JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R/Diego Brando/Strategy

Overview

Strategy

Combos

Matchups

Resources

Disclaimer: This is a community written page and may contain opinions that not all players may agree with. Use at your own discretion.

Neutral

Diego has a bevy of neutral tools, none of which orbit around the rest of his kit. But on a general note, with the virtue of Diego's quick movement speed, they allow him to effectively close the distance between him and the opponent. Diego does best in Dismounted Mode, in which he has more neutral tools to work with, better pressure, as well as access to Stylish Evade, Stylish Guard, and Throw.

In the air is where Diego really shines, possessing a deceptively active 8f air-to-air in j.L and an ideal jump-in with the ability to cross-up in j.M, both of which can be chained into Diego's groundbounce j.H via Aerial Chain Beat, confirming a combo. At longer distances, j.623X fullfills the same purpose and carries lower-body invul (full invul with two corpse parts), but requires a bar to combo from.

Diego's multi-hit 5M and 2M, although stubby, can prove to be good knowledge checks, as they typically need to be Stylish Guarded twice. Their multi-hit nature makes them easy to use as a meaty and allows Diego to win Clashes against most characters' normals.

For mid-range pokes, Diego has 6M and 6H. With a 14f startup and 28f recovery, the former is arguably Diego's most reliable poke due to its long range and active frames (making it easy to use as a meaty), as well as its minimal startup and recovery. While the latter, with a 22f startup and 54f recovery, has longer startup and recovery (meaning it should only be used with one bar to Flash Cancel in case you whiff), it boasts a massive hitbox that plows through most buttons and can confirm a combo meterlessly, while the former requires a bar to do so. Although stubbier than the former options, 5H is also serviceable, being Diego's quickest low-risk poke with a 12f startup and 27f recovery.

Offense

Diego's main form of offense comes through strike/Throw, dash-jump j.M, and j.623X. j.M, as previously mentioned, has the ability to cross up. Upon successfully crossing the opponent up with j.M, employ j.623L to ensure oki and, with at least a bar, confirm a combo. If j.M successfully lands but doesn't cross up, employ j.H instead to confirm a combo meterlessly.

j.623X serves as a belligerent left/right mix-up tool, with j.623L hitting left and j.623M hitting right. It is imperative to note, however, that j.623X is unsafe on block and cannot be Flash Canceled if it is blocked, so apply it judiciously in pressure. Aerial Chain Beat is also a viable mix-up tool, as it can catch opponents expecting a low/Throw on landing after blocking j.L or j.M. Also, there are specific characters that dash-jump j.M essentially works as an instant Overhead against, even when they're crouching.

Instant Overhead Chart

Frame Kills

Notations	Notes	Video Examples
2H w.6M 8 w.jM 2L/5M/2M/Throw
Throw > w.5L > 29 > w.jM > 5L/2L/2M/Throw	Strike/Throw mix-up	Load video YouTube YouTube might collect personal data. Privacy Policy ContinueDismiss

Defense

For defense, Diego has 236X and 623X. The Light version of the former, in particular, is a safe blockstring ender and scramble tool; Diego is briefly considered to be airborne during it, allowing him to avoid command grabs and consistently high profile moves such as Jonathan's 236X, Kars' ULF 214H, and Jolyne's 63214X. The latter, on the other hand, possesses lower-body invincibility. With two Corpse Parts, these two moves gain full invincibility, and Diego is capable of confirming a combo from them on his own via Flash Cancel, which not many characters can do.

Diego's HHA allows him to bypass counters and grants him unlimited Super Armor that prevents the successful activation of Throws (taking the Throw's damage as White Damage), Command Throws, and Attack Throws. Being that this install only lasts ~7 seconds and Diego is forced into a vulnerable animation when it ends, it mainly sees use for closing rounds when the opponent is low on health, as it forces them to play more defensively. But against Risotto, Jotaro (Part 3), DIO, Jotaro (Part 4), and AW Diego, HHA is a perfect counter to their resets.

Scary Monsters vs Resets

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Assist Usage

Vanilla Ice

Vanilla Ice provides Diego with unblockable setups during his blockstrings. He also protects Scary Monsters while transforming back very well, being invincible once he gets in the ball.

Keicho Nijimura

Keicho enables high damage (especially at midscreen), Scary Monsters combo extensions, and Taunt pickups. Additionally, Keicho's mine protects Diego fairly well while transforming back from Scary Monsters.

Risotto Nero

Risotto hits Low, enabling hard-to-blockable, gapless mix-ups when paired with dash-jump j.M > j.H.