Vampire Savior/Controls

Notation

			Up
Up-Back	7		8		9	Up-Forward
Back	4		5 Neutral		6	Forward
Down-Back	1		2		3	Down-Forward
			Down

  LP MP HP
  LK MK HK

  LP = Light Punch  / Jab
  MP = Medium Punch / Strong
  HP = Hard Punch   / Fierce
  LK = Light Kick   / Short
  MK = Medium Kick  / Forward
  HK = Heavy Kick   / Round House

Numeric Notation

Numeric Notation is a style of directional input notation that uses numbers to signify which direction is being pressed. It is the primary notation system used on this Wiki, so you'd be well off to learn it. There is a graph above showing you which numbers relate to which directions, so take a moment to study it. The layout of the numbers matches the num-pad found on most keyboards, so use that as a cheat sheet if you are having trouble remembering it.

• 4 and 6 are walk backward and forward.
• 7, 8 and 9 are jump backward, verticle jump, and jump forward.
• 1, 2 and 3 are all crouch inputs, with 1 being crouch-block, 2 being directly down, and 3 being down-forward.
• 5 may not immediately stand out, but it is very important to know what represents a Neutral Position, since it can come up more than you'd think.
• If you were to describe a common special move input, say quarter circle forward which is a typical Fireball input, you would notate it like 236.HP, the first input being 2(Down), then 3(Down-Forward), then 6(Forward) and finally an HP(Heavy Punch).

The benefit of numeric notation becomes obvious very quickly in Vampire Savior, as it has a huge number of command normals and trying to figure out what all the various acronyms mean can result in you becoming confused very easily. Perhaps more importantly, there are inputs that have no common slang or terminology such as 263(Demitri's Midnight Bliss). Its much easier just listing the raw directional inputs to quickly and clearly relate what is being described.

Supplimentary Move Notation

While Numeric Notation can handle more things than most other notation systems, its not perfect. To easily describe moves a bit of extra slang, jargon and acronyms still get thrown in. So here are some other inputs you are likely to come across.

• Far 5.LP (or f.LP) — Some normal attacks have a different attack come out depending on the distance to your opponent, and you can't describe distance with Numeric Notation. In which case you're likely to see a Far infront of the input. You will also occasionally see simply f.LP, but this is not really good notation, as it can very easily be confused with a Forward Light Punch, or 6.LP.
• Close 5.LP (or cl.LP) — Same as the above, this designates the distance to the opponent, in this case being Close to them. Occasionally you'll see this notated as simply cl.LP, which isn't really a problem.
• Near 5.LP (or n.LP) — Another way to describe a Close version of a normal you'll see on this Wiki. The short version, n.LP isn't great because "N" can mean several things in notation.
• j.LP — "j" as in "Jumping". This is extremely useful since there are a lot of air command normals in Vampire Savior, and attempting to show if you are talking about some sort of strange air special move input or simply saying to hold down and press Light Punch while jumping (j2.LP) can be difficult.
• Dash 5.LP — This is simply a doing an attack out of a Dash. There are a few Normals or Special moves that can only be done out of a Dash, though this can also be used for any other regular Normal done out of a Dash.
• 360.HP — This is a lot easier than writing out a 360 in Numeric(632147896), and 0 isn't used in it either so there shouldn't be any confusion. 720 for two 360s is used as well.

Combo Notation

• > : Chain Combo. The next attack in the combo is chained into.
• >> : Link Combo. The next attack in the combo is linked into.
• xx : Cancel. Usually canceling a Normal into a Special or EX Move. Though some specials can cancel into a follow up.
• ~ : Delay, or a slight gap inbetween one input to the next. This time can be short or long. Also shown when you Kara one move into another.
• - :
• / : Either/Or. You have a choice between two things, most likely both having the same effect.
• + : Two specific inputs must be input at the same time.
• ( ) : Anything placed inside of these is just specifics, like how many times you should let an attack hit before comboing into the next.
• P, PP and PPP : Any single punch attack is P, pressing any two punch attacks at the same time is PP, and all three punch attacks at once is PPP.
• K, KK and KKK : Any single kick attack is K, pressing any two kick attacks at the same time is KK, and all three kick attacks at once is KKK.
• IAD : Instant Air Dash, as in you are air dashing the moment you leave the ground.

Combo Examples

Demitri

A simple combo for Demitri. You do a two hit jump in chain, and after landing you'll link into a crouching light kick, and proceed to do a 4 hit chain combo until a knockdown crouching heavy kick.

      CHAIN    LINK  CHAIN  CHAIN  CHAIN
          ↓       ↓      ↓      ↓      ↓
     j.MK > j.HP >> 2.LK > 2.MP > 2.MK > 2.HK
        ↑      ↑       ↑      ↑      ↑      ↑  
     JUMP   JUMP  CROUCH CROUCH CROUCH CROUCH
   MEDIUM  HEAVY   LIGHT MEDIUM MEDIUM  HEAVY
     KICK  PUNCH    KICK  PUNCH   KICK   KICK

Anakaris

An easy combo for Anakaris, but the notation is a bit more complicated. You start with doing one of Anakaris' Pyramid Dives, which you do by holding Down-Forward while jumping and pressing any kick, and then you'll then link into a crouching light kick on landing. After the crouching light kick hits, chain it into a crouching medium punch which normally can hit twice, but you'll only let it hit once before comboing into medium kick and hard kick. After knocking the opponent down, you'll want to press Up and any Punch or Kick to do a Pursuit Attack, ending the combo.

        LINK  CHAIN         CHAIN  CHAIN    LINK
           ↓      ↓             ↓      ↓       ↓
     j3.K >> 2.LK > 2.MP(1 hit) > 2.MK > 2.HK >> 8.P/K
        ↑       ↑             ↑      ↑      ↑        ↑
     JUMP  CROUCH        CROUCH CROUCH CROUCH       UP 
   HOLD 3   LIGHT  MEDIUM PUNCH MEDIUM  HEAVY  AND ANY
 ANY KICK    KICK  (ONLY 1 HIT)   KICK   KICK    PUNCH
                                               OR KICK

Bishamon

This is an advanced combo and even more complicated notation. First you do a dashing light punch, but you can't chain out of dashing attacks so you need to link into the crouching light punch. Chain that into crouching light kick, and you can't special cancel out of chains so you must link into a crouching medium punch. After you broke the chain and linked into medium punch, this can be canceled into an ES Karame Dama, a special move of Bishamon's, which actually has a follow up you can cancel into. The follow up will cause a knockdown and you can end the combo by linking into Bishamon's EX Pursuit attack, Togakubi Sarashi, for massive damage.

        LINK  CHAIN    LINK  CANCEL      CANCEL     LINK
           ↓      ↓       ↓       ↓           ↓        ↓
Dash 5.LP >> 2.LP > 2.LK >> 2.MP xx 41236.PP xx 236.P >> 22.PP
        ↑       ↑      ↑       ↑           ↑        ↑        ↑  
    STAND  CROUCH CROUCH  CROUCH        HALF  QUARTER     DOWN  
    LIGHT   LIGHT  LIGHT  MEDIUM      CIRCLE   CIRCLE     DOWN  
    PUNCH   PUNCH   KICK   PUNCH     FORWARD  FORWARD  ANY TWO     
                                     ANY TWO      ANY  PUNCHES
                                     PUNCHES    PUNCH

Movement

Ground Dashing

656 to Dash Forward / 454 to Dash Backward

All characters have a ground dash, but what it does for each of them is vastly different. Most characters can cancel their dash early by pressing the opposite direction of the dash once, such as 66~4 and 44~6, but a few cannot.

The variety of ground dashes is huge, with them being able to be separated into the four categories of Ground, Hop, Jet and Teleport. Keep in mind that just because a character has a certain type of Forward Dash, doesn't mean they'll have the same type of Backward Dash.

• Ground Dash is the most basic of dash, and most common type in the game. Characters with a Grounded Dash will simply glide across the ground. These are cancelable into Normal Attacks, though most characters can only cancel into either Standing Attacks or Crouching Attacks, not both.
• Hop types are dashes started from the ground, but place you in the air briefly for an extremely quick overhead attack. You can cancel these early by pressing back to achieve what is commonly called a short hop.
• Jet Dash types are limited to Morrigan and Jedah. Jet Dash functions similar to Hopping in that it puts you into the air for a quick overhead, but if you continue to hold forward you'll keep rising up into the air. If you cross an opponent up with this dash your attack orientation will reverse as well.
• Teleport Dash types are limited to Demitri and Lei-Lei. They are similar to a Grounded Dash in that they do not leave the ground, the character also gains a bit of invincibility in the middle of the dash.

Dashing Backwards does not provide any invincibility like it may in some other fighting games, as dashes in Vampire Savior are purely movement tools. That is, unless you have a teleport dash, but those are not immediately invincibile on startup.

Character	Forward Dash	Attack Position	Backward Dash	Attack Position	Notes
Anakaris	Ground	Stand or Crouch	Ground	Stand or Crouch	Dashing Backwards into the the corner of the screen will teleport Anakaris to the opposite side.
Aulbath	Ground	Crouching	Hop	None	Can only cancel a Backward Dash into Trick Fish. Performed by pressing any Kick while Back Dashing.
Bishamon	Ground	Standing	Hop	Jumping
Bulleta	Ground	Standing	Ground	Standing
Demitri	Teleport	None	Teleport	None	Dash is partially invincible. Can only cancel out of his dash into Special and EX Moves.
Felicia	Hop	Jumping	Hop	Jumping
Gallon	Hop	Jumping	Hop	Jumping
Jedah	Jet	Jumping	Jet	Jumping	Can cancel into an Air Dash from a Flight Dash.
Lei-Lei	Teleport	Stand or Crouch	Ground	Stand or Crouch	Forward Dash is partially invincible.
Lilith	Ground	Standing	Ground	Standing
Morrigan	Jet	Jumping	Jet	Jumping	Can 'steer' her Jet Dash with Up/Forward/Back directions, but only in the direction she is already going. She also has an alternate Jet Dash that is done with a Super Jump input of either 2~8/9 to go Forward, or 2~7 to go Backward.
Q-Bee	Ground	Standing	Ground	Standing	Cannot cancel her dash by tapping the opposite direction.
Sasquatch	Hop	Jumping	Hop	Jumping
Victor	Ground	Standing	Ground	Standing
Zabel	Ground	Crouching	Ground	Crouching

Air Dashing

Any two Forward directions such as 656, 959, or 953 while Jumping to Air Dash Forward

Any two Backward directions such as 454, 757, or 751 while Jumping to Air Dash Backward

Only four characters have access to an air dash. The behavior for each characters Air Dash is a bit different, and not all of them can Air Backdash. It is important to realize that since 9 counts as an input for an Air Dash, you can Instant Air Dash by pressing 9 then any other Forward direction, or 7 and any other Back direction.

Character	Forward	Backward	Notes
Jedah	Yes	No	Can cancel his Ground Dash into an Air Dash. Air Dash has an attack hitbox on the wings.
Lei-Lei	Yes	Yes	Air Backdash will reverse Lei-Lei's direction so she attacks the opposite way. Can cancel Air Dash early by pressing the opposite direction.
Q-Bee	Yes	No	Her Air Dash will home in on the opponents position.
Zabel	Yes	Yes	Can cancel Air Dash early by pressing the opposite direction.

Character Specific Movement Options

Anakaris

• Float — 8: Anakaris does not have a Neutral Jump, as pressing directly Up will put him into a hovering state. Pressing Up once more will raise him up to a second level. The lower level is usually called Tier 1, and the upper level is Tier 2. You are able to move freely left or right while in this state, and after a moment you will fall back down.
• Triple Jump: — 7 or 9 followed by two additional 7, 8, or 9 input: Pressing Up-Forward or Up-Back will give Anakaris a more typical, albeit slow, jump. During this jump he is able to jump two more times for a total of three jumps.

Bulleta

• Double Jump — After Jumping do an addtional 7, 8 or 9 input: Functions as you'd expect a Double Jump to typically would.

Felicia

• Wall Cling/Jump — : Double check inputs for this.
• Head Sit — : Double check options from this.

Lilith

• Super Jump — Any Down direction immediately followed by any Up direction: Works like a typical Super Jump. Has a little slower start up than a regular jump.

Q-Bee

• Flutter — :

Zabel

• Crawl — 1 or 3: Basically allows Zabel to Walk Forward and Backward while Crouching.

Basic Attacks

Ground Chains

Normal attacks can be chained (canceled) into a higher strength normal move. The order to priority is: LP, LK, MP, MK, HP, HK. Any attack strength can be optionally omitted, so it's possible to chain from LP directly to HK. It's also possible to alternate from standing and crouching normals at any time.

LP → MP → HP
↓ ↗↘ ↓ ↗↘ ↓
LK → MK → HK

LP → → MP → → HP
↓  ↘ ↗ ↓ ↘ ↗ ↓
↓  ↗ ↘ ↓ ↗ ↘ ↓
LK → → MK → → HK

Ground Throws

4 or 6 plus MP or HP, or MK/HK if your character also has a kick throw (character specific). This can also be done in the air. It should be noted however that Anakaris does not have normal throws, he is able to tech throws though.

All characters have a command throw, some have two. The motion is character specific though so refer to the character sections for more information.

Throw Tech

Throw teching is performed by inputting a throw command. Any direction except 8 and 2 plus a punch, or a kick if your character has a kick throw. The window for throw teching is from simultaneous to the catch-frame up to the sixth frame (so a 6f input window). If performed correctly the announcer will call a tech, and the HUD will also display a tech, and the throw will usually not cause a knockdown and do significantly less damage. There are some exceptions to this, such as Lei-Lei's airthrow which will cause knockdown whether it's tech'd or not. It is only possible to tech normal throws, not cmd throws or supers.

Defending

Air Blocking

Any backwards direction while in the air. It is not possible to tech push or guard cancel in the air, but you have free-action after blockstun ends. Meaning, you are able to block and then perform a normal or special or super, or anything else. You can not airblock ground normals.

Push Block

Done by pianoing inputs (sliding/mashing) during block-stop. Anakaris can not push block. This technique is pseudo-random in the since that it is a % chance to occur based on how many inputs you do. It starts at 0% chance for the first two inputs, three inputs becomes 25% chance, and increases by 25% per additional input, becoming 100% chance at six inputs. Simultaneous inputs do not count as multiple inputs, so hitting three buttons at the same time only counts as a single input, thus it's necessary to piano properly. The strength of the attack used when the pushblock activates will be the strength of the push itself, meaning light attacks will push the opponent a very short distance and heavy attacks will push them much further. If the player pushblocks against a cornered opponent it will negate pushblock and neither player will move. Tech hits also cause the blockstun duration to be modified, making it possible to sometimes punish moves that normally aren't punishable.

Guard Cancel

Done by inputting a DP plus either punch or kick depending on your character during block-stop. Your character will have a very brief invulnerability window and then perform their character-specific attack. Anakaris does not have a normal version, only an ES version.

DP+P characters: Anakaris (ES only), Bishamon, Demitri, Gallon, Jedah, Lei-Lei, Lilith, Morrigan

DP+K Characters: Aulbath, Bulleta, Felicia, Q-Bee, Sasquatch, Victor, Zabel

Tech Roll

When knocked down, press a direction and any button. You will slide along the floor in the direction pressed. The timing is extremely lenient so simply mashing will result in a roll. The roll has no punishable recovery, but you are on the ground longer which makes you vulnerable to OTGs for longer, and you are also susceptible to advanced mixups. On the other hand, rolling can also avoid certain OTGs that require special aim. It should be noted that there are a few special moves that cause untechable knockdowns, such as Bishamon's runpast move (fireball followup).

Special Moves

ES Special Moves

All characters can perform an upgraded version of their special moves at the cost of one stock. This is done by pressing two punches or two kicks (depending on which the special move calls for). Your character will flash blue during the ES move. The results vary, not all ES moves gain damage, hits, speed, invulnerability, range, special properties, etc, but many do gain the aforementioned attributes. Although most moves are ES-able, including most command throws, some command throws are not (for example: Lei-Lei, Jedah).

EX Moves

These differ from ES moves in that they require a different command input entirely and they may or may not mimic a special move at all. Your character will flash multiple colors (rainbow color) during these types of supers. The inputs for these are character-specific so refer to the character sections for more information.

Universal Commands

Dark Force

Activated by pressing a punch and kick of the same strength at the same time, costs 1 super stock. All Dark Forces behave differently and have varying durations. Some characters gain new moves, some are granted flight, and some gain super armor. Generally there is a brief invulnerability window upon activation which can help escape unblockables and other traps. The recovery period when time runs out is character-specific, some characters like Jedah have no recovery at all while characters like Lei-Lei have a very long deactivation pose.

Pursuit Attack

When a character is knocked down by normal means you can push any up direction and any attack button simultaneously. Connecting pursuits are not possible if the opponent was burned, but you can still whiff them. The same apply to most regular throws. Pursuits cause very little actual damage, but rather some of recoverable damage instead. Pursuits auto-target the opponent and can hit when the opponent stops bouncing from the knockdown, or while the opponent is tech rolling, though if the opponent is rolling they have a high chance of missing. Despite doing hardly any actual damage there's still a few reasons to use them--

• Obviously, if it will kill them with the recoverable damage.
• If you're across the screen you can intentionally whiff a late pursuit in order to get across the screen very quickly (except Victor).
• If you predict they will not tech roll and you intentionally whiff the pursuit in order to go for a quick mixup.
• If your back is to the wall and your pursuit would put you on the other side (Felicia, Lillith, Aulbath, Sasquatch).