Ys vs. Sora no Kiseki: Alternative Saga/Loewe

“

A former Enforcer of Ouroboros and known as the Bladelord. He and Joshua were raised together like brothers. His incredible battle prowess is highly valued by both the Anguis and Grandmaster.

”

Loewe
Playstyle	Heavy / Midrange
Preferred Range	Mid
Tankiness Rating	High (0.85%)
Difficulty	Hard
Stats
HP	11921
AP	16
STR	1209
DEF	987
BRK	619
DUR	2973
SPD	101
AGL	108
SP Gain	204

Introduction

Every good fighting game needs at least one boss character. In Ys vs Trails, it's Loewe that takes this role. With pretty inflated stats, he is both the strongest character in the game (in terms of raw strength), but also one of the bulkiest. His attacks, while somewhat slow, packs a punch, and can even sometimes cause status effects that affects his opponents' options. This makes Loewe a force to be reckoned with in neutral, as any mistake can be easily punished hard by him. However, while he seems absolutely overpowered on paper, there's one huge flaw in Loewe's gameplan: he requires almost full SP in order to become a threat. Gainin SP is Loewe's biggest hurdle: while his projectile Charge Attack has good range and is easily spammable in neutral, it only grants 22 SP, the lowest possible amount. This forces him to stay patient and slowly but surely build up SP until he gets enough for his next punish. Said punishes also requires good execution in order to maximize their damage output. Finally, Loewe has the lowest AP stat in the game, making build choices extremely limited for him.

Loewe is recommended for players who loves high damage whiff punishes and aren't afraid of a challenge.

Playstyle

Loewe is a technical heavyweight with great neutral who can easily whiff punish his opponents for big damage.

Strengths

Weaknesses

High Stats: Loewe's stats are overall the highest in the game. This also makes him the 2nd tankiest character in the game. Good Neutral: Loewe's attacks generally have a lot of range. However, they're still fast enough for him to perform decently well at most ranges. Damaging Punishes: Loewe has an easy time punishing his opponents in neutral. His punishes also does very good damage. Touch of Death: Loewe, with Jurio's help, has the potential to ToD half of the cast.

Low AP: Loewe has the lowest AP value in the game, making build options extremely limited for him. Poor SP Economy: Loewe is the character who has the hardest time managing SP, due to a combination of generally expensive Skills and very low SP gain. High Skill Floor: While not a weakness in itself, learning Loewe can take some time due requiring lots of finesse regarding SP management. His execution barrier is also on the higher end of the cast.

All damage values below were tested on Estelle (841 DEF). No stats-altering accessory was equipped. Also the values are averaged (see System page)

Movelist

Normal attacks

ABC A A B B C C	Version Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties A 151 5 - - - B 151 11+6 - - - C 151 24+5 - - - Loewe's A is a great poke that also acts as a quick anti-air, which he can abuse a lot in neutral. His B and C, however, have very little use, since Loewe is incapable of comboing into them.

Charge Attack [A]	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 181 10 - - Soft Armor, Projectile One of the better Charge Attacks, despite its lackluster SP gain. Its projectile properties makes it an incredible poke that's very hard to directly challenge. Gives 22 SP on contact Frame data assumes point blank

j.ABC j.A j.A j.B j.B j.C j.C

Version Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties j.A 151 5 - - - j.B 151 10+4 - - - j.C 151 20+7 - - - A decent air-to-air string. However, it mostly shines as a whiff punish tool. Dash j.A is Loewe's best starter, due to having an additional hit when done during a dash. This grants bonus damage, as well as more time for Loewe to combo. j.C can be used as a combo ender when Loewe doesn't have enough SP for Demon Flames. During a homing dash, j.A will gain an additional hit for bonus damage. If delayed long enough, Loewe can also perform his j.B while grounded

Falling Attack j.D	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 151 7 - - - Arguably the worst Falling Attack in the game. Generally outclassed by j.C, Loewe doesn't have many uses for it, except as an anti-air bait. Impact frame obtained while as low to the ground as possible

Rising Attack	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 151 9 1 AP - Hard Armor 1-10 "Universal" Rising Attack. It's a basic launcher that has the merit of being armored all the way through. Can be jump or dash cancelled in order to combo

Skills

Whirlwing Cut S1 File:YvK Loewe S1.png	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 400 4, 13 12 - Soft Armor, Projectile Loewe's fastest attack. Quite easy to insert in combos at most ranges.

Swallow Return S2	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 345 11 12 - Soft Armor, Projectile Gigantic projectile poke that launches opponents on hit. At point blank, Loewe can combo off of it Jump cancellable

Silver Thorn S3 Silver Thorn, Golden Scorn Silver Thorn, Golden Scorn	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 730 33 30 - Hard Armor 1-4, Soft Armor Projectile Causes Confusion on hit

Zero Storm S4 Ground version Ground version Air version Air version	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 990 24 25 - Hard Armor 1-4, Soft Armor Projectile, Draw-In Very slow, very long, very active projectile that deals lots of damage, with each hit having a chance to cause Paralysis. Pretty hard to land, but the payoff is huge. Air version shooys the projectile at an angle. Can cause Paralysis on hit

Arch Drain S5

Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 1400 6+27 50 - Hard Armor, Drain, Draw-In Very slow Skill that's easily avoidable and hard to combo into. This makes it rarely worth using it in 1v1s. However, it can be pretty decent in FFAs, as Loewe gains 25 SP for every opponent caught in the AoE. This makes Arch Drain the only SP-positive Skill in the entire game, in the right circumstances. If Loewe catches an opponent late enough, he will be able to follow-up with a combo. 6 frames of freeze upon use. The opponent can still cast Skills or use their assist during the freeze

Demon Flames S6 Does everything you need for only 60 SP Does everything you need for only 60 SP

Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 1660 8 60 - Hard Armor, Draw-In The reason you play Loewe. While it's tied with Agate's Final Break for most expensive Skill in the game, it compensates by being the single most damaging non-EXTRA Skill attack in the game. In fact, it even outdamages some EXTRA Skills. Moreover, its relatively quick startup and great range (despite the animation) makes it Loewe's go-to combo ender. And if that wasn't enough, it can even instantly break the opponent's guard! All of this makes it a must-have in Loewe's arsenal. Just don't abuse it, due to its extreme SP cost (this is Loewe we're talking about) and long recovery.

Sword of Abaddon EXTRA Skill File:YvK Geis EXTRA.png	Damage Impact SP Cost Cooldown Properties 2050 23 100 EXTRA - Invincible, Draw-In The opponent can still cast Skills or use their assist during the freeze Causes Freeze on hit

Builds

Note: These builds are mostly here in order to guide new players into how to exploit Loewe' potential to its fullest. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Recommended accessories

• Good accessories for Loewe goes here. Explain why this build is good for him

Recommended Skills

• S1
• S2
• S3
• S4

Recommended Support

• Ries - Greatly mitigates Loewe's biggest weakness
• Jurio & Chris - Makes Loewe an absolute menace at close to mid range, allowing him to cinvert pokes into 4k damage minimum

General Strategy

Neutral

• Explain how Loewe is played in neutral at a fundamental level

Pressure

• Explain how Loewe's pressure works fundamentally

Defense

• List what Loewe's unique defensive options are (outside of system mechanics). This can be either a reversal or a stupidly fast attack

General Counterplay

• List some general Loewe counterplay. This includes, but isn't limited to, knowledge checks or gimmicks

Combos

Solo

• A > S6 (1.9k damage)

Basic poke combo from a ground normal that works at any range. Make sure to start charging [A], as this costs a lot of SP.

• A > S2 jc > j.A > S2 > dash j.A (whiff) > S6 (2.3k damage)

Better route from a grounded normal when at close range. Loewe must jump cancel the first S2 as fast as possible.

• dash j.A(2) > dl.jB > S2 jc > j.AB > S2/S6 (1.4k/2.6k damage)

BnB punish from a homing dash at close-ish range. Extremely tight in order to make in inescapable. In order to work, Loewe must PM j.A's second hit backwards.

With accessories

• Combo (damage)

Specify which accessories are required for this combo to work

Combo description

With assists

• A > S6, [A] > dash j.ABC > j.S6 (4.1k damage)

Jurio & Chris

Simple Jurio combo. Costs a lot of SP but the damage is more than worth it. The last Demon Flames must be cancelled into right after j.C lands. Does 4.2k with dash j.AB starter.

• A > S6, [A] > EX, [A] > dash j.AB > j.S6, [A] > dash j.ABC > j.S6 (~8.6k damage)

Jurio & Chris

One of the most damaging combos in the game. Able to ToD half the cast (Aisha, Elk, Mishera, Chester, Estelle, Joshua, Kloe, Olivier, Tita and Renne), and potentially more if EX Tome is equipped.

With accessories and assists

• Combo (damage)

Specify which equippable items are required for this combo to work

Combo description

Colors

Color 1

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Default color

Color 2

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Reference (if there's one)

Color 3

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Reference (if there's one)

Color 4

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Reference (if there's one)