JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R/Kars

Overview

Strategy

Combos

Matchups

Resources

Introduction

The central antagonist of Battle Tendency, the second part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Kars is the leader of the Pillar Men, a group of ancient, super-human beings that seek to acquire the Red Stone of Aja so that Kars can be transformed into the most powerful being on the planet. As the leader of the Pillar Men, Kars is cunning and deceitful, always looking to gain an upper hand over his opponent at any cost.

In ASBR, Kars is a close-ranged rushdown character that can bully his way into his preferred range with his incredible aerial buttons, large and good-scaling grounded normals, and a variety of movement-based special moves that influence the different ways he can approach the opponent. His Modes add additional hits to his blade-related normals and special moves, increasing the pushback and hit confirm potential on them as well as giving him an easy cancel option to continue his mixups. He has relatively high damage, being able to convert into 30-40% off of even the smallest stray hits, and his vortex potential after a hard knockdown makes him one of the most threatening characters in the game to defend against.

For the cost of two bars and a setup, however, Kars can shed his base form to become the Ultimate Life Form, an install super that dramatically changes his playstyle into a hybrid zoner-setplay monster who can pressure with a multitude of safe buttons and projectiles, as well as one of the best zoning tools in the game in "The power of supreme genes!". The drastic variations in gameplay between base form and Ultimate means that Kars can tweak his play depending on the matchup and his opponent, and choose to play in a variety of archetypes to find the one that irritates the other player the most.

Kars isn't all strengths, though; his wakeup is very weak in both forms, especially in Ultimate when he loses access to his wakeup HHA, a large and fast-starting hitbox that can be used as an anti-air callout at some ranges. Kars is extremely momentum focused, and understanding exactly how to keep his mixups going is the key to winning games with him.

• Life Regeneration: Part of the damage Kars receives is converted into silver, residual health, which he passively recovers over time.
• Modes: Kars has two main installs, both of which change the properties on his blade-related normals and special moves.
• Ultimate Life Form: For two bars, Kars can transform into the Ultimate Life Form, his third install. As the Ultimate Life Form, Kars has a multitude of changes to his original moveset, as all of his original special moves have been replaced with new tools.

Playstyle

Kars is a Mode character who utilizes his long-reaching normals and high damage to pressure the opponent into making bad decisions.
Pros	Cons
Ease of execution: In both base form and Ultimate, Kars' combos are generally quite simple for the amount of damage they output, and his optimal loops are not much more difficult. Strong mixups: Kars is amazing at getting hits and converting those into hard knockdowns that he can thrive off of, pressuring with a series of high-lows and janky left-right camera mixups with the threat of taking a third of his opponent's health bar on any one blocking mistake. Flexibility in playstyle: Between his two main forms and the multitude of special moves he gets in both, Kars can play multiple kinds of archetypes of his own choice, and even switch between them freely; from a mixup-heavy rushdown beast to a keepaway zoner and everything in between.	Low health: Kars has 850 HP, one of the lowest values in the game, and due to the high damage of some of the strongest characters in ASBR, he can quite easily get two-touched or even TOD'd with the right resources and routes. Volatile wakeup game: If Kars loses the advantage, he can have quite the difficult time gaining it again, especially if his Stylish Guard attempts get repeatedly baited. He has no true invincible wakeup options in Ultimate Life Form, and combined with his low health, playing in ULF can very quickly spiral out of control if up against another character with strong safejumps.

Modes

Kars has access to two installs in order to enhance his abilities, both of which are accessible from his base form.

• Light Mode (Mode 1) is activated by pressing the Style button, and costs no meter. This Mode adds an additional hit to each of Kars' blade-related moves and shortens the arc of his jump.
• Brilliant Bone Blades (Mode 2) is activated by pressing 22S, and costs one bar. This Mode adds a third hit to each of Kars' blade-related moves, as well as making his jump arc even shorter and making some of his blade moves start up and end much sooner.

The following moves are affected by both Modes:

• 5H
• 3H
• j.H
• Cruel and beautiful violence!
• Behold, frozen brilliance!
• Victory is everything! (Light and Medium only)

The tradeoff for using Mode is that while in either install, Kars is unable to build any meter until he either turns off Mode (by pressing Style again, only in Mode 1), uses an HHA, successfully completes his GHA, or is forcefully knocked out of the install by taking a hard knockdown. This means that Mode is a very strong tool to use to close out games, throwing the opponent's reactions out of wack at the very end by implementing a much shorter jump for his mixups to open them up easier.

Stats

Style	Health	Low Health Mode	Hashtag(s)
Mode	850	Rumble	#ASBR_KAR #ASBR_KAS

Move List

File:JJASBR BlueVampire Icon.png

Normal Form

File:JJASBR RedVampire Icon.png

Ultimate Life Form

Normal Form

Normal Moves

5L

5L	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 15 Mid 5 - - -4 +2 Kars does a short jab with the tip of his elbow. Stubby, not the best starter or neutral tool. 2L or 5M are preferred in neutral exchanges.

5M

5M	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 25 Mid 9 - - -6 0 Kars stands on one foot and attacks with a leg strike from behind his back. Big range and quick startup. Amazing in neutral, as it can stuff a lot of approaches and gives medium scaling.

5H

5H

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Normal: 35 Mode 1: 40 (20*2) Mode 2: 45 (15*3) Mid Normal: 13 Mode 1: 13(2)1 Mode 2: 13(2)1(2)1 - - Normal: -4 Mode 1: -2 Mode 2: 0 Normal: +4 Mode 1: +6 Mode 2: +8 Kars quickly juts out forward with a bone blade extending from his arm. Affected by Modes. Unreasonably fast, which means it can also be used as a solid poke at a close range. Combos into 3H if used as an anti-air, giving Kars a full combo.

2L

2L	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 14 Low 7 - - -4 +2 Kars attacks with a short poke of his fingers to the opponent's lower half. Kars' best low Has fast startup and short recovery, meaning it can be chained 3-5 times in a blockstring before needing to cancel into another normal.

2M

2M	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 23 Low 7 - - -6 0 Kars does a short roundhouse sweep with his leg. Stubby range, though it can occasionally poke out some moves that lose to crouchers.

2H

2H	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 34 Low 11 - - -10 - Kars does an approaching slide, kicking his legs into the air. Mainly combo filler for his 236H loops, as he has better lows and better neutral buttons that don't leave Kars so exposed.

3H

3H Sabers from my feet!

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Normal: 25 Mode 1: 30 (15*2) Mode 2: 36 (12*3) Mid Normal: 21 Mode 1: 21(2)1 Mode 2: 21(2)1(2)1 - - Normal: -10 Mode 1: -8 Mode 2: -6 - Kars kicks forward as a bone blade emerges from the underside of his foot. Affected by Modes. Launches, leads into his main air juggles and loops. The main tool for extending combos. Gives relative safety if canceled into on block, though how safe Kars is depends on the character matchup; safer options should be in case the opponent have a punish. Extremely safe in Modes 1/2. Air crushes if done to an aerial opponent, giving a free combo on anti-airs.

JL

j.L	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 18 Overhead 9 - - - - A fist strike from the air. Superceded by Kars' two other amazing air normals, though it can occasionally be useful for fakeout overheads to try and catch a Stylish Guard.

JM

j.M

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 28 Overhead 11 - - - - Kars extends his leg to strike with an overhead attack. Extremely deceptive hitboxes on the front and back of the animation. Amazing for crossups. Has a very high amount of active frames, making it perfect for meaty setups. Dash jump j.M is one of the most oppressive approaching tools in the game. Use it whenever possible.

JH

j.H

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Normal: 40 Mode 1: 50 (25*2) Mode 2: 60 (20*3) Overhead Normal: 11 Mode 1: 11(2)1 Mode 2: 11(2)1(2)1 - - - - A bone-blade strike with the edge of Kars' arm. Affected by Modes. Another great hitbox, better for crossing up than intercepting approaches. All of the extra hits in Modes 1/2 are Overheads, so feel free to abuse it for free double/triple overheads into low pressure.

Special Moves

236X

Cruel and beautiful violence! 236L/M/H Start Start Second part of the H version Second part of the H version

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Light Normal: 60 (10, 50) Mode 1: 66 (12, 27*2) Mode 2: 74 (14, 20*3) Mid - - - - - Medium Normal: 67 (12, 55) Mode 1: 74 (14, 30*2) Mode 2: 88 (16, 24*3) Mid - - - - - Heavy Normal: 80 (14, 66) Mode 1: 86 (16, 35*2) Mode 2: 102 (18, 28*3) Mid - - - - - Kars does an approaching bone blade slash. Affected by Modes. L version: Kars stay same-side. Occasionally a true blockstring out of a normal depending on spacing. M version: Kars stay same-side. Occasionally a true blockstring out of a normal depending on spacing. H version: Kars crosses up to the other side of the opponent and follows up with a bladed uppercut. Main juggle tool. Never a true blockstring out of a normal regardless of spacing; requires using an assist in this situation.

623X

Behold, frozen brilliance! 623L/M/H

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Light Normal: 44 (10*4, 4) Mode 1: 60 (11*5, 6) Mode 2: 80 (12*6, 8) Mid - - - - - Medium Normal: 61 (10*5, 6) Mode 1: 74 (11*6, 8) Mode 2: 94 (12*7, 10) Mid - - - - - Heavy Normal: 74 (10*6, 8) Mode 1: 98 (11*7, 10) Mode 2: 108 (12*9) Mid - - - - - Kars does a flurry of blade strikes. Affected by Modes. Bad. Minus on block, can't combo into it or from it very easily, and has terrible damage. The only reason this move would ever be used is accidentally.

214X

Shatter against the wall! 214L/M/H (Air OK)

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Light 55 Mid - - - - - Medium 65 Mid - - - - - Heavy 75 Mid - - - - - Light (Air) 90 Mid 13 - - - - Medium (Air) 100 Mid 13 - - - - Heavy (Air) 110 Mid 13 - - - - Kars does a strong mule kick against the back wall. Causes hard knockdown and can launch the opponent across the screen if done facing away from a wall, giving access to the only true setup into GHA. L version: Fastest variant. Mostly not that important, as it does less damage and its only benefit is starting up faster. M version: Mostly not that important, as it does less damage and its only benefit is starting up faster. H version: Slowest variant. Kars' main combo ender. High Guard Damage. On block, a Flash Cancel or Assist call after the initial blocked hit gives Kars more than enough plus frames to force more mixups or place pressure on the opponent's Guard Gauge. Burning leftover meter on a 214H mixup from time to time can keep Kars safe.

22X

Victory is everything! 22L/M/H File:JJASBR Kars 22X (Start).png Start Start Light Light Medium Medium Heavy Heavy

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Light Normal: 60 Mode 1: 64 (32*2) Mode 2: 72 (24*3) Overhead - - - - - Medium Normal: 50 Mode 1: 85 (5, 80) Mode 2: 90 (5*2, 80) Low Normal: (62)15 Mode 1: (62)15(2)1 Mode 2: (62)15(2)1(2)1 - - -20 - Heavy - - - - - - - Kars does a small animation and then teleports to a specific location based on input. All three teleports can be OS'd by running forward and doing a dash jump as late as possible. L version: Kars teleports above the opponent's current position and falls with an extended bone blade from his foot. Affected by Modes. Groundbounces on hit, letting Kars get a full combo from it. One of the main tentpoles of Kars' offense. Plus on block and an overhead that's incredibly easy to meaty. M version: Kars teleports and attacks the opponent's legs with a bone blade from his arm. Affected by Modes. Same-side low that launches on hit. Pretty minus and risky, plus Kars can't combo off of this one. Only teleport version that beats running straight ahead. H version: Kars teleports directly behind the opponent, with no initial hitbox. Very powerful anti-zoning tool, as it can invalidate a lot of keepaway play if done at the right time. Actionable almost immediately after the teleport animation ends, granting a hit/throw mixup or even a guaranteed whiff punish.

System Mechanics

Throw

Throw I'll slice you in two! 5/4 + Any Two Attack Buttons Forward Forward Back Back	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Forward 110 (10*6, 50) Throw - - - - - Back 110 Throw - - - - - Kars, using his arm bone blade, cuts the opponent down the middle and knocks them away. Leaves the opponent far away from Kars. Aside from unique animations and direction, both Throws are identical.

Assist

Assist Victory is everything!	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 60 Overhead - - - - - Kars teleports above the opponent's current position and falls with an extended bone blade from his foot. Assault Assist Stocks: 2 Reversal Assist Stocks: 1 Based on 22L

5S

Light Mode 5S Animation Animation Mode On Mode On	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Mode On - - - - Total XX - - Mode Off - - - - Total XX - - Turns Light Mode on/off.

22S

Brilliant Bone Blades 22S Animation Animation Mode On Mode On Not to be confused with the HHA Not to be confused with the HHA	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - - - - - - - Activates Brilliant Bone Blades. Requires 1 HH Gauge. Using an HHA during Brilliant Bone Blades will remove its meter cost.

Heart Heat Attack

Brilliant Bone Blades 236 + Any Two Attack Buttons Not to be confused with the Mode Not to be confused with the Mode	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 174 (6+12*5+18+20+70) Mid - - - - - Kars licks the blade in his arm before unleashing a large, shining array of slashes done in a single movement of his arm. If they successfully hit, Kars then dives forward to slash past the opponent. Only Hit 8 triggers cinematic properties.

Great Heat Attack

Kars, the Ultimate Thing, is born! 236L+M+H

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - - - - - - - Kars dons the Stone Mask with the Red Stone of Aja inserted into it, going through a slow and entirely vulnerable animation of transforming. When the transformation is complete, Kars does a small cinematic cutscene before the install is finished. Transformation. Changes Kars' idle pose and crouching animations. Grants Kars a new moveset and makes him immune to Hamon Damage. Disables Light Mode and Brilliant Bone Blades (both the Mode and HHA) for the rest of the match.

Ultimate Life Form

Normal Moves

ULF 5L

5L	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 17 Mid 5 - - -4 +2 Kars does a short jab with the tip of his elbow. Notes 1 Notes 2

ULF 5M

5M	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 27 Mid 9 - - -4 +2 Kars stands on one foot and attacks with a leg strike from behind his back. Notes 1 Notes 2

ULF 5H

5H	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 44 (17, 27) Mid 11(8)1 - - -4 +4 Kars swings his arm for a two-hit blade strike. Notes 1 Notes 2

ULF 2L

2L	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 16 Low 7 - - -4 +2 Kars attacks with a short poke of his fingers to the opponent's lower half. Notes 1 Notes 2

ULF 2M

2M	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 25 Low 7 - - -6 0 Kars does a short roundhouse sweep with his leg. Notes 1 Notes 2

ULF 2H

2H	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 38 Mid 11 - - -10 - Kars attacks with a bone blade while rising up. Launches on hit. Can be used as an anti-air due to how tall Kars is.

ULF 3H

6H Brilliant Bone Blades Not to be confused with the Mode or the HHA Not to be confused with the Mode or the HHA	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 50 Unblockable 27 - - - - Kars charges forward and attacks with his bone blade in one fell swoop. Launches on hit.

ULF JL

j.L	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 20 Overhead 9 - - - - Kars extends his knees downwards. Notes 1 Notes 2

ULF JM

j.M	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 30 Overhead 11 - - - - Kars kicks beneath him. Notes 1 Notes 2

ULF JH

j.H	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 44 Overhead - - - - - Kars attacks downwards with his wing. Notes 1 Notes 2

Special Moves

ULF 28

Predator Wings Any jump after 1/2/3 Predator Wings Predator Wings Flight Flight

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - - - - - - - Predator Wings Kars sprouts wings and jumps very high. Can be canceled into from normals on hit or block. Transitions into Flight. Flight Using his wings, Kars takes flight. Drains HH Gauge while flying. Can perform Aerial Chain Beat while flying. Can cancel Flight by: Pressing 5S. Running out of HH Gauge. Performing 3 actions (any combination between aerial attacks, special moves and Aerial Dash).

J44-J66

Aerial Dash j.44 / j.66 Forward Forward Back Back	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. - - - - - - - Kars quickly rushes forward or backwards with a flap of his wings. Can only be used 3 times per Flight. Performing aerial attacks or special moves reduces the amount of Aerial Dashes available.

ULF 236X

Feast your eyes on my Hamon! 236L/M/H Light Light File:JJASBR Kars ULF 236M (2).png Medium Medium Heavy Heavy

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Light 65 (30, 35) Mid - - - - - Medium 75 Overhead - - - - - Heavy 75 Low - - - - - Kars attacks with Hamon-charged fists, the technique performed determined by button input. L version: Kars unleashes two quick high punches. Launches on hit. M version: Kars slides a distance forward while performing a downward elbow strike. Has Super Armor. Causes crumple on hit. H version: Kars dashes forward to unleash a powerful body blow. Has Super Armor. Launches on hit.

ULF 623X

This cannot be! 623L/M/H	Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Light 65 (15*3, 20) Mid - - - - - Medium 80 (20*4) - - - - - - Heavy 170 (25*3, 95) - - - - - - Kars transforms his arm into a large octopus tentacle and swings it in a wide breadth. L version: Fastest variant. M version: Average variant. H version: Slowest variant.

ULF 214X

The power of supreme genes! 214L/M/H (Air OK) Light Light Medium Medium Heavy Heavy

Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. Light 66 (11*6) Mid - - - - - Medium 58 Overhead - - - - - Heavy 75 (15*5) Mid, Low - - - - - Kars launches various animals from his body as projectiles. L version: Kars fires off a volley of armadillo scales straight ahead. Moderately fast travel speed. M version: Kars jumps while launching a piranha that quickly arcs downwards. Causes crumple on hit. H version: Kars sics a squirrel created from his hand on his opponent. Launches on hit. Causes hard knockdown. Hits Mid while falling, hits Low afterwards. Tracks the opponent's location unless jumped past.

System Mechanics

ULF Throw

Throw You IDIOT! 5/4 + Any Two Attack Buttons	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Block Adv. Hit Adv. 110 Throw - - - - - Kars grins as he grabs the opponent, smashing them between his elbow and knee before shoving them away. Leaves the opponent far away from Kars. Both Throws are identical aside from direction.