Samurai Shodown/FAQ

Who should I play?

Easy characters are pickup-and-play with fairly simple game plans. Great for beginners and players coming from other games.

Intermediate characters require some knowledge of their mechanic, setups, and need some execution.

Advanced characters have execution requirements or specific knowledge needed to be played effectively.

Easy

Character	Best Range	Archetype	Notable Tools/Traits	Playstyle Summary
Haohmaru	Mid-Far	Shoto/Neutral	Reversal DP Projectile Reflect Fireball Feint	Playstyle
Kyoshiro	Mid-Far	Neutral	Reversal DP Command Grab Crouch walk	Playstyle
Jubei	Mid-Far	Neutral/Counter	Command Counters Cannot throw/combo into WFT	Playstyle
Charlotte	Mid-Far	Neutral	Reversal DP Fast WFT Cross-up Jump-in	Playstyle
Earthquake	Mid-Far	Keep-away	Fast WFT Teleport Command Grab Wall jump Disjointed Normals	Playstyle
Shiki	Close	Rushdown/Mixup	Reversal DP Teleports Cross-ups Command Grab Fullscreen SSM Rekka	Playstyle
Yashamaru	Mid	Neutral	Double Jump Rage Upgrades Every Special Cannot throw/combo into WFT	Playstyle
Darli	Mid-Close	Rushdown/Mixup	Command Grab Cross-up Jump-in Armored Specials/WFT Unblockables	Playstyle
Wan-Fu	Mid	Neutral	Reversal DP Loses Weapon after using Special Command Grab (unarmed) Cross-up Unblockable	Playstyle
Warden	Mid	Neutral/Mixup	Target Combos Feints Projectile Reflect Guard Point on some Moves Unblockable	Playstyle

Intermediate

Character	Best Range	Archetype	Notable Tools/Traits	Playstyle Summary
Nakoruru	Mid-Close	Hit and Run/Stance	Fast WFT Light/Kick Convertable WFT Projectile Reflect Walljump Fly Stance Air throw	Playstyle
Hanzo	Mid-Close	Hit and Run/Setplay/Mixup	Command Grabs Cancellable Backdash Cross-up Teleports Walljump Air throw	Playstyle
Galford	Mid-Far	Zoner/Setplay/Mixup	Command Grabs Cancellable Backdash Teleports Walljump Air throw	Playstyle
Tam Tam	Mid-Far	Zoner	Reversal "DP" Command Grab Command Grab SSM Instant Overhead Rekka	Playstyle
Genjuro	Mid-Close	Rushdown/Mixup/Setplay	Reversal DP Fast WFT Light/Kick Convertable WFT Command Grab Crossups Rekka	Playstyle
Kazuki	Mid-Close	Neutral/Resource Management	Air-Invul Anti-air Unorthodox Teleport Resource Management Walljump	Playstyle
Mina	Mid-Far	Zoner/Stance	Bow Stance Fast WFT Light Convertable WFT Projectile Absorb/Counter Command Jumps Walljump	Playstyle
Iroha	Mid-Far	Shoto/Zoner	Double Jumps Hop Dash Reversal DP Command Parry Crossup Jump-ins Command Grab SSM	Playstyle
Cham Cham	All	Zoner/Mixup	Demon Flip Command Jump Command Grab (from Demon Flip) Crossup Walljump	Playstyle
Hibiki	Mid	Neutral	Fast WFT Light/Kick Convertable WFT Above Average WFT Damage Command Dash Command Parry	Playstyle
Amakusa	Mid-Far	Zoner/Mixup	Projectile Invul Specials Cancellable Command Dashes Crossups Disjointed Normals Walljump	Playstyle

Advanced

Character	Best Range	Archetype	Notable Tools/Traits	Playstyle Summary
Ukyo	Mid-Close	Neutral/Mixup	Instant Overhead Projectile Reflect Crossup Cancellable Backdash TK motion execution	Playstyle
Yoshitora	Close	Rushdown/Mixup	Reversal DP Instant Overhead Crossup Jump-in Armored Special Command Grab Unique win condition via landing all specials	Playstyle
Wu-Ruixiang	Far	Zoner/Setplay/Trap	Traps setups Projectile Reflect Command Counter Guard Points SSM Combos Unblockable Setups	Playstyle
Rimururu	Close	Timescam/Setplay/Trap	Air-Invul Antiair Projectile Reflect Crossup Jump-ins Multiple Jumps/Walljumps Cancellable Backdash SSM Combos Unblockable Setups	Playstyle
Basara	Far/Close	Zoner/Setplay/Mixup	Teleport DP Feints via Clones Command Grab Crossup Jump-ins Cancellable Backdash Walljump Disjointed Normals Reversal WFT SSM Combo Unblockable Setup	Playstyle
Shizumaru	Mid	Neutral/Mixup	Reversal DP Projectile Reflect Crossup Jump-in Instant Overhead Cancellable Backdash TAP Walljump Float Fullscreen Anti-projectile SSM	Playstyle
Sogetsu	Mid-Far	Zoner/Setplay/Mixup	Air-Invul Antiair Teleports Walljump Fullscreen SSM Unblockable Setups	Playstyle
Gongsun Li	Mid-Far	Neutral/Zoner/Setplay/Timescam	Air-Invul Antiair Teleports Fast WFT Walljump Disjointed Normals (Unarmed) SSM requires setup	Playstyle
Baiken	Mid-Close	Neutral/Mixup	Air-Invul Antiair Instant Overhead Armored Command Dash Command Guard Strict Half-circle Inputs	Playstyle

What's the game's tier list?

Here are some tier lists from notable players for the current patch (Ver 2.40).

North America

Japan

Credit to Doracat via https://twitter.com/youseidora/status/1563645810033979393?t=jk_zxCzUPts0-7ud3HiIxQ&s=19.

Europe

Hundert's tierlist explanation: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OTMv681Bn8MsEzqsSRpUvFX5BcRGn37aZqXgmMfaeD0

What are some common beginner mistakes?

In order of importance:

• Not using Rage Explosion.
  • Rage Explosion is a powerful comeback mechanic. In general, if you are down in life, below 40% life, and have already lost a round; then it's time to Rage Explode. Of course each player's rage explosion strategy will vary by player preference, character, and situation.

• Using Lightning Blade after a throw.
  • Lighting Blade damage is greatly reduced after a throw. More so than other throw follow up options. In almost all cases, it's better to use another throw follow up.

• Jumping during an opponent's Rage Explosion.
  • Lighting Blade does high damage and can easily be used to anti air. If your character can't adjust their jump movement, don't jump. Even if your character can adjust their jump, jumping is still highly risky.

• Not using Just Defense.
  • Just Defense can be a powerful answer to fireball zoning. An opponent may try to zone you out with fireballs. With proper Just Defends, the opponent is feeding you rage meter. It is also great to use on wakeup. If you're going to guard on wakeup, guard just as your character stands so that a blocked attack is just defended. If your opponent is within stance break range, then you can even use that to escape the pressure.

• Not knowing your BNBs.
  • Samsho is not a combo heavy game. Very simple combo routes will get your damage conversions to optimal or near optimal. BNBs are typically going to be a normal into a special. Just 2 moves. At a basic level, you'll need BNBs in two situations. The first situation is a punish or hit confirm. The second is a throw follow up. Know your BNBs in these cases. The routes are likely to change when rage is active, so know rage and non-rage routes.

• Using Rage Explode too early.
  • It is not usually to your advantage to Rage Explode before you have lost a round. You might be able to win a round that you might have otherwise lost, but you've set yourself up for failure in the following rounds.

• Mashing Deflectable Normals.
  • If a skilled opponent sees you mashing, they will deflect and SSM you. And taking an SSM makes losing the round near certain. If you feel the need to mash out of a scramble, 2D is a low risk option.

• Not mixing up recoil cancels
  • Winning the recoil mind game is a big part of Samsho. If you are predictable with your recoil options, an opponent will know what you're about to do and punish. On a recoil, you can deflect, use a special move, or just do nothing. Do what your opponent isn't expecting.

Is Season Pass 1 free?

Season Pass 1 was only available for free on PS4 outside Japan for a limited time right before the game's release in the west. Nowadays you'll have to pay for it.

I bought Season Pass 2 on PS4 but I can't use Mina?

Due to an issue with the PS Store, Season Pass 2 had to be delayed and thus only Mina was able to be purchased separately. When the season pass was made available later on, they decided not to include Mina in it while making it cheaper than Season Pass 1. Therefore, you will need to buy both Season Pass 2 and Mina on PS4 for the full package.

How do I find tech on Twitter?

Besides the general hashtags #SamuraiShodown, #SamSho and #サムライスピリッツ, #サムスピ in Japanese, each character in the game has a specific hashtag which people should aim to use when posting tech for ease of searching. The rule of thumb is to start with #SS_ (for Samurai Spirits / Samurai Shodown) and append the first two letters of a character's name. In case of overlap, a different 2nd letter is picked. For example: Shiki (#SS_SH) and Shizumaru (#SS_SZ), Haohmaru (#SS_HA) and Hanzo (#SS_HZ), or Charlotte (#SS_CH) and Cham Cham (#SS_CC). The current list is as follows:

Character	キャラクター	Hashtag / ハッシュタグ
Amakusa	天草四郎時貞	#SS_AM
Baiken	梅喧	#SS_BK
Basara Kubikiri	首斬り破沙羅	#SS_BA
Charlotte	シャルロット	#SS_CH
Cham Cham	チャムチャム	#SS_CC
Darli Dagger	ダーリィ・ダガー	#SS_DA
Earthquake	アースクェイク	#SS_EA
Galford	ガルフォード	#SS_GA
Genjuro Kibagami	牙神幻十郎	#SS_GE
Gongsun Li	公孫離	#SS_LI
Hanzo Hattori	服部半蔵	#SS_HZ
Haohmaru	覇王丸	#SS_HA
Hibiki Takane	高嶺 響	#SS_HI
Iroha	いろは	#SS_IR
Jubei Yagyu	柳生十兵衛	#SS_JU
Kazuki Kazama	風間火月	#SS_KA
Kyoshiro Senryo	千両狂死郎	#SS_KY
Mina Majikina	真鏡名ミナ	#SS_MI
Nakoruru	ナコルル	#SS_NA
Rimururu	リムルル	#SS_RI
Shiki	色	#SS_SH
Shizumaru Hisame	緋雨閑丸	#SS_SZ
Sogetsu Kazama	風間蒼月	#SS_SO
Tam Tam	タムタム	#SS_TA
Ukyo Tachibana	橘右京	#SS_UK
Wan-Fu	王虎	#SS_WA
Warden	ウォーデン	#SS_WD
Wu-Ruixiang	呉瑞香	#SS_WU
Yashamaru Kurama	鞍馬夜叉丸	#SS_YA
Yoshitora Tokugawa	徳川慶寅	#SS_YO

Other

What does frame data mean?

Frame data describes the full sequence of animation for an attack.

• Damage: This is the base damage the attack will do without scaling. For more information: Damage Scaling Chart.
• Guard: Whether the attack has to be blocked mid, low, or high.
• Startup: States the first frame in which the attack will hit.
• Active: How many frames the attack can hit for.
• Recovery: The recovery of the move on whiff. Recovery = Total - Startup - Active + 1
• Total: The full duration of the move, from start to end.
• Hit advantage: How many frames you can move before the opponent after hitting the opponent from the front. +5 means you recover 5 frames before the opponent, -3 means he recovers 3 frames before you.
• Block advantage: Like the other advantages, except when the move is blocked. Since there are recoil animations, this will often be very different from the others.
• Guard damage: This is how much damage the attack will do to the internal guard meter in percentage.
• Cancel: If the attack has cancelable regions.
• Recoil: If the attack has a recoil animation when blocked and there are recoil cancel regions.
• Deflectable: If the attack is deflectable by weapon deflect, 236A+B.
• Unarmed: If the attack is available unarmed, or only while unarmed.

For better understanding of each category, see the Mechanics page.

What's frame data good for?

Frame data is mostly for tuning your game and understanding how/why things happen. You don't need it to be able to play, but it helps iron out the wrinkles.

A simple example is that you can look at the block disadvantage of a move, such as -21, and know that any attack with 21F or faster startup can punish it guaranteed.

What do the system data numbers mean?

• Damage taken: How much more or less damage the character takes. (e.g. 105% means the character takes 1.05x damage) The scaling applies to all moves.
• Rage factor: This is used to calculate how much rage the character gets after taking damage. Rage increased = Damage x Rage Factor + 2
• Rage duration: This is how long the character spends raged.
• Jump duration: The full length of a jump in frames.
• Dash speed: Dash speed is determined by how fast the dash is compared to Haohmaru's, which is considered as average.
• Back dash: The total duration of back dash in frames.
• Weapon Pickup / Drop: The total frames needed for the character to pick up or drop their weapon. At frame one of weapon pick up you are considered armed so the opponent cannot interrupt weapon pickup.

All characters' data are written on the System Data page.