison to others in the past, but.... I wanted to discuss Asuka's balance changes in [1.48], along with a few other topics such as ArcRevo in Senzan, and Asuka's new voice lines.
But before we jump into those subjects, I'd like to provide a brief overview on Lucy's story in GGST - and that's only because Asuka plays a big part in it:
**Spoilers**
Now, I did not play Lucy's story mode, but I watched someone else complete it. Early on, she befriends Axl; and according to Sol, Lucy died when she crossed over to the Guilty Gear world, and a person who Sol refers to as simply a "wizard" brought her back and had a hard time recreating her weapons. This was corroborated by Asuka R♯, who referred to Sol as simply, "my friend," and stated she was lucky he found her soul wandering throughout the Backyard - because had he not, then she very well could have been there for eternity. Using her soul, he curated a body for her (think of Jack-O's creation in I-No's Xrd story mode), along with her weapons. He also said he installed an ad hoc patch to keep her consciousness connected to GGST's world. It took Lucy some time to get acclimated with this new body of her's, and at last, Asuka R♯wanted to test the strength of his "guinea pig" (Lucy's words). After Asuka R♯runs out of stamina (I'm assuming, because Axl and Lucy could not even defeat Sol, and in the lore, Asuka R Kreutz is stronger than Sol), Asuka R♯creates a portal that sends her back to Night City. Lucy wakes up thinking it was a very realistic dream, but makes a remark that those she met in her "dream" were cool people, like those she would hang out with in Night City... Asuka R♯is now even with Asuka R Kreutz, as both have created artificial life - but sadly, we can assume Lucy's appearance in GGST is non-canon, like that of the characters in the Marvel vs. Capcom series - you won't find any mention of those crossovers in games outside of said crossovers, because those characters are not owned by a single company. I know SNK and SF collaborations are different, but they're the outlier, not the common denominator for crossovers. For me, the biggest takeaway from Lucy's story mode was Sol's form of endearment for Asuka, is calling him a "wizard;" while Asuka R♯'s is using the term, "my friend." Asuka R Kreutz's form of endearment for Sol, is simply calling him, "Frederick." Cute...
Back to the topic of Asuka's balance adjustments in the latest patch:
Well, ArcSys, after several balance patches throughout the years that have resulted in nothing but making Asuka a weaker character overall, you've finally given us Asuka users a patch with only positive reinforcements (buffs). Thank you for that...
Moreover, many of you may be wondering how big of an impact these enhancements were to Asuka - and if they were enough to make him viable in tournaments again. I must apologize in advance, but it is far too early to infer the strength of such a complex character that received only two buffs, and previously had much more taken away that still has consequences on his very essence to this day...
On the positive side, Asuka users can now easily wallslump the opponent to regain precious resources and spells without having to use Tension; and with the Low-Pass Filter Gravity spell, F-Shiki (fuzzy overhead) routes are easier to connect. A remark made by a viewer on Gobou's live broadcast after watching him utilizing some Ice setups was, "The next patch to weaken Asuka after Gobou using it." I have full faith in Gobou's skill as a player, and that if he decides to play Asuka in this version of the game, he Will find a way to "Solitaire" with Case 2 - as he was already getting to that point prior to switching to Zato for ArcRevo in Senzan...
Regarding ArcRevo: As witnessed at ArcRevo in Senzan this weekend (8/30-8/31), Gobou utilized Zato throughout the entire event. For many, this may have come as a surprise, due to Gobou seemingly only having 2 weeks to get his Zato "tournament-ready" - especially with how long he's been off of the character...
So, what made him choose Zato (main) and A.B.A (sub) at ArcRevo in Senzan? The primary constituent was character compatibility and match-ups...
Prior to the ArcRevo in Senzan event, Gobou commenced a live broadcast where he discussed character pairings of two (character compatibility); the final pairings were (main/sub): Venom/Unika, Venom/A.B.A, Zato/Asuka, and Zato/A.B.A - there were alliances that included Goldlewis, but he was excluded about halfway through the pairing analysis process... it's also important to realize that Venom/Asuka was discarded very early on, due to both having many bad match-ups that neither character can cover - one popular tournament character that single-handedly disqualified Asuka in the alliance with Venom was Elphelt (why didn't someone inform me this character was considered harder than a 5.5:4.5 match-up for Asuka?)...
Furthermore, how Gobou settled on Zato/A.B.A came down to how confident he felt in a match-up, while also taking into consideration how the character fares in said match-up (if it's a good/or bad match).
To test this hypothesis, Gobou had played some matches with Asuka in ranked mode; followed by A.B.A. In spite of his amazing Asuka gameplay, Gobou had deduced a concerning matter that many Asuka may have overlooked - Asuka's hard match-ups have failed to improve - and in fact, some have become more difficult. Allow me to explain:
Although Asuka has received nothing but enhancements for this balance patch (version 1.48), with the Low-Pass Filter Gravity spell adding ground bounce to all cubes, and the "Ice" (commonly referred to as 氷 (こおり) by Japanese Asuka users and Japanese commentators) allowing Asuka users greater character expression and combo/setplay potential; under that cloud of euphoria one may be experiencing from their main character being strengthened, lies one major issue - and while I'm happy the spell Gobou always referred to as a "cursed (Aquila Metron) has been reworked into a strong, usable spell, I'm not quite sure it was worth Asuka now offically having the worst defense in the game...
With attention to this, during his "character evaluation" of Asuka and A.B.A, Gobou discovered Asuka's match-ups against in-fight characters like Sin, Chipp, Leo, Gio, Slayer, and I-No have become harder (even Daru_I-No stated the Asuka/I-No match-up has now gotten easier); this is because any player who understands the basics of Asuka counterplay will first focus on his spells on hand. With the threat of an invincible reversal being eliminated from the equation, these characters can continue their pressure relatively uninterrupted - because the need for hypervigilance - or the obligation to show respect to an Asuka user who has Aquila Metron in their repertoire has now ceased. System mechanics, which can all be exploited, is now an Asuka user's only line of defense in any match-up...
The new Asuka buffs make for a fun and refreshing approach when operating the character; on the negative side, Asuka users are now at a much greater risk of losing the round/game once they're put on defense...
Anhedonia... Disenchantment... Evanescing... (My AWTF Experience, And Future FGC Projections).
This was something I planned to post a while ago, but...
Also, since some have asked... for the audio version, please click the link below: (I will cry if you make fun of my voice. I don't sound like Asuka or a high-pitched anime girl)
To read the written version, please scroll down below:
As the title reads, this post will be a brief overview of my exposure to my first AWTF event, along with how this - and past experiences have muddled my life as a competitor...
I will preface by saying that attending the Arc World Tour Finals (AWTF) was one of the best last-minute decisions I have made as a competitor. I was able to find a clean hotel that was less than 10 minutes away from the venue, checking in was quick and easy, and the staff were all nice and helpful.
I was excited to enter my first LCQ as a means of getting more tournament experience. However, it appears the meal I ate the day prior did not agree with me. My stomach was in knots, and I was ultimately too sick to attend my pool... but I was not going to allow this to ruin my first day...
Making my way over to the AWTF vendor shops, I will say that I am by no means ashamed to admit that I bought every bit of Asuka merchandise that I did not own - and more of what I already own - such as the Pop-up Shop t-shirt with Sol, Ky, and Asuka, and stickers - the final price tag was a bit hefty, but I have a decent job that easily covered this expense. I also got a free poster featuring Ram, Elphelt, Sol, Ky, Bridget, and Asuka in street clothes as a free gift for making a purchase.
When the group stage matches were about to begin, I had to ensure a good seat was secured to see all the action. To support my favorite players, I drew a chibi I-No to cheer Daru_I-No on, and one for Gobou's Asuka (attached below):
While I was elated that Daru was able to advance to the top 8 bracket, I'm sad that Gobou was not able to do so as well... I was happy that he picked Asuka, and never switched characters. For a bit of clarification, Gobou choosing Asuka was not about the match-up (I know it's hard for A.B.A, but Gobou says that she can turn around Any match-up) - he picked Asuka because he promised in a previous broadcast that he would "bring out the Asuka." He knows his Asuka gameplay is popular, and even made a hand gesture to the crowd to "bring up the energy." I found it quite honorable that Gobou was such a good sport towards the end, and even waved "bye" to the camera after being eliminated from the event. The crowd gave him a round of applause when he left the stage, and well...
I wore an outfit that apparently caught many people's eyes - some female Japanese AWTF, NA AWTF staff members, and cosplayers complimented my outfit. Even Gobou stared at my outfit until he walked off stage... Gobou, it's because of your wonderful Asuka gameplay that gave me an epiphany of how beautiful Japanese clothing truly is... thank you for that, but I am a bit sad that I was not able to play you again...
***Disclaimer: While I hold Gobou's fighting game skills in high regard, and I have considerable respect for him as an individual - I do not harbor any romantic feelings towards him. Furthermore, I am by no means alleging that he directed his attention towards me - except perhaps out of mere curiosity (if even that). I understand that such a charge can easily be misconstrued and considered slander - and I have no intention of causing any harm - or damaging his reputation in any way. In fact, that is the last thing I would want to accomplish...***
That being said, I will say I was happy that my costume was intriguing enough to catch a gaze from one of my favorite GGST players - nothing more...
Moreover, I don't have social media, but a friend of mine does; and from what I saw, Gobou was a bit upset about his AWTF performance... but he will be back next year in an attempt to secure his spot in the top 8 bracket. He also stated that it is because of the support from us (his fans) that he can continue playing fighting games and trying his best. Let's all support Gobou together and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Now, what I am about to say may offend some, and I apologize in advance...
I have been a part of the FGC for many years; and throughout my journey, I have been subjected to odd stares or comments such as, "Wow, I almost lost to a girl;" but what I find the most egregious, is my would-be opponents "sizing me down." If you have ever worked with any high-ranking executives at any company, you may experience this at least once in your career.
What takes place when an individual engages in this behavior? It begins with said person looking at you, starting at your feet, then finishing at your head. The neutral version - in a sense, is "sizing one up" - or what I like to refer to as a "threat assessment." When determining a person's "threat level," one will generally look at a person beginning at the top of their head, and terminating at the feet. The main difference between these nonverbal cues, is the first one signifies a person is viewing you through a lens of devaluation and inferiority to them; while the latter can be positive, neutral, or negative, and is primarily done as a type of comparison technique.
For almost every GGST tournament I have been to, I had more than a few incidents where if I was the next person in line to play, they would "size me down," then let the person who lost - generally a weaker player - fight me instead; most likely because they felt as if I was not worth their time...
The general rule in the FGC when playing multiple people in a rotation, is the winner stays on. The person(s) who refused to play me went on to play other male opponents - random male opponents...
Please know that I had no relationship with these players who "sized me down", and this was our first encounter. I can understand a top player like NitroNY not wanting to play a "random" such as myself; but usually, this type of disparate treatment is often done by mid level players on the cusp of being a high level player - players within my own skill range...
This is a bonus community post to accompany my previous entry, if you will. I will go over Asuka's match-ups in season 4.
But before I do, how many advantageous match-ups do you feel Asuka has in season 4? The answers below will provide some clues:
( A. 6 ( B. 2 ( C. 0 ( D. 3 ( E. 1
To see the answer to your question, and how well our Soba noodle-loving Mage does against the entire cast, please view the comment(s) below this post (Asuka is so cute, that surely you would like to know who he does well against, right?).
What do these calculus images in the background signify? What is Asuka saying?
There are clues hidden within these pictures regarding the state of Asuka in season 4 (my apologies for those who dislike math)...
For those who can read Japanese - fantastic work - you have just deciphered the very core of this community post. If you would still like to read about where Asuka stands in terms of character strength and tier placement in season 4, please click the comments section of this community post.
With the major balance patch for GGST being on the horizon, and based on what I witnessed in the demonstration video; I had theorized that perhaps with Potemkin now having the ability to flick the cubes - they are now categorized as projectiles in the game - rather than a single cube being specified as 1/3 of an attack previously. This leads me to believe that the cubes may no longer have hurtboxes, and can no longer be destroyed using special moves or normal attacks.
Moreover, if Asuka's cubes were changed to projectiles in the previous patches while leaving the character unmodified, and thus, the cubes could not be destroyed by the opponent -- the character would be broken... but what if ASW wanted to weaken Asuka's "Solitaire" game by not only allowing Potemkin to flick the cubes (and categorize them as projectiles), but also restricting Asuka to only 1 follow-up attack. When I watched the video by ASW, it's not clear whether Asuka can follow-up with a spell multiple times like in the past - due to ASW only displaying gameplay with a single spell into a follow-up spell/attack. However, I feel this would possibly severely nerf the character - while also taking away some character expression and the fun associated with using Asuka...
Perhaps I'm just being paranoid - or putting too much thought into this - but we won't know for sure until the patch notes are released. Either way, as with every upcoming major balance patch - I am both anxious and scared......
This post will go over some player opinions regarding the strength of Asuka R. Kreutz - the most technical character in Guilty Gear Strive, and some analysis on my part of those player opinions.
The rest of this post will be in the form of replies - my apologies...
Heuristic Girl
ごぼうさん、BeeproCup優勝おめでとうございました！
(Congratulations on winning the Beepro Cup, Gobou!)
Gobou - widely regarded as the strongest Asuka user in the world - has finally won a major tournament (where strong players attended) with none other than, Asuka..!
Despite the fact that I just haven't felt motivated to write any analyses as of late, I Had to write about my all-time favorite Asuka player, Gobou, after securing this vital win. For those who have the time to read it (it will be long), this community post will go into detail about Gobou's triumphant major tournament victory with Asuka last weekend (Beepro Cup), as well as some essential information on the Asuka match-up from the champion himself.
For those who are unaware, the Beepro Cup was a Gold+ Arc World Tour tournament that took place in Taiwan on 11/21/2025 ~ 11/23/2025. Some notable strong players that attended include: Gobou (Goldlewis/Asuka), Leo (Faust), 下水 (Gesui) [Leo], Aranea (Jack-O'), MetallicCake (I-No), and Tim119 (Giovanna).
Delving into Gobou's first top 8 match: He faced a player called GGyro - who was a surprisingly strong Sin player from Malaysia. Not wanting to give his opponent any unnecessary advantages, Gobou decides to swap to Goldlewis for this match-up. Despite losing the first game, Gobou made some amazing adjustments such as using more jump-ins to be beat grounded pokes, and playing a more patient neutral game - because he was getting whiff-punished a lot in the first and second games.
Also, for a bit of trivia: One can tell how strong Gobou believes an opponent is if it's an in-person tournament - the clue here, is that Gobou always wears a military-style hat, and when his opponent is strong, he tends to take it off. Now, a bit of a spoiler, but GGyro was the only opponent Gobou faced in the entire tournament where he took his hat off - meaning, Gobou must have felt he was the overall strongest player he faced at the Beepro Cup.
Furthermore, Gobou's match vs. MetallicCake was quite interesting... I mean no disrespect to MetallicCake by any means, as they're a very strong I-No player in their region (Australia). However, I suppose it is due to them probably having no Asuka users in their area, but I was a bit disappointed to see no Asuka countermeasures (aside from HCL and STBT) from a player this good... their score was 2-3 against Gobou's Asuka - which is impressive, but I will say much of why Gobou lost those games was due to him trying to challenge I-No's normal attacks - therefore, losing the micro-interactions, even if he had the right idea/normal move - due to I-No's normal attacks being superior to Asuka's; another factor was Gobou not reacting to MLA/or trying to back dash it (the extra active frames added with [Ver. 1.48] made that impossible). Although both players had a decent performance, for me, personally, this set was a bit hard to watch as both an I-No and Asuka user, as it really put into the spotlight the power dynamics when match-up knowledge is not a major deciding factor...
In the end, the set was 3-2 - Gobou - which placed him in the grand finals - winner's side, but it looked like it could have gone either way... but one strength of Gobou's is that he is fantastic at adapting to his opponent(s)......
**Post Continued In The Reply Section**
2 weeks ago | [YT] | 4
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Heuristic Girl
Well now, I had forgotten that today was October 1st...
I understand he's a work of fiction, but I'd like to say Happy Birthday to Asuka R. Kreutz, "The cutest war criminal in Guilty Gear history!"
(He's enjoying "Asuka R♯'s Space Donut" - a refreshing melt-in-your-mouth donut with rose ice cream and inspired by Asuka R♯).
(It's still 10/1/2025 in some places in the world right now...)
I felt that with this community post centering around Asuka's birthday, it would be appropriate to discuss his character in detail. Some information you may already know, but this post will also contain data I've never discussed anywhere else. So please give it a read if you have a bit of time (Long Post Warning):
With Asuka giving the nonentity of a Zoner at first glance, many have classified him as such; but is that really an accurate description of such a complex character..?
While many seem to label him as a "Zoner," that is not the case. Please allow me to further elaborate using GGST's most mislabeled character as an example - and Asuka's teacher - Chaos. Chaos is Not a Zoner. A zoner is a character that wants to maintain a certain distance to win; which is typically close to full screen away (Zoner = keep-away for those very reason). In seasons 1 and 2, Chaos was not a Zoner, but since it had the best zoning in the game, Chaos users engaged in the classic Guilty Gear adage, "If it's working, then why stop now?" Gobou said early Chaos was so strong, that (in Japanese) "The entire flow of the match was decided at the very beginning, to the end of the match." But again, Chaos was not a Zoner back then - and especially not now - the reason comes down to one simple question; "What can Chaos achieve at full screen that he cannot at mid, or close range?" Concentration regeneration is less effective full screen away, chipping the opponent using charged shot would take years to finish, and Chaos has no opportunities to mix the opponent up using the Roll at that distance. Therefore, Chaos is said to be, "An All-Purpose Character." With Chaos' strongest mixups being up close, such as the ability to wall-slump loop, use unreactable - true string roll setups, and much more at this distance...
Moreover, the same question can be asked about Asuka - but to keep this conversation on the shorter side - Asuka will never be a Zoner as long as Case 2 is a part of his game plan. Case 2 is the converse of a Zoner - as it revolves around close combat, mixups, and system mechanics as its strengths. Additionally, like Chaos, Asuka regains Mana very poorly at 1/2 and full screen distance; this causes a delay in his gameplan, and gives the opponent (that knows Asuka countermeasures) room to take the advantage, and possibly the round/game. That being said, a full screen "zoning" gameplan with Asuka is not cost effective, gives the opponent room to launch a counterattack, and is not the ideal way to play the character. The optimal spacing for Asuka - or what I like to refer to as, "The goldilocks zone," is about 1/4 screen distance. This allows Asuka users to bait YRCs (or avoid them all together), regain Mana quickly to continue their pressure, go for instant overhead or fuzzy options, bait throws, Bursts, and much more. So what is Asuka's archetype? The most precise categorization is that he is a "Setplay Character with zoning capabilities." He is his strongest when fairly close to the opponent (1/4 or closer distance) - is constantly creating setups to force and keep his turn - and is weakest full screen away...
One can emulate a zoning playstyle with Asuka, but we must understand that playstyle/strategy =/= character archetype; as just about every character in the game has zoning tools to an extent - and if a character does not excel at zoning - it cannot be deemed a zoner... a character's archetype is determined by where its strengths lie at the granular level - not its appearance on the surface level...
It's also important to note that during Asuka initial release to GGST as a playable character, Daru_I-No, one of the best players in the world - and a Guilty Gear veteran for over 20 years, categorized Asuka a "Frame Trap Character." Even to this day, this remains an incredibly accurate explanation of Asuka's archetype. Some of you may be wondering what a frame trap character is - if you've played other fighting games aside from GGST, frame trap characters include Psylocke from the game, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and Dante from the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 series. These type of characters are designed around trickery, as their attacks give the illusion it's "your turn," but in reality, the gap between their moves is so minute, that your character will lose the next interaction. For a bit more detail, their attacks look like they have more recovery than they actually do, but the opponent launching a counterattack will most likely lead to a counter hit and possibly losing the game - since the attack window is typically small enough for these characters to continue their offense. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
But much of this is through watching hours of gameplay from the best Asuka users out there, along with also playing the character first-hand. But what does the player that defined Asuka's character in tournaments, and the inventor of the "Solitaire" playstyle have to say about Asuka's character archetype?
At last, the discussion around Asuka's character archetype has been answered by the strongest Asuka user in all of Asia, Gobou. For a bit of context, in Asia, zoners are typically referred to as "long-range" or "long-distance characters."
**Continued in the reply below**
2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 9
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Heuristic Girl
You Surpise Me, ASW...
My goal was to make this community post relatively short in comparison to others in the past, but.... I wanted to discuss Asuka's balance changes in [1.48], along with a few other topics such as ArcRevo in Senzan, and Asuka's new voice lines.
But before we jump into those subjects, I'd like to provide a brief overview on Lucy's story in GGST - and that's only because Asuka plays a big part in it:
**Spoilers**
Now, I did not play Lucy's story mode, but I watched someone else complete it. Early on, she befriends Axl; and according to Sol, Lucy died when she crossed over to the Guilty Gear world, and a person who Sol refers to as simply a "wizard" brought her back and had a hard time recreating her weapons. This was corroborated by Asuka R♯, who referred to Sol as simply, "my friend," and stated she was lucky he found her soul wandering throughout the Backyard - because had he not, then she very well could have been there for eternity. Using her soul, he curated a body for her (think of Jack-O's creation in I-No's Xrd story mode), along with her weapons. He also said he installed an ad hoc patch to keep her consciousness connected to GGST's world. It took Lucy some time to get acclimated with this new body of her's, and at last, Asuka R♯wanted to test the strength of his "guinea pig" (Lucy's words). After Asuka R♯runs out of stamina (I'm assuming, because Axl and Lucy could not even defeat Sol, and in the lore, Asuka R Kreutz is stronger than Sol), Asuka R♯creates a portal that sends her back to Night City. Lucy wakes up thinking it was a very realistic dream, but makes a remark that those she met in her "dream" were cool people, like those she would hang out with in Night City... Asuka R♯is now even with Asuka R Kreutz, as both have created artificial life - but sadly, we can assume Lucy's appearance in GGST is non-canon, like that of the characters in the Marvel vs. Capcom series - you won't find any mention of those crossovers in games outside of said crossovers, because those characters are not owned by a single company. I know SNK and SF collaborations are different, but they're the outlier, not the common denominator for crossovers. For me, the biggest takeaway from Lucy's story mode was Sol's form of endearment for Asuka, is calling him a "wizard;" while Asuka R♯'s is using the term, "my friend." Asuka R Kreutz's form of endearment for Sol, is simply calling him, "Frederick." Cute...
Back to the topic of Asuka's balance adjustments in the latest patch:
Well, ArcSys, after several balance patches throughout the years that have resulted in nothing but making Asuka a weaker character overall, you've finally given us Asuka users a patch with only positive reinforcements (buffs). Thank you for that...
Moreover, many of you may be wondering how big of an impact these enhancements were to Asuka - and if they were enough to make him viable in tournaments again. I must apologize in advance, but it is far too early to infer the strength of such a complex character that received only two buffs, and previously had much more taken away that still has consequences on his very essence to this day...
On the positive side, Asuka users can now easily wallslump the opponent to regain precious resources and spells without having to use Tension; and with the Low-Pass Filter Gravity spell, F-Shiki (fuzzy overhead) routes are easier to connect. A remark made by a viewer on Gobou's live broadcast after watching him utilizing some Ice setups was, "The next patch to weaken Asuka after Gobou using it." I have full faith in Gobou's skill as a player, and that if he decides to play Asuka in this version of the game, he Will find a way to "Solitaire" with Case 2 - as he was already getting to that point prior to switching to Zato for ArcRevo in Senzan...
Regarding ArcRevo: As witnessed at ArcRevo in Senzan this weekend (8/30-8/31), Gobou utilized Zato throughout the entire event. For many, this may have come as a surprise, due to Gobou seemingly only having 2 weeks to get his Zato "tournament-ready" - especially with how long he's been off of the character...
So, what made him choose Zato (main) and A.B.A (sub) at ArcRevo in Senzan? The primary constituent was character compatibility and match-ups...
Prior to the ArcRevo in Senzan event, Gobou commenced a live broadcast where he discussed character pairings of two (character compatibility); the final pairings were (main/sub): Venom/Unika, Venom/A.B.A, Zato/Asuka, and Zato/A.B.A - there were alliances that included Goldlewis, but he was excluded about halfway through the pairing analysis process... it's also important to realize that Venom/Asuka was discarded very early on, due to both having many bad match-ups that neither character can cover - one popular tournament character that single-handedly disqualified Asuka in the alliance with Venom was Elphelt (why didn't someone inform me this character was considered harder than a 5.5:4.5 match-up for Asuka?)...
Furthermore, how Gobou settled on Zato/A.B.A came down to how confident he felt in a match-up, while also taking into consideration how the character fares in said match-up (if it's a good/or bad match).
To test this hypothesis, Gobou had played some matches with Asuka in ranked mode; followed by A.B.A. In spite of his amazing Asuka gameplay, Gobou had deduced a concerning matter that many Asuka may have overlooked - Asuka's hard match-ups have failed to improve - and in fact, some have become more difficult. Allow me to explain:
Although Asuka has received nothing but enhancements for this balance patch (version 1.48), with the Low-Pass Filter Gravity spell adding ground bounce to all cubes, and the "Ice" (commonly referred to as 氷 (こおり) by Japanese Asuka users and Japanese commentators) allowing Asuka users greater character expression and combo/setplay potential; under that cloud of euphoria one may be experiencing from their main character being strengthened, lies one major issue - and while I'm happy the spell Gobou always referred to as a "cursed (Aquila Metron) has been reworked into a strong, usable spell, I'm not quite sure it was worth Asuka now offically having the worst defense in the game...
With attention to this, during his "character evaluation" of Asuka and A.B.A, Gobou discovered Asuka's match-ups against in-fight characters like Sin, Chipp, Leo, Gio, Slayer, and I-No have become harder (even Daru_I-No stated the Asuka/I-No match-up has now gotten easier); this is because any player who understands the basics of Asuka counterplay will first focus on his spells on hand. With the threat of an invincible reversal being eliminated from the equation, these characters can continue their pressure relatively uninterrupted - because the need for hypervigilance - or the obligation to show respect to an Asuka user who has Aquila Metron in their repertoire has now ceased. System mechanics, which can all be exploited, is now an Asuka user's only line of defense in any match-up...
The new Asuka buffs make for a fun and refreshing approach when operating the character; on the negative side, Asuka users are now at a much greater risk of losing the round/game once they're put on defense...
**Continued In the reply below**
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 16
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Heuristic Girl
Anhedonia... Disenchantment... Evanescing...
(My AWTF Experience, And Future FGC Projections).
This was something I planned to post a while ago, but...
Also, since some have asked... for the audio version, please click the link below:
(I will cry if you make fun of my voice. I don't sound like Asuka or a high-pitched anime girl)
https://youtu.be/hHrj74Rd7gE?si=0UCsc...
To read the written version, please scroll down below:
As the title reads, this post will be a brief overview of my exposure to my first AWTF event, along with how this - and past experiences have muddled my life as a competitor...
I will preface by saying that attending the Arc World Tour Finals (AWTF) was one of the best last-minute decisions I have made as a competitor. I was able to find a clean hotel that was less than 10 minutes away from the venue, checking in was quick and easy, and the staff were all nice and helpful.
I was excited to enter my first LCQ as a means of getting more tournament experience. However, it appears the meal I ate the day prior did not agree with me. My stomach was in knots, and I was ultimately too sick to attend my pool... but I was not going to allow this to ruin my first day...
Making my way over to the AWTF vendor shops, I will say that I am by no means ashamed to admit that I bought every bit of Asuka merchandise that I did not own - and more of what I already own - such as the Pop-up Shop t-shirt with Sol, Ky, and Asuka, and stickers - the final price tag was a bit hefty, but I have a decent job that easily covered this expense. I also got a free poster featuring Ram, Elphelt, Sol, Ky, Bridget, and Asuka in street clothes as a free gift for making a purchase.
When the group stage matches were about to begin, I had to ensure a good seat was secured to see all the action. To support my favorite players, I drew a chibi I-No to cheer Daru_I-No on, and one for Gobou's Asuka (attached below):
ibb.co/XxxWmcpW
ibb.co/8g0d5mcp
While I was elated that Daru was able to advance to the top 8 bracket, I'm sad that Gobou was not able to do so as well... I was happy that he picked Asuka, and never switched characters. For a bit of clarification, Gobou choosing Asuka was not about the match-up (I know it's hard for A.B.A, but Gobou says that she can turn around Any match-up) - he picked Asuka because he promised in a previous broadcast that he would "bring out the Asuka." He knows his Asuka gameplay is popular, and even made a hand gesture to the crowd to "bring up the energy." I found it quite honorable that Gobou was such a good sport towards the end, and even waved "bye" to the camera after being eliminated from the event. The crowd gave him a round of applause when he left the stage, and well...
I wore an outfit that apparently caught many people's eyes - some female Japanese AWTF, NA AWTF staff members, and cosplayers complimented my outfit. Even Gobou stared at my outfit until he walked off stage... Gobou, it's because of your wonderful Asuka gameplay that gave me an epiphany of how beautiful Japanese clothing truly is... thank you for that, but I am a bit sad that I was not able to play you again...
***Disclaimer: While I hold Gobou's fighting game skills in high regard, and I have considerable respect for him as an individual - I do not harbor any romantic feelings towards him. Furthermore, I am by no means alleging that he directed his attention towards me - except perhaps out of mere curiosity (if even that). I understand that such a charge can easily be misconstrued and considered slander - and I have no intention of causing any harm - or damaging his reputation in any way. In fact, that is the last thing I would want to accomplish...***
That being said, I will say I was happy that my costume was intriguing enough to catch a gaze from one of my favorite GGST players - nothing more...
Moreover, I don't have social media, but a friend of mine does; and from what I saw, Gobou was a bit upset about his AWTF performance... but he will be back next year in an attempt to secure his spot in the top 8 bracket. He also stated that it is because of the support from us (his fans) that he can continue playing fighting games and trying his best. Let's all support Gobou together and wish him the best in his future endeavors.
Now, what I am about to say may offend some, and I apologize in advance...
I have been a part of the FGC for many years; and throughout my journey, I have been subjected to odd stares or comments such as, "Wow, I almost lost to a girl;" but what I find the most egregious, is my would-be opponents "sizing me down." If you have ever worked with any high-ranking executives at any company, you may experience this at least once in your career.
What takes place when an individual engages in this behavior? It begins with said person looking at you, starting at your feet, then finishing at your head. The neutral version - in a sense, is "sizing one up" - or what I like to refer to as a "threat assessment." When determining a person's "threat level," one will generally look at a person beginning at the top of their head, and terminating at the feet. The main difference between these nonverbal cues, is the first one signifies a person is viewing you through a lens of devaluation and inferiority to them; while the latter can be positive, neutral, or negative, and is primarily done as a type of comparison technique.
For almost every GGST tournament I have been to, I had more than a few incidents where if I was the next person in line to play, they would "size me down," then let the person who lost - generally a weaker player - fight me instead; most likely because they felt as if I was not worth their time...
The general rule in the FGC when playing multiple people in a rotation, is the winner stays on. The person(s) who refused to play me went on to play other male opponents - random male opponents...
Please know that I had no relationship with these players who "sized me down", and this was our first encounter. I can understand a top player like NitroNY not wanting to play a "random" such as myself; but usually, this type of disparate treatment is often done by mid level players on the cusp of being a high level player - players within my own skill range...
ー *Post Continued In The Reply Below* ー
4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 1
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Heuristic Girl
This is a bonus community post to accompany my previous entry, if you will. I will go over Asuka's match-ups in season 4.
But before I do, how many advantageous match-ups do you feel Asuka has in season 4? The answers below will provide some clues:
( A. 6
( B. 2
( C. 0
( D. 3
( E. 1
To see the answer to your question, and how well our Soba noodle-loving Mage does against the entire cast, please view the comment(s) below this post (Asuka is so cute, that surely you would like to know who he does well against, right?).
9 months ago | [YT] | 7
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Heuristic Girl
What do these calculus images in the background signify? What is Asuka saying?
There are clues hidden within these pictures regarding the state of Asuka in season 4 (my apologies for those who dislike math)...
For those who can read Japanese - fantastic work - you have just deciphered the very core of this community post. If you would still like to read about where Asuka stands in terms of character strength and tier placement in season 4, please click the comments section of this community post.
9 months ago | [YT] | 10
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Heuristic Girl
I was so busy facing off against laggy Slayer users in Team of 3 - among other things, that I forgot to post this...
Although a bit late:
Happy birthday to the clone of The Cutest War Criminal in Guilty Gear history!
(It's a shame Asuka was nerfed in the same month... hopefully, others are enjoying season 4)
1 year ago | [YT] | 18
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Heuristic Girl
With the major balance patch for GGST being on the horizon, and based on what I witnessed in the demonstration video; I had theorized that perhaps with Potemkin now having the ability to flick the cubes - they are now categorized as projectiles in the game - rather than a single cube being specified as 1/3 of an attack previously. This leads me to believe that the cubes may no longer have hurtboxes, and can no longer be destroyed using special moves or normal attacks.
Moreover, if Asuka's cubes were changed to projectiles in the previous patches while leaving the character unmodified, and thus, the cubes could not be destroyed by the opponent -- the character would be broken... but what if ASW wanted to weaken Asuka's "Solitaire" game by not only allowing Potemkin to flick the cubes (and categorize them as projectiles), but also restricting Asuka to only 1 follow-up attack. When I watched the video by ASW, it's not clear whether Asuka can follow-up with a spell multiple times like in the past - due to ASW only displaying gameplay with a single spell into a follow-up spell/attack. However, I feel this would possibly severely nerf the character - while also taking away some character expression and the fun associated with using Asuka...
Perhaps I'm just being paranoid - or putting too much thought into this - but we won't know for sure until the patch notes are released. Either way, as with every upcoming major balance patch - I am both anxious and scared......
1 year ago | [YT] | 14
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Heuristic Girl
This post will go over some player opinions regarding the strength of Asuka R. Kreutz - the most technical character in Guilty Gear Strive, and some analysis on my part of those player opinions.
The rest of this post will be in the form of replies - my apologies...
1 year ago | [YT] | 15
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