Melty Blood/MBAACC/Arcueid Brunestud/Crescent Moon: Difference between revisions
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|description= | |description=Arcueid charges in. | ||
'''A:''' Goes a short distance. Plus on block.<br> | |||
'''B:''' Goes about double A's distance. Has multiple followups performable even on whiff, see below: | '''B:''' Goes about double A's distance. Has multiple followups performable even on whiff, see below: | ||
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|description= | |description=214B Followups: | ||
'''~A:''' Performs a dash teleport similar to H/F-Arc's 421A, but with shorter distance. Not a very useful tool. <br> | |||
'''~B/[B]:''' Performs 4C/[C].<br> | |||
'''~C:''' Performs a 5C which wallslams even if the opponent is grounded. 5C~C homing jump pursuit usable on hit. Can be comboed off of after homing jump. | |||
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|description=Arcueid charges, and follows with an automatic air combo if the first hit lands. Finishes on a hard knockdown. Has a clash box before going forward for reversal purposes. <br> | |description=Arcueid charges, and follows with an automatic air combo if the first hit lands. Finishes on a hard knockdown. Has a clash box before going forward for reversal purposes. <br> | ||
Not a great reversal as the clashbox is not active on frame 1, the reward on hit is not great, the clash is easily beaten by multihits as well as there being better options for reversals such as 22B/C and 236C which are faster and fully invincible | Not a great reversal as the clashbox is not active on frame 1, the reward on hit is not great, the clash is easily beaten by multihits as well as there being better options for reversals such as 22B/C and 236C which are faster and fully invincible. | ||
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Revision as of 23:52, 28 February 2023
Character Page Progress
This page is still a work in progress, consider joining as an editor to help expand it. Please update this character's roadmap page when one of the editing goals have been reached.
In Progress |
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Overview
Move Descriptions
Frame Data Help | |
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Header | Tooltip |
Move Box Colors |
Light gray = Collision Box (A move lacking one means it can go through the opponent's own collision box). |
Damage | Base damage done by this attack.
(X) denotes combined and scaled damage tested against standing V. Sion. |
Red Damage | Damage done to the recoverable red health bar by this attack. The values are inherently scaled and tested against standing V. Sion.
(X) denotes combined damage. |
Proration | The correction value set by this attack and the way it modifies the scaling during a string. See this page for more details.
X% (O) means X% Overrides the previous correction value in a combo if X is of a lower percentage. |
Circuit | Meter gained by this attack on hit.
(X%) denotes combined meter gain. |
Cancel | Actions this move can be cancelled into.
SE = Self cancelable. |
Guard | The way this move must be blocked.
L = Can block crouching |
Startup | Amount of frames that must pass prior to reaching the active frames. Also referred to as "True Startup". |
Active | The amount of frames that this move will have a hitbox. (x) denotes frame gaps where there are no hitboxes is present. Due to varied blockstuns, (x) frames are difficult to use to determine punish windows. Generally the larger the numbers, the more time you have to punish. |
Recovery | Frames that this move has after the active frames if not canceled. The character goes into one frame where they can block but not act afterwards, which is not counted here. |
Advantage | The difference in frames where you can act before your opponent when this move is blocked (assuming the move isn't canceled and the first active frame is blocked). If the opponent uses a move with startup that is at least 2 frames less than this move's negative advantage, it will result in the opponent hitting that move. |
Invul | Lists any defensive properties this move has.
X y~z denotes X property happening between the y to z frames of the animations. If no frames are noted, it means the invincibility lasts through the entire move. Invicibility:
Hurtbox-Based Properties:
Miscellaneous Properties
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Normal Moves
Standing Normals
5A
5B
5B
5[B] |
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5C
Crouching Normals
2A
2A
2A~2A |
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2B
2C
Aerial Normals
j.A
j.B
j.C
Command Normals
3C
4C
4C
4[C] |
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j.2B
j.2C
Universal Mechanics
Ground Throw
Ground Throw
4/6A+D(~2) |
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Air Throw
Air Throw
j.4/6A+D |
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Shield Bunker
Shield Bunker
214D in neutral or blockstun |
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Heat
Heat
A+B+C |
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Circuit Spark
Circuit Spark
A+B+C during hitstun/blockstun at MAX |
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Special Moves
Special Movement
Forward Dash
Grounded Specials
236X
You're in the way!
(EX: I'm going to get a little serious...!) 236A/[A]/B/[B]/C (~236A/[A]/B/[B]) (~236A/B / 214A/[A]/B/[B]) |
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623X
214X
22X
63214X
It's useless!
63214A/B/C |
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Aerial Specials
j.22X
j.63214X
It's useless! (Air)
j.63214A/B/C |
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Arc Drive
From Dreams to Reality (Marble Phantasm)
41236C during MAX/Heat |
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Another Arc Drive
Melty Blood
41236C during Blood Heat |
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Last Arc
Shall we play around a bit?
Aerial EX Shield during Blood Heat |
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General Gameplan
C-Arcueid's general gameplan revolves around using her above average movement to maneuver around the opponents offense, and overwhelm them in the close range with her high performance tools.
Her quick to accelerate dash allows her to control the ground, allowing her to slip into her effective range at a moment's notice.
Her air mobility may seem rather generic, but she has a slew of dominating air tools which make engaging with her in air-to-air exchanges rather risky for the opponent, allowing her to effectively control her airspace with threat alone.
Lastly, her ability to convert almost any hit into corner carry with above average damage is one of her more defining traits. The sheer damage output combined with the positional advantage makes taking risks with her much more rewarding should they work out in your favor.
Overall, C-Arcueid is a character with exceptional strengths, possessing essentially every option a rushdown character would want. She only lacks in ranged options, and as a result she needs to use her movement and tools with care against opponents who can keep her at bay.
Neutral
As C-Arc your goal is to get in. With her dash speed and buttons, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Some common grounded options include 5A, 5B, and 2B.
5A is a top class A normal, having both a tall hitbox while still hitting crouching opponents, and also retracts her lower body hitbox, allowing it to beat other low grounded pokes rather cleanly at times.
5B is slower, but has a significantly disjointed hitbox, allowing it to cleanly counterpoke some normals, and the forward movement helps in whiff punishing.
2B is an absolutely godlike normal with a myriad of uses. Has a disjoint at the tip of her foot, and brings her hurtbox extremely low to the ground, allowing her to low profile with ease. Very versatile, can be used to anti air, poke, abare, etc. Extremely good normal.
In the air, she has j.A, j.B, j.2B, j.C, and Air Sonic (j.624A/B).
j.A is a pretty typical jumping A normal, nothing especially noteworthy. Primary usage will be to check air space while maintaining air options.
j.B on the other hand is blisteringly fast for how large its hitbox is, making it especially good in quick air battles. Whiffing it will put you into recovery until landing, so make sure that it'll connect once you decide to throw it out.
j.C is godlike. Period. Absolutely dominating, the only things keeping it from being any more broken are its relatively average startup and the angle of its hitbox being susceptible to low profile options (such as Len's catwalk). With 10 active frames, and a disjoint all along her leg, this will be your primary method of controlling the skies and bullying those on the ground. Mixing up your timings is key to making the most of this move, so experiment with various use cases, it will rarely steer you wrong.
j.2B isn't an ordinary divekick, as you stay in place (on startup) before diving downwards at a set angle. This property is extremelty useful for movement purposes as C-Arc otherwise lacks options to alter her air movement. It has 8 frames of activity, making it extremely useful for blowing through moves directly below you, particularly rising jumping moves which would beat j.C. It is also special cancelable, both on hit AND whiff (upon reaching the ground). This property allows Arc to convert into a combo on hit, and perform some neat tricks, like guard breaking opponents that blocked j.2B in the air by cancelling into 22B.
Air Sonic is C-Arc's signature move, and will get its own section due to being such a centralizing tool.
Varying your approaches between dash 5A/2B/Etc and sj, dash jump and double jump airdash options is key to making the most out of C-Arcueid's kit and will reward you so.
Pressure
C-Arc is a very robust character that takes comfort in not only her ability to use rebeats in her pressure, but also a great arsenal of specials to add on to it. Going over some of the specials you will regularly use:
- 214A/B
Known as elbow. Generally you can use 214A to catch mashing and on the later ends of the active frames you can be plus. In cases where someone is trying to shield your pressure, using 2C > 214A can make the elbow whiff, putting the opponent into recovery from failed shield, usually letting you punish with 2B into a combo. 214B is generally used to catch jump outs, which can lead to an air combo.
- 236A/B
Rekka, other than its use as a combo ender, sees usage in pressure, with its range of options able to cover many escape options the opponent can go for, or sparingly as a mixup tool. A very powerful special when used properly.
With rekka by itself, you can do either 236B~236B~214B (safe ender), 236B~236B~214[B] (high), or 236B~236B~236B (low). As a combo ender, you want to do 236B~236B~214B, which sets up a safejump with j.C that also lets you OS heat activation with backdash. The timing for the safejump is character specific however (and occasionally height specific) so make sure to study up on the different timing variations.
236B~236[B] is air unblockable and is a solid frametrap to catches jumps or mashes. If it connects it will launch the opponent, granting a combo opportunity.
If you do 236[A] by itself, it will vacuum the opponent towards you and grant you ample plus frames. On grounded hit/trade it will lead into a combo as well.
Rekkas have fairly large stagger windows, so you can occasionally catch someone blocking high as they anticipate the overhead (214[B]) with a very delayed low (236B). On block 214[B] has better frame advantage and while 236A is unsafe, you can either cancel it into 624C on block, which is a knowledge check for the opponent on whether they can dodge or use whichever character specific punish they have, or cancel into 623C for a combo that carries to the corner from anywhere on the screen.
The mindgame of her rekkas uses the threat of 236B~236[B] to allow her to stop at the first rekka and reset her pressure once you instill the fear of a large frametrap in your opponent.
Another common use for it is as a hitconfirm, since it can let you convert into a combo at ranges where 2B won't combo into 2C or 5C, allowing pickups from tip range 2B with 236B~236B~236B > 623C.
- 624A
Sonic. This special sees most of its use in corner pressure, as it recovers earlier than it seems, allowing for double jumps, or continuing pressure by going into an aerial special move, namely j.624A. Due to Arcueid's backwards movement, it is also capable to punishing some defensive options such as Heat and Shield Bunker. Looping 624A > j.624A > dash 5A/2A/5B on offense is a safe and potent string to force the opponent into choosing riskier options if they want to escape the pressure loop.
- j.624A/B
The move that defines C-Arc, the Air Sonic. Disjointed, greatly advantageous on block, has a crossup hitbox, alters air momentum, this special does it all.
j.624B is a primary component in C-Arc's combos. j.624A has a variety of uses, such as in air to air situations due to its disjointed and crossup hitbox, as well as a followup option after jumping in on someone or forcing them to block j.C, which is powerful because it's a very good frame trap that also generates a lot of blockstun to set up guard crush situations.
Now on to her pressure in general. C-Arc is one of the most robust characters that can choose to rebeat for fluidity in her pressure sequences and also use specials such as 236[A], 214A, 214B, 624A that are at her disposal to create on-demand plus frames, terrifying frametrap situations and safe yet threatening pressure with Rekkas. One important thing you need to remember about C-Arc is that she cannot rebeat from 5C ever, forcing you to commit to special cancels once you reach it. Here are some basic pressure strings to build your offense off of, listed below.
- 2A stagger 2A 5B 2B, w5A - basic rebeat string, spaced for 2B/5B to connect on block afterwards.
- 2A 2A 2B stagger 2C 236A 236[A] - basic frametrap/jumpout catch string, great reward on hit.
- 2A 2B 5B 2B, w5A. IAD j.C/j.624A - basic IAD pressure reset string.
- 2A 2A 5B, stagger 2B 5C 236[A] - 5C > 236[A] beats or trades with the majority of abare buttons unless they're done immediately, forcing a riskier response if the opponent wants to escape.
- 2A 2A 2B stagger 2C 236A - pressure resetting is possible after 236A provided you have conditioned the opponent.
- 2A 2A 5B stagger 2C, dl.214A/214B - 2C > 214A at this point should make the 214A whiff, this is for making people whiff shield attempts on the elbow/rekka, letting you punish with 2B.
- 2A/5A (5B) 624A j.624A 66: Potent and safe pressure string in the corner, loops into itself. Forces a response from the opponent if they do not wish to be guard broken.
These are fairly basic strings that you can use but the important things to remember are that while her pressure options are incredibly potent, they also have fairly clear counterplay (i.e 236[A] being massively plus but jumpable), which means overreliance on any single option will hurt your pressure game quite badly. However, you can get away with a lot by using her rebeats to throw off the timing on the opponent's defensive responses and reset pressure via rebeat whiffs, letting your A normals fully recover since you have blessed frame data on your normals or by using 236[A].
Okizeme
With C-Arc, you have three main enders that give different okizeme options, those three being airthrow/j.2C ender, rekka (236A > 236A > 214B) ender and 236[B] ender.
- Airthrow/j.2C ender: Your only knockdown options off air combos.
Airthrow ender has fairly mediocre oki, leaving you far away midscreen to the point of not being able to meaty, and only having enough frame advantage in the corner for a meaty.
j.2C ender causes a ground techable knockdown, which in the corner lets you go for a techtrap setup. Falling j.624A can potentially catch all tech options depending on timing, and can be spaced to be safe to Heat Activation as well. There are two timings, late j.624A and early j.624A. Late j.624A will catch back and forward tech, and meaties neutral tech. Early j.624A catches back and neutral tech, but doesn't catch forward tech. Succesful techtraps can be converted into a combo off all tech situations with 5B > 2B > 2C > 5{C}. Note that this situation becomes inconsistent if you're going into your aircombo with a lot of forward momentum (i.e sj9 jA > air combo jump-out catch situations) and the opponent can usually forward tech without much risk.
The situation involves some RPS, because on late j.624A the opponent can neutral tech into DP to beat j.624A. However, if you go for early j.624A to catch neutral tech, the opponent can forward tech and punish your landing recovery without being hit. If you read the opponent choosing not to tech and you haven't used more than one bounce in your combo, you can use falling j.624C to OTG relaunch the opponent for a combo extension.
- Rekka ender: The rekka ender gives a safejump in the corner, with character specific variations on how to perform it:
- 9, j.C: Ryougi, Miyako, Sion, Vsion, Roa, Mech, Koha, Neco, Hisui, Vakiha, Seifuku, Arc, Ciel, Akiha, Hime
- Delayed Rekka, 9, j.C: Nanaya, Tohno, Wara, Satsuki, Wlen
- sj.9 j.C: Warc, PCiel
- Delayed Rekka, sj.9 j.C: Aoko, Nero, Len
- Delayed Rekka, short walk forward, 9, j.C: Kouma, Ries
Midscreen, setups using forward jump j.C and sj j.C will crossup and whiff, so you'll have to manually time a neutral jump forward drift j.C to safejump instead.
You can take this even further versus C-Moon players that really like to use Heat as a defensive option by doing the safejump j.C and then inputting 44 (backdash) before you land. If j.C hits, backdash doesn't come out, as you will be in hitstop, letting you combo or go into your pressure. If they heat, you will land and backdash, avoiding Heat, giving you a punish opportunity. Of course, most C-moon characters can EX shield and counter your safe jump, but you can stay safe to that meatying with j.624A instead thanks to its projectile property letting you land and block, or blow it up by doing empty jump low, or delay airdash j.C, among other options. Other anti-heat OSes include safejump j.C, land, 4A+B and safejump j.C, land, 2E, which work under the same principle.
- 236[B] ender: 236[B] can be used at any point in your corner combo as long as you have a wallslam left to set it up with 5C. Since 236[B] pulls the opponent out of the corner, you can use it to set up left/right mixups. The side you land on is determined by various factors; the most common sequence you see to set this up is:
- 2C > 5C > 236[B]
The side you land on is determined by whether the opponent's body is touching the corner or not. C-Arc can throw off her opponent's cognition with various tricks, such as using different delays during the normal sequence above or microwalking the body into the corner before going for the left/right.
You can add additional layers to the mix to further throw them off, like so:
- microwalk, 9/IAD j.2C/j.C(whiff), land 2A/5B/2B (main L/R mixup)
- long microwalk 9 j.C (same side high)
- short microwalk 9 sandoori j.C (crossup high)
- short microwalk 9/IAD j.2C/j.C(whiff), land 66 2A (gimmicky cornersteal into crossup dash)
The opponent can attempt to RPS this mixup using shield, which you will have to call out using 5B or 2B. Some C-Moon players will choose to heat in that situation, since they don't know which side to block, but you can OS that with 2AA 5B+D or 2AA 5[D]~B.
Knowing all this, it's important to consider the ender you want to go for depending on your goal at the current moment. Aircombo into airthrow/j.2C enders will let you squeeze out extra damage for the kill, rekka ender provides safe and consistent pressure, and 236[B] ender forces a guessing game with great reward, as C-Arc can carry the opponent corner to corner off both options and loop the situation again.
Defense
C-Arc on defense shows once again that she is a robust character, having a of options that your opponent has to keep track of.
22B is a fully invuln DP that cannot have its input be crossed up, making it incredibly powerful again left/right mixups. The follow up, 66B, is cancelable into j.624C for good damage with airthrow/j.2C ender for oki. There is also 22C, which is a bit faster and harder to safejump but isn't used much compared to 22B due to costing meter and returning to neutral.
She also has heat, EX shield, Bunker, dodge and a pretty good backdash, but make sure not to overuse these options. In specific situations, 236C can be used as a longer range reversal to get out of oki or pressure situations where 22X doesn't reach, such as against Nero, Hime or Kohamech.
Overall, blocking is still the recommended option. EX guarding, waiting for your turn and jumping out when appropriate renders your other options much stronger, as your opponent will be hard pressed to open you up as is before thinking of your numerous defensive options.
Sonic
j.624A, or 'Sonic' is a cool move. It covers several of Arc's notable weaknesses, one of which being a lack of crossup normal to catch opponents behind her, and also allows her to control space with relatively low commitment.
Here are some more qualities that make it a noteworthy move:
-Has a disjointed hitbox and 7f startup, making it rather fast for its range.
-Retains air options on recovery, allowing Arc to move rather unexpectedly in the air while sticking out a large disjointed hitbox.
-Has a stupid amount of hitstun, making stray hits turn into confirms rather easily, even from fairly high points on the screen
-Has very little landing recovery, and even if the opponent blocks it, Arc will have substantial, potentially even double digit, + frames. If the opponent blocks it airborne, they are liable to getting guard broken
-As a special move it has High Counter property, making trading with it still rather advantageous for Arc frame data wise.
-A version stalls her air movement, but retains her air momentum. B version cuts both. This can make her air positioning rather unpredictable.
-Has projectile property, which means that on shield it is virtually unpunishable. Makes contesting her jump ins with shield extremely risky.
Combos
For optimal routes, watch Kouki's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXJZ9bz8PPA
Please, watch this video. It contains all the information you need to become half decent with this character.
Combo Notation Help | |
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Disclaimer: Combos are written by various writers, so the actual notation used in pages can differ from the standard one. | |
X > Y | X input is cancelled into Y. |
X > delay Y | Must wait for a short period before cancelling X input into Y. |
X, Y | X input is linked into Y, meaning Y is done after X's recovery period. |
X+Y | Buttons X and Y must be input simultaneously. |
X/Y | Either the X or Y input can be used. |
X~Y | This notation has two meanings.
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X(w) | X input must not hit the opponent (Whiff). |
j.X | X input is done in the air, implies a jump/jump cancel if the previous move was done from the ground. Applies to all air chain sections:
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sj.X | X input is done after a super jump. Notated as sj8.X and sj9.X for neutral and forward super jumps respectively. |
dj.X | X input is done after a double jump. |
sdj.X | X input is done after a double super jump. |
tk.X | Stands for Tiger Knee. X motion must be buffered before jumping, inputting the move as close to the ground as possible. (ex. tk.236A) |
(X) | X is optional. Typically the combo will be easier if omitted. |
[X] | Input X is held down. Also referred to as Blowback Edge (BE). Depending on the character, this can indicate that this button is held down and not released until indicated by the release notation. |
]X[ | Input X is released. Will only appear if a button is previously held down. This type of input is referred to as Negative Edge. |
{X} | Button X should only be held down briefly to get a partially charged version instead of the fully charged one. |
X(N) | Attack "X" should only hit N times. |
(XYZ)xN | XYZ string must be performed N times. Combos using this notation are usually referred to as loops. |
(XYZ^) | A pre-existing combo labelled XYZ is inserted here for shortening purposes. |
CH | The first attack must be a Counter Hit. |
Air CH | The first attack must be a Counter Hit on an airborne opponent. |
66 | Performs a ground forward dash. |
j.66 | Performs an aerial forward dash, used as a cancel for certain characters' air strings. |
IAD/IABD | Performs an Instant AirDash. |
AT | Performs an Air Throw. (j.6/4A+D) |
IH | Performs an Initiative Heat. |
AD | Performs an Arc Drive. |
AAD | Performs an Another Arc Drive. |
Combo Theory
Despite the relative difficulty of C-Arc's baseline execution, her routes can be fairly consistent provided you correctly identify the situation and convert your hits with the correct route. Listed below are core combo components seen in her most common routes.
- 5C: 5C is one of the most crucial moves in C-Arc's combo theory. In the corner, it bounces on air hit, allowing the use of 236[B] in your corner combos to go into loops that do incredible damage off even the most insignificant starters. Midscreen, this move gives Arcueid access to the 'Homing' movement on some of her moves, most notably her 5C~C, and it is integral to many of her midscreen combos.
- Midscreen: Arcueid's homing jump is accessible from her 5C~C and her 214B~C followup on air hit. In most cases you'll be using 5C. The trajectory of Arc's homing jump is dependent on the timing with which you press the air button during the jump. This means that if you press j.C or j.A as soon as possible after 5C~C, your airheight will be lower, while delay j.B will have you be higher in the air.
Below are the two most common strings you will use to convert off 5C~C homing jump:
- 2C 5C~C (dl) j.B land 5A 5B 5C...
- 2C 5C~C (j.A dl j.C or j.C dl j.B) land 5B 2B 2C 5C....
While these combos appear similar, you'll be deciding which one to use depending on what area of the screen you are in. If you are too close to the corner you're facing, only doing dl j.B will not grant you enough time to land and complete the combo due to the earlier wallbounce, causing the followup combo to drop. Conversely, if you are too far from the corner, the j.A j.C routing won't carry the opponent far enough, causing the combo after to be hard to pick up if not outright impossible, losing you damage, meter and oki.
The easiest way to plan your routing is to check what area of the screen you are on. If you were to split the entire stage in half, alter your routing based on what half you are on relative to the corner you're facing. If you are on the FAR side of the screen, it's best to use j.B. If you're on the NEAR side of the screen, it's best to use the j.A delay j.C and sometimes j.C delay j.B routes for max range 2B 2C starter. A third scenario which can arise is the absolute fullscreen variant, in which j.B will not be able to carry you completely to the other corner. In this case, there are alternative combos available, and they will be addressed in the later sections.
One thing to note is that generally, half charging the 5C~C followup is recommended for tip range hits (e.g tip range 2B), as 5C~{C} moves Arc forward a good amount, allowing you to connect the sequence after without dropping the combo.
Another thing to consider is that due to j.A's fairly limited range, the j.A j.C routes might not work if you are at tip range, or wasn't point blank against certain problem characters that have thin air hurtboxes. Using halfcharge 5C~{C} might help, but it's an important skill to recognize when the combo won't work and go for the j.C j.B route or settle for the dl j.B route ending in aircombo into j.2C instead, as an inferior combo is still preferrable to a dropped combo.
Lastly, homing combos may seem like the best choice in almost any scenario due to its consistency, but keep in mind that homing has its own damage scaling applied to it, so in cases where you need more damage to kill the opponent, it would be better to perform other routes, such as 4C combos, instead.
- Corner: In the corner, C-Arc can use 5C's bounce on air hit to go into her corner loops, which deals incredible damage, builds obscene amounts of meter, and even sets up unseeable 50/50 situations. The principle behind these loops is using airhit 5C to combo into 236[B] to cause an untechable float and knockdown afterwards, letting C-Arc link into tk.63214B to extend her combo or give her massive frame advantage to set up her oki.
Below is the most common variation of it:
- (starter) 2C dl.5C 236[B] ...
After this, you can either do tk.63214B 5B 2B to continue the combo, dash 2A 5B 2B to pick up from further out, or go for her left/right.
One important thing to keep in mind as you do these loops is the bounce limit. Many moves in the game causes a bounce on hit against either the wall or the ground, signified by a shockwave that emanates from the point of impact. C-Arc is limited to 3 bounces per combo, with the 3rd bounce causing the opponent to become invincible until they recover. For this reason, you generally want to only use 2 bounces per combo to be able to end your combos in a favorable position.
- 236[B]: The move that enables your corner loops, as it causes float on airhit as well as an untechable knockdown. Generally, you will go into this from a 5C bounce. Therefore, it’s important to keep in mind your bounce counter if you try to fit this into a combo.
- j.63214B: Most commonly seen during Arc’s optimized corner routes as a TK special, it’s often used after 236[B] connects and allows you to land and link into 5B or 5A depending on combo hitstun, as well as a raw TK mid combo after 2C that uses a grounded jump cancel. There isn’t much to say about the former situation, as it’s very consistent. The latter, however, has some things one should keep in mind. First, the opponent has to be high enough as 2C hit for the 5B link afterwards to connect. Second, as Melty Blood only allows one grounded jump cancel per combo, you can't use more than one raw TK sonic per combo. Something of note is that at high combo hitcounts, approximately 17 hits or more, linking into 5B after tk.624B becomes quite difficult. Therefore, it's recommended that you either use 5A dl5B instead, or simply omit the tk.624B, as the damage loss is negligible at that point in the combo and you don't risk dropping the combo entirely if you mess up.
Mastering these three components by themselves should suffice for most use cases, however, seasoned C-Arc players should know of other useful routes to make the most out of every hit, as well as ensure the combo won’t drop due to some inconsistencies of the above tools. Listed below are more situational but nonetheless important combo tools you should get acquainted with.
- Rekka: The 236X series, aside from being an important combo ender, also has use in hitconfirming tip range hits that 2C 5C~C can’t convert well. Any string into 236B~236B~214B will work for all but the absolute max range hits, and can be further converted with meter by linking into 623C or tk.632146C. Meterless, it nets you a safejump midscreen that’s autotimed for about half the cast and manually timed for the rest with 8[6] j.C. As for the max range hits where 236B~236B~214B can’t connect, 236B~236B~236B will work, and allow you to convert into full corner carry via EX cancelling into 623C, provided you haven’t launched the opponent with 2C beforehand.
- 4C: A way to convert hits at awkwards ranges, such as 1/4th stage away from the opposite corner, with the added benefit of generally being more optimal than 5C~C routes due to not having the scaling applied on the homing jump. Most often you will go into this move from 2C, and continue the combo by airdash cancelling it into a late air button and then landing into 5B or 2C. These routes can carry from corner to corner, and eliminate the issue of the 5C~C j.B route not working at absolute fullscreen distance. However, the drawback for this route is that it requires you to be considerably close to your opponent to work, as well as having worse oki than 5C~C routes if it doesn’t manage to get you close enough to the corner to go into the corner loops, as well as not being able to transition into the corner combo if you've used 2 of them in the same combo due to hitstun decay.
- 623C: Otherwise known as EX Claw, this move is one of the reasons why C-Arc’s ability to convert stray hits is so strong. On the last hit, it sends the opponent across the screen and wallslams them, letting C-Arc dash forward through the entire stage and pick up with 2A 5B 2B into a full corner combo. It can also OTG relaunch, meaning you can use it to convert knockdowns anywhere on the screen into full corner carry. However, keep in mind that as OTG relaunching uses one bounce and the wallslam uses another, you cannot use another move that causes bounce in the followup combo. You can also use this move to convert ground throw into a full combo in the corner with 22A > land 623C, but do keep in mind that due to the bounce of throw, you might have to input 623C in reverse (as 421C) if you’re too close to the corner, and due to the throw using one bounce, you also cannot use another move that causes bounce in the followup combo.
- j.63214C: Also known as EX sonic. This move can be fit into most combos in the same places where you’d use tk.63214B, allowing you to dump meter if you so choose to get marginally better damage. Its more exciting use however, is in the fact that it also has OTG relaunch properties. And, as opposed to 623C, it only uses one bounce instead of two. However, the tradeoff is that you have to be close enough to the opponent in order to be able to pick up afterwards with dash 5B 2B. This move also has situational use as a meterdump tool to quickly exit Max and begin building meter earlier in your combo, thanks to its ability to be easily fit into any part of your combos.
One situation of note is converting the 236B~236B~214B knockdown with this. The conversion is universal, however, it only works if the Rekka series connected with the opponent in the air. This causes them to fall to the ground later than if they were hit grounded, giving you enough time to recover and connect with tk.63214C. Grounded hit 214B ender rekka into tk.63214C can work, but only on Riesbyfe and Kouma.
- 214B: B Elbow has several situational uses in combos, one of which in that its B and C followups allows you to go into the same routes as 4C and 5C~C from further away thanks to the forward movement of B Elbow. These combos are of note as they are often the optimal route midscreen to go into the corner loops, but require stricter hitconfirming to work since they don't work from 2C. The B followup in combos has to be delayed for both hits of the followup to connect and for the combo to work properly. Another use for B Elbow is that you can link into normals after it hits. This is seen in a universal combo extension with corner 2C dl 214B link 5A at high combo hitcounts, and niche, spacing specific routes from midscreen to corner with 2C dl 5C 214B link 5B. For the first use case, the link is difficult but worth doing if you need to go into MAX, as it works on the entire cast and builds an extra 30% meter, as well as tacking on more damage to your combo at the same time. The latter requires very particular spacing to make 214B hit at the tail end of its active frames, giving you enough frame advantage to link into 5B.
Character specific delays for for 214B~C homing combos:
- Delay j.B: Wara, Roa, W.Len
- 214B~dlC, dlj.B: Hime, Satsuki
- 214B~slight dlC, dlj.B: Ciel, V.Sion
- 214B~dlC, large delay j.B: Miyako
- 214B~dlC, slight dlj.A, slight delay j.624A: Ryougi
- j.63214A: Usually shortened to j.624A, this move is often used in corner throw conversions, alongside 4C, as it bypasses the jump cancel limit letting you extend throw combos to run out the opponent's MAX or Heat duration. Also sees use in midscreen routes, mostly with 4C > airdodge/airdash > j.624A, but this is quite niche and not necessary to know unless you're trying to squeeze every point of damage possible from your combo.
- 63214A: Often seen as a starter from the 5A/2A 624A j.624A pressure loop, as on grounded hit it has enough hitstun for you to land and combo after with 2B. During the corner combo, it’s also possible to get 624A to hit the opponent low to the ground, cancel the air recovery with an air normal and land microwalk to pick up with 5B. Can be done at any point in the combo provided the opponent has the correct height for A sonic to hit them low to the ground but still in the air, and not as an OTG relaunch. Keep in mind that the hitcount at the point where you go for this combo will affect the timing, due to gravity scaling making the opponent fall faster. This extension is great for tacking on damage to your combos into 236[B] oki, as it can be fit into the combo multiple times at any point as opposed to the 214B extension that only works at high hitcounts. However, it does not work on the entire cast due to their thin air hurtboxes not allowing walk 5B to connect. The characters that this does not work on are: Sion, V.Sion, Arc, Warc, Hime, Roa, V.Akiha, Hisui, M.Hisui, Satsuki.
- 623A/623B: Probably C-Arc's least used specials, however, they still have some utility. 623A allows you to secure a hard knockdown from extremely scaled combos where no other ender will work. 623B~6X is used in 4C routes to pick up into an air combo at the end, as well as a confirm for non-counterhit 5AA anti air, even if it requires strict hitconfirming.
Starters
C-Arc can combo from most hits. Examples include, but are not limited to:
Enders
Core Combos
These are the combos new C-Arc players should aim to learn before any other combos. If the execution proves to be too difficult, there are alternative routes that you can use, at the cost of being less threatening to get hit by.
Full Screen
Midscreen
Corner
Miscellaneous combos
Throw combos
OTG Pick ups
Notes:
- - During the corner wall bounce combos, almost every component of the loop has to be delayed (where 'dl' is noted). This is needed to keep the opponent as low as possible without hitting the ground.
- Inconsistencies with corner loop for certain characters:
2C Whiffs: Ciel, Kohaku, Warc.
Solution: Delay 2C slightly.
Crossup after 236[B]: Aoko, Nanaya, Kouma, Miyako, Kohaku
Solution: Delay 5C even more.
- - If you are having trouble with the j.63214B 5B link, make sure to input the TK as low to the ground as possible.
Additional Resources
C-Arcueid Match Video Database
C-Arc combo compilation
Notable Players
Name | Color | Region | Common Venues | Status | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bigorados (Bigorados#6278) |
Brazil | Netplay | Active | Found In Reverse Beat Brasil. Strongest C-Arcueid player in the region. | |
GO1 | Japan | A-cho, KoreWaMelty | Inactive | ||
KFL | North America | AnimEVO, Climax of Night | Inactive | ||
kosunan | Japan | Netplay | Inactive | ||
kouki (コウキ) |
Japan | A-cho, KoreWaMelty, Play Spot BIG ONE 2nd | Inactive | ||
nikki (ニッキ) |
Japan | Play Spot BIG ONE 2nd | Inactive | ||
sanae (sanae#8997) |
North America | Netplay | Active | 5a 624a j.624a 66 |