Art of Fighting 3/Rody Birts

ロディ・バーツ, Rody Birts
Difficulty	Moderate
Playstyle	Midrange poking (some rushdown), mixups
Birthplace	USA
Occupation	Bounty hunter
Fighting style	Two tonfas
Weight Class	Light (2/10)
Birthday	July 24

Introduction

Player 1 Color	Player 2 Color

Rody Birts, a bounty hunter and partner of Lenny, who has been hired by her to find Freia.

Rody Birts is a cop with a cool attitude that doesn't mess with anybody, and his batons will make sure you know that he means business. Being a rushdown character, he's pretty fast and packing pretty solid mixups out of his pressure. Rody can either go for his double sweep out of 1BB, or blindside foes with his 6B launcher that hits overhead. Add this on top of his straightforward, highly damaging combos and Rody can quickly swat rounds off the match, acting as a constant threat on okizeme. Why Rody is packing double batons is beyond us, but he most definitely knows how to weild them. He easily stands out better than most characters in the Art of Fighting series thanks to his aggressive playstyle.

That's not to say Rody doesn't have at least some flaws. Although he carries his momentum incredibly well, he can lose it quite easily from one bad read since both 6B and his 1BB sweep have steep recovery, especially 1BB which leaves him at somewhere lower than -20 on block. Ouch! If the opponent can consistently look past his mixup game, then Rody's fighting an uphill battle where he has to play a lot more respectfully, despite lacking good defensive tools. And against Ryo, Rody has no choice but to zone him out or else suffer a deadly death combo, as a character who cannot zone well. Look past his shortcomings though, and you have a character who refuses to play fair and will always charge in to apply deadly pressure.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Very fast overall: Rody is a speed demon who has very fast startup on almost all of his attacks, paired with fast and far reaching dashes and walk speed that lets him act at a moment's notice. Low meter reliance: With few special moves, all of which are only needed for certain scenarios, Rody can focus on pressuring the opponent without having to worry about expending his own meter. One of the best C buttons: Rody's 5C has pretty fast startup for a button that effectively lets him score a free juggle combo against most characters while also booting good range. Rody's C projectile is also quite good for long-distanced zoning. Fireball can't be punched out and lingers: Throwing his baton, unlike an energy fireball, makes Rody's projectile impossible to stop with attacks. And when it's retreating back, it actually has a second hitbox to catch people off guard. Most consistent Stagger followups: Rody's fast speed and great ease with getting in helps make stagger follow-ups more consistent than the rest of the cast, ensuring Rody greater reward for landing a stagger, including wrongblocks. Simple combos that are all variations of one another: Rody's combos are homogenized with one another, effectively serving as variations between each other that learning them is quite easy. Looping setplay with okizeme: Every knockdown Rody scores, that's another free 50/50 setup for Rody. Since he's already quite fast, opponents will choke under pressure. Can shred an opponent's life bar: Rody's mixup game allows him to cut right through the opponent's defenses with the right reads, and in only two combos can potentially end rounds in seconds. Combined with his fast speed and easy ways of charging right in, Rody is a persistent wall the opponent must constantly put up with.

Lows are quite risky: Although his Full Crouch lows are very useful, all of Rody's other lows leave him either easy to punish on block, especially 1B which leaves him at a disadvantage of over -20, or have range issues that, while still good lows, likely won't blow up the opponent. Range can be problematic: Albeit not Rody's biggest issue, his range isn't amazing on some core moves. 2A, 2B, the FC versions, 3A, and 6B in particular are easier to whiff due to their shorter range, which can backfire his pressure a little. Constantly in the opponent's face which leads to easy block punishes: Rody's 50/50 rushdown pressure requires he constantly be in the opponent's face to apply it in the first place, which only makes punishing him for making a mistake that much easier. Lightweight leaves him prone to juggles: Rody is also susceptible to juggles due to his lightweight, so more juggles work on him than they do other characters, and thusly more damage output and more situational combos. Cripples when he loses momentum: The second Rody gets knocked off his rushdown train is when he struggles to take the momentum back without playing risky and forcing the opponent off of him. This however means that Rody will have to either use spirit to escape or go for his fastest option and hope he doesn't trade. Although his range isn't bad, it's average, and with no reversal, he has to play crafty. All or nothing; loses rounds as fast as he wins them in an already fast game: Either Rody pummels the opponent, or the opponent pummels Rody. Other characters in the cast can delete Rody's life bar just as fast as he can theirs, in an already fast-paced fighting game. Ryo can infinite combo him: Ryo has an infinite that only works on lightweight characters, Rody being one of them. But since Rody has to be in Ryo's face to pose a threat, one wrong move and Rody loses the entire round if he gets launched. This makes it his worst matchup as he's forced to turtle.

Move List

Esoterics

Color Coding

• Green refers to special move damage/frames when done in green meter, or otherwise the strongest damage it can deal.
• Blue refers to special move damage/frames when done in blue meter, or otherwise moderate damage it can deal.
• Purple refers to special move damage/frames when done in purple meter, or otherwise the weakest damage it can deal.
• Orange refers to the damage dealt in chip damage during block.
• Colors may be used otherwise to associate frames/scenarios to avoid confusion, i.e. Kasumi's 4C parry having two different sets of frame data.

Attacks, Notation and Damage

• [Brackets] refers to the specific attack in a string/rush combo that the attack box data is referring to.

• The arrow > on the left of it is the attacks that need to be done before the move in brackets can be performed. If there is an X, it means there are multiple ways of getting to the move in brackets which will be listed in the description.

• Damage values always assume grounded damage with no modifiers. If two damage values are listed with a / in-between them, it lists the damage it deals for grounded and airborne respectively.

• This is because these attacks are used in strings or otherwise as follow-ups where they're more likely to connect with airborne opponents rather than grounded opponents, such as Jin's 6B which hits twice, the first hit leaving the opponent airborne before the second hit.

• Ground/Aerial means if the attack is performed grounded or airborne. If an aerial, being hit during the attack will result in the attacker being knocked down.
• There is no true throw invulnerability in Art of Fighting 3, so when a move is listed as "Throw Invulnerable" it means the attack changes the character's hurtboxes in a way that the throw hitbox cannot collide with it.

Reading Frame Data

• Description of the five stats:

• Startup frames counts all frames before the first active frame comes out, aka how long it takes for the attack to come out
• Active frames is how long the attack is able to hit the opponent, starting at the first active frame
• Recovery frames is how long it takes before the player resets to neutral and can act again
• Total is all three stats above added up, so total number of frames in the move
• Hit/Block advantage is how much faster or slower you can act than the opponent by the number of frames

• Frame advantage, both on hit and block, always assumes frame advantage after the first active frame connects.
• If an attack lists "QKD" in its properties, this means it's an attack that can be teched out of faster than a normal knockdown. This affect only applies to counter hit launches or if the attack connects with the opponent in the air.
• When a move lists ST, SKD, etc. followed by a number in (parentheses) it indicates the frame advantage for the attacking player. Not all knockdowns are plus on hit and depends on the move.

• Knockdown frames always assume frame advantage against Jin. Everyone except for Robert, Sinclair, and Wyler share 16f of wakeup recovery after a knockdown. For Robert, Sinclair, and Wyler, add +1 frame advantage.
• This rule also applies to SKDs, however in this case Jin and everyone else shares 58f total of being in an SKD state except for Lenny, who is in an SKD state for 59 frames instead. For SKD frame advantage against Lenny, add +1 frame advantage.
• The wiki omits STKD frame advantage mostly because those are always plus no matter what, so it's somewhat pointless.

• The frames in (parentheses) next to a "Cancellable into..." sentence is how long you can delay a follow-up, AKA which exact frames you're allowed to cancel into a follow-up. If it states "onwards" then the cancel can be done whenever after the given frame. This info helps both for buffering inputs and also delaying strings for mixups.

Other Tips

• Moves are sorted by ascending number followed by ascending alphabet, so lower numbers first followed by lower alphabet letters. Moves with two button presses are organized last.
• It is recommended you read the brief descriptions to how the attacks animate in-game to familiarize yourself with each attack. Unfortunately, due to the rotoscoped graphics, animations lack key frames that help distinguish themselves as separate moves when viewed as single frames. This in turn makes some moves that share frames look identical to one another without context to how they are supposed to appear, without resorting to using gifs.

General Frame Data

Character	Jump Startup	Jump Recovery	Jump Frames	Hop Frames	Crouch Frames	Restand Frames	Crouch Height
	5f	6f	50f	39f	6f	6f	Average
Walk Startup	Walk Speed	F. Dash Frames	F. Dash Speed	F. Dash Distance	Backdash Frames	Backdash Speed	Backdash Distance
0f	Average	21f	Fast	Far	19f	Fast	Far

Grounded Normals

5A

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 128 Mid 8 - - - +1 -6 LCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 129 points Rody flings his baton at the enemy by flinging his wrist. Rody's least used move. While not inherently bad, it's one of the slowest jabs and being -6 on block makes it punishable by the fastest attacks in the game. If used far away, the -6 on block will be a lot harder to punish, save exceptions like Kasumi's 5C which packs great range. Packs good range for a jab, though Rody also has other moves with better utility that are faster and pack the same range.

5B

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256 Mid 4 - - - +0 -5 LCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 257 points Able to anti-air Rody kicks straight forward, angled upwards. Ordinary kick, has good range and makes for a solid standing poke, but not useful for combos. Easy to duck too, though it makes an okay block punish when you need something immediately. Nothing noteworthy otherwise, and not useful for juggles, either.

5C Charging High Kick Charging High Kick

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 512 Mid 11 - - - KD -6 KD Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 513 points Able to anti-air Rody dashes forward and slams his foot forward knocking the opponent back on impact. The only 5C in the game that can be comboed off of, other than Jin's overhead launcher which is slower in comparison. The only real follow up Rody gets out of it is his 6AA > 6BB rush combo, which drops against Jin, or using a special move. Gives good wall carry as well, making it Rody’s easiest combo with fast recovery to boot. Can even make a decent whiff punish with its range, particularly if Rody backdash cancels into 5C early in the backdash. Even able to punish from crouch if Rody ducks a move and reacts fast enough.

2A / Full Crouch 2A Tonfa Sweep / Ankle Swipe Tonfa Sweep / Ankle Swipe

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256 Low 16 - - - SKD (+34) -11 SKD (+34) Ground Version: 2A Spirit restored when blocked: 257 points Rody swipes his baton at the enemy’s legs and scoring a soft knockdown. Good range makes it an effective low poke, albeit the main issue is its slower speed, which gives the opponent some leeway to react to it. It's not the easiest attack to punish on block either since it only leaves Rody -11. The SKD on hit also means a free pursuit for Rody, which in turn means free 50/50 okizeme for him, too. The overall safer low to use compared to 2B, but 2B still has plenty of uses going for it, so it's more a matter of what you're looking for in the moment. Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 192 Low 12 - - - +4 -1 STKD Ground Version: Full Crouch 2A Spirit restored when blocked: 193 points Same as 2A, but without a soft knockdown. Not as much damage but it’s faster and is also safe both on hit and block so Rody cannot be punished for using it. Rody has short crouching frames so you could crouch then go for FC 2A if you really wanted to, but there's no serious advantage for doing so despite lower risk. On the flipside, there's also no reason to restand to then use normal 2A, since if you're already crouching, you might score a STKD which is better reward overall.

2B / Full Crouch 2B Stub Kick / Quick S. Stub Kick / Quick S.

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 320 Low 8 - - - -2 -25 KD Ground Version: 2B Spirit restored when blocked: 321 points Rody kicks at the enemy’s legs and stuns them momentarily This is twice as fast as 2A is with noticeably less range, and worse frame advantage. It gives Rody the advantage of being able to high crush a variety of attacks he normally can't duck due to shrinking his hitbox. While poor as a spacing tool compared to 2A, it packs a very high amount of active frames for a low attack. This in turn means Rody can meaty it. By meatying the 2B, he not only recovers plus on hit but if he scores a knockdown due to a counter hit, he keeps his momentum. If he does a pursuit, however, it's harder for Rody to meaty with it consistently. If used as a raw poke in footsies, it's safe on hit but Rody loses his turn at -2, so try not to land it on block either. If you push down and B on the exact same frame, 1B will come out instead. Delay the B button press by one frame to ensure this doesn't happen by mistake. Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256 Low 5 - - - +12 -11 KD Ground Version: Full Crouch 2B Spirit restored when blocked: 257 points Faster but weaker version of 2B as is typical of FC normals. While you won’t be able to confirm anything after FC 2B, you're still +12 which gives Rody plenty of time to rush back in and maintain his pressure. Like 2A, difficult to punish on block since it's only -11 on block, though without as much range Rody can't space it out as much. Also nowhere near as many active frames so it's a fast low poke more than anything, but not a very committal low poke, either.

Jumps

j.A

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256 High 12 - - - Varies Varies LCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 257 points Rody pokes his baton downwards. Standard jump-in button. Angled diagonally downwards so potentially useful for hitting someone beneath you. Comes out slower than j.B too, however, so unless you need the angle, use j.B instead. If you use normal jumps, j.A is easier to time with since it has more active frames.

j.B/C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 384 High 8 - - - Varies Varies LCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 385 points Rody kicks straight ahead in the air. Comes out fast, making it good for combo attacks and air-to-airs. Not a bad hop jump-in, either. More or less nullifies having to use j.A since it has several more purposes, though be careful about the timing since the short active frames can make it whiff during normal jumps.

Command Normals

1B Quick Sweep Quick Sweep

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256 Low 8 - - - SKD (+14) -31 SKD (+14) Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 257 points Rody does a low hitting sweep attack, swinging his leg towards the background to sweep the opponent. Packs more range than 2B by default, so if you need both a fast low poke and one that reaches, use this. Be wary of its huge frame disadvantage on block, however. Only some lows in the game manage to have worse frame disadvantages on block. If blocked, Rody can still potentially save himself with his 5B follow-up, but it carries the same frame data. Can be risky to use even though it's hard to react to, but applying it in 50/50 okizeme with overheads makes it a decent low mixup, and if anything, is the low Rody takes his shots with. 2A is lengthy in startp whereas 2B packs mediocre frame advantage and range issues. 1B is the best of both worlds with a pre-canned mixup with its only major shortcoming being -31 on block. The other issue it has is that SKD's frame advantage isn't enough to follow-up other than with his 5B follow-up, though he at least retains his turn to continue his rushdown. Shrinks Rody's hitbox, too, so it can avoid some higher angled attacks. Rody learned not only from Akira, but Lion too. Man, what a knucklehead.

1B~[5B] Final Sweep Final Sweep

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256/320 Low 4 - - - SKD (+14) -31 SKD (+14) Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 257 points Identical to 1B, only this time it pushes Rody forward a little which effectively increases his range slightly, and halves the startup. If 1B lands and you're trying to combo into 5B, be wary that the timing to land 5B during the SKD animation is character dependent and will whiff if poorly timed. On the flip side, comboing into it guarantees a full knockdown since it hits the opponent airborne, which in turn means Rody is free to pursuit or meaty, or whatever else he pleases. The distance Rody travels is tiny. It's not gonna scare opponents by itself. The extra push in range helps, but trying to use it raw is more likely to get you whiffed punished instead. Makes for an okay delayed follow-up thanks to the 4 frame startup, but try not to rely too heavily on it. Just as easy to punish as 1B.

3B Dashing Knee Dashing Knee

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 320 Overhead 21 - - - KD -16 KD Ground; Wrongblock (ST; +14) Spirit restored when blocked: 321 points Rody does a dash-in version of his 6B where he runs forward followed by hopping forward, raising his knee. Rody has much faster overheads, but this can still prove pretty useful when applied in the right scenarios. Best times to use it are as the opponent is waking up, where they can be potentially confused by Rody's dash as a normal forward dash, and you think they'll try blocking low. 3B can also whiff punish if timed right, too. Wrongblock stagger is enough for Rody to land a combo while also remaining close to the opponent without otherwise relying on a wrongblock 6B, which Rody uses much more often and is what the opponent is expecting from up close. Hit guarantees a knockdown and a free pursuit for Rody. Travels a pretty good distance, even during its recovery frames.

4B Dodge Knee Strike Dodge Knee Strike

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property - Mid - - - - KD - X Ground Rody steps aside dodging incoming kick attacks, then rushes in with his own kick attack. Rody's counter move that works against mid and overhead kicks. Lows of any kind will not be countered. The attack needs to connect while the opponent's kick whiffs right in front of Rody. Timing it is a strict window, but Rody can also buffer it by holding back right before hitting B. As long as he's already holding back, B will come out as 5B if the counter misses, or cancel into his counterattack. Unlike Kasumi's counter, this does not allow Rody to follow-up into a combo, but it still scores a knockdown, meaning he gets okizeme from it. This attack is also blockable unlike Kasumi's counter, on top of being able to whiff. If you can, avoid buffering this move against fast kicks, or otherwise from too far away.

5AB Clobber Clobber

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256 x3 Mid 6 - - - ST (1-2); KD (3rd) -14 LCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 257 x3 points Able to anti-air Rody does a quick 3 hit auto combo by bashing his tonfas at the opponent. He moves forward while doing it so it packs good range, capable of ending juggle combos with good enough damage too, so not a bad reward for using it. Not super useful for neutral, if the opponent blocks it (which is a mid for all three hits), the -14 is plenty of time to punish Rody aside from some pushback. It can sometimes be an okay punish tool thanks to the 6f startup, but the range on the first hit is iffy so you're likely better off using a quick poke like 5B. Best to only use this as a combo tool, which is easy to time with anyways, or as a setup into his 4A launcher without throwing out 6B by itself.

Launchers

3A Beheading Beheading

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256 Overhead 14 - - - Launch -5 HCHL Ground, Wrongblock (ST; +25) Spirit restored when blocked: 257 points Able to anti-air Rody swings his right tonfa towards the foreground just hard enough to launch the opponent upwards, swatting at their chest. Both this and 4A seem identical as launchers, but there are key differences: 3A is the slower and weaker launcher, but it hits overhead with stagger wrongblock. It is also only -5 on block, which if spaced, makes it impossible to punish due to its knockback. Even up-close, Kasumi's 5C is the only consistent punish. It's an okay option up-close, too, but it might be a little risky due to the startup. That said, it's also safer overall compared to 6B, despite 6B being Rody's main launcher due to how fast it is and being the only launcher tied to rush combos. If Rody needs to zone at all but can't use his projectile, this and 4A aren't bad pokes for spacing.

4A Tonfa Swat Tonfa Swat

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 512 Mid 9 - - - Launch -13 HCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 513 points Able to anti-air Rody swings his left tonfa towards the background, launching the opponent upwards. Both this and 3A seem identical as launchers, but there are key differences: 4A is the faster (albeit only slightly) and stronger launcher, but hits mid and has worse frame advantage on block. As with 3A, spacing it out makes it difficult to punish, but up-close, avoid using it too readily. Rody recovers from block a few frames faster than he does from 6B at least.

6B Driving Knee Driving Knee

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 320 Overhead 6 - - - Launch -17 HCHL Ground, Wrongblock (ST; +13) Spirit restored when blocked: 321 points Rody does a quick knee attack that is powerful enough to launch the opponent high into the air. This is Rody's main launcher since it's both his fastest and also can be chained into from rush combos. Fast and hits overhead, it will easily open up the opponent’s defenses when in range, with the caveat that the range is mediocre. The stagger on hit if wrongblocked isn't a big enough frame advantage to give Rody much to work with, but in the corner he can combo into it since he's close enough. 6B is also Rody's most punishable launcher at -17, which given its range, makes it an easy block punish. Basically: 3A is slowest but safest, 6B is fastest but most punishable, and 4A sits between the two. Able to rush combo into 6B[B], but this should be avoided unless the opponent is being juggled, as the follow-up will negate the launch. Dealing with range issues aside, use this whenever possible as one of Rody's go-to moves, particularly to throw in a hard to react to overhead. It's easily one of Rody's key moves in offense.

Rush Combo Attacks

6A Tonfa Rush Tonfa Rush

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 160 Mid 4 - - - +1 -4 LCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 161 points Rody swings the butt of one of his tonfas at the opponent's gut. Standard rush combo punch. Rody can delay it just like any other rush combo, though its usefulness is a little vague since Rody already has 50/50 pressure and has to deal with mediocre range on his rush combo attacks. If you need a jab-like equivalent to 5A, use this instead, just keep in mind its range. It's better in every other regard, and if it hits, guarantees Rody a combo.

6A[A] Tonfa Poke Tonfa Poke	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 192 Mid 7 - - - +2 -3 LCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 193 points Rody follows up 6A with the butt of his other tonfa. Pretty much identical to 6A, nothing else of note to write. Better than 6A by being -3 instead of -4 on block, which makes it safer on block.

6AA[C] Handle Strike Handle Strike

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 512 Mid 7 - - - ST (+4) -31 LCHL Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 513 points Rody thrusts his left tonfa above the opponent's torso for a fierce strike. This goes for any rush combo that ends with a C attack, but don't use this as a blockstring. In Rody's case, it's one of his most punishable attacks on block. Not a bad combo ender, and it looks cool, but 6BB will deal slightly more damage by being spread between two hits as opposed to one, so 6C's only real use is if you struggle juggling with 6BB in the air. The stagger effect on grounded hit isn't very good for Rody either. He retains his turn but only by +4 and the opponent gets knocked far back which means Rody has to play catch-up anyways. Decent range, at least.

6X[B] High Kick High Kick

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 320/400 High/Mid 3 - - - KD -24 KD Ground Spirit restored when blocked: 321 points Able to anti-air Rody performs a standing, quicker version of his 5C. If you've already hit-confirmed into 6B and you're not launching, there's no reason not to use this as it will almost always land for extra damage. As a follow-up to 6A, there's no reason to use this either since 6A[A] won't end the combo on a knockdown and instead extend combos. Keep in mind it can be ducked as well.

Specials

Revolving Rod 236A/C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 896 (224) / 640 (160) / 0 Mid 17 - - - KD - KD Ground Spirit Cost: 960 (~24%) Able to anti-air A slow, boomeranging projectile where Rody throws his left tonfa forward. Won’t hit on the way back, but is deceptively active at the tail end of its throw range which can still hit people when it begins returning to Rody. From afar, it's a solid projectile that the opponent likely can't deal with head on, giving Rody a decent zoning tool. Up-close, it leaves Rody wide open if blocked, but it can still be useful as a punish tool depending on the matchup, plus it's some extra zoning for when he needs it. It only takes one block for the opponent to run back up to Rody to close the distance if he zones with it. The A version hits around midscreen while the C version reaches almost fullscreen. Overall a risky projectile to use, but with matchup knowledge, can be an effective punish tool and one of the better ways for Rody to spend his meter if he needs to. A unique projectile in that it's impossible to attack out to deactivate it like other projectiles, and so the only way to hit it back is with energy projectiles like Ryo's fireball. When this happens, Rody's projectile animation still plays out but the tonfa loses its active hitbox and won't end the animation unless the tonfa returns to him or he gets hit by the opponent.

Middle Impact TT 236B

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 320 (80) x3 / 160 (40) x3 / 256 (64) Mid 4 - - - KD -21 LCHL Ground Spirit Cost: 800 (~20%) Able to anti-air Rody performs a quick three kick attack that strikes the opponent in the gut, knocking them far back. Your go-to special move for combos, since it does good damage and you want a stylish ender with good damage. Outside of combos, not much use since you have far safer options to work with even if it's not as punishable on block as some other moves. As a neutral punish tool, it can possibly work with its fast 4 frame startup, but its unlikely and riskier compared to 6A. Basically worth spending the meter for in combos but outside of that you need to be careful if you attempt using it.

Decisive Impact 646A

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 1152 / 640 / 256 High 11 2 49 62 KD -49 X Ground Spirit Cost: 1440 (~35%) A “command grab” of sorts. If the opponent is in range, Rody will toss up his tonfa and hit the opponent while they’re distracted. Otherwise, Rody just throws his tonfa and looks dumb. Keep in mind that it’s not a true command grab, since you can block it. Not only that, you can duck it and even jump over it. The fact that it only hits standing opponents makes this too specific to make it worth the huge meter cost despite the solid damage. Your opponent will almost certainly forget this move exists with how little it is used. Hard to land but if you're crafty, you might get a free hit. Its hitbox is wonky even if you try to land it on a standing opponent - some attacks can phase right through it, other times the opponent gets trapped in. Looks cool, but it isn't worth the risk, especially with only two active frames which leaves Rody wide open on top of the overly specific circumstances he needs to set it up.

Hyper Tonfa 64646C

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 2302 Unblockable 32 - - - KD X KD Ground Spirit Cost: 3072 (75%) Haohmaru’s super from SS2, but with a tonfa - Rody performs a giant slash attack on the opponent. Comes out fairly slow, though it moves your hurtbox back a good bit before it swings and the hitbox comes out, making it a gimmicky reversal option. Not the best range in the world, but it’s certainly better than Sinclair’s range on her super. Use it as a punish or hard read counter. Rody can perform unblockable setups but they aren't as effective due to the lack of active frames and range issues, which still leaves him prone to wakeup kicks, despite the hitbox reaching the floor. Overall not a bad super but don't throw it out too casually since it's easier to stop before Rody gets a chance. Otherwise, it's a good change of pace to Rody's rushdown game that he probably has on reserve when he goes into desperation as he likely isn't burning his meter during the match, helping him make comebacks.

Miscellaneous

Raz 4C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 0 High/Mid 0 32 17 49 KD X X Ground Rody's 4C parry.

Taunt 5D	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property X X - - - - X X X Ground Rody's universal taunt. A complete taunt takes away 2243/2244 points of spirit meter.

Throw 6C	Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 960 High - - - - X X X Ground Rody's normal throw. Side-switches on hit

Pursuit 3A/B when opponent is on the ground

Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery Total Hit Adv Block Adv Counterhit Property 256 OTG - - - - Varies X X Ground Universal OTG Pursuit Frame Advantage Jin: +15 Karman: +15 Kasumi: +15 Lenny: +15 Robert: +16 Rody: +16 Ryo: +15 Sinclair: +16 Wang: +15 Wyler: +16 Rody's only pursuit. Albeit his only pursuit, it comes out fairly quickly and he pushes himself forwards as he's performing it, so it doesn't whiff too often.

Strategy

Moves to USE	Moves to AVOID
Rush combo attacks, 5C Launchers, special moves for combos Super if you can set it up	5A (pales when compared to his rush combo attacks) 646A (overly specific requirements for it to hit)

General Strategy

You have ample time to dash up to the opponent after the knockdown regardless of if they quickrise, and you get to start your nasty setplay. Rody’s rush chains are unique in that he has both an overhead launcher, and low sweep, both with the same timing. Your main mixup is a blocked 6AA leading into the 6BB launcher string, or 1BB sweep string. Either of these options lets you dash up and continue to do it over and over until you need to recharge your spirit or the opponent dies/breaks out. Not to mention that nifty command grab you have to mix it up even more. That said, if the opponent guesses correctly on the mixup, Rody will crumble, especially if his 1BB is blocked, which leaves him at over -20 on block despite its other great benefits. If otherwise not trying to force the opponent open with his 50/50, Rody has really simple but effective combos that are essentially just variations of the same combo, so he's easy to learn. Rody's problem lies in when he's being pressured back, since he has great tools for combos and rushdown, but outside of that has to rely on stray pokes and wonky special moves, most of which don't carry much defensive value. His damage output is average without combos, too, but it shouldn't undermine his ability to force the opponent to guess and otherwise eat swift pressure. It should also be noted that while 6AA is good pressure and will still give him room to apply his 50/50, careful opponents can just 4C parry Rody and kill his momentum, so you should sometimes apply the 50/50 without 6AA just to be safe.

Regarding Rody's wonky specials, his projectile is a huge risk up close and should only be used from afar. His 236B is combo fodder at best because in neutral, Rody has a bunch of other better punish tools at his disposal, so there's little reason to use it. His "command grab," is an enigma half the time in how you land it, so when it does work, it's great at opening the opponent up for free, but it largely depends on how close you are and if the opponent is in an optimal position, so bad timing leaves Rody wide open. His super isn't bad, but it's lacking in range and isn't fast, but it's slightly faster than Kasumi's super. It also packs more range than Sinclair's super does, but it's generally difficult and awkward to land.

Rody does quite well generally speaking, but suffers bad matchups against Kasumi and especially Ryo. Rody's whole game structure gives Kasumi more than enough time to punish any failed attempts to open her up while also being in just the right range to eat the worst of Kasumi's pressure. Against Ryo, Rody has no choice but to abandon his rushdown strategy almost entirely because one mistake can lead to Ryo landing his infinite on Rody, who is one of only two characters in the game that it works on (three counting Wyler). Outside of this, he has pretty decent matchups, but some characters such as Karman don't struggle too much fighting back against his pressure.

Matchups

VS Jin

Nothing awful for Rody, he has to put up with the fact Jin plays defensively more than he does aggressively, but both characters are equally on par with each other over mixups and setting up for launches. The key difference is Rody lacks real range, or at the least his whiff punishers aren't as rewarding as Jin's. Rody's BnB combos will work against Jin regardless of his heavy weight, but getting the launchers is the issue. For Rody to get equal footing in range he needs to use either 3A or 4A, 6B being too stubby when Jin is spaced out. Compared to Jin punishing Rody at around the same distance, staggers and wrongblocks can be linked into 66A or other similar command normals, giving Jin some juggle combos. If Rody isn't close enough he usually just gets a poke and retains his turn but it's harder for him to set up for combos as he has to close the distance. Overall not too bad otherwise, Rody can also take advantage of the fact that Jin's air game is mediocre, though Jin has double jump, too. The matchup is an issue of consistency with reward rather than a lack of tools, Jin has more reliable pressure overall and has tools he can fall back on if he's the one taking a beating.

VS Karman

Since Rody has to constantly charge in to be a threat, there's almost zero reason for Karman to play on the offensive when Rody is approaching him instead. He has a projectile, but besides that, Rody has nothing to incentivize Karman to approach him other than a life lead. Rody has unquestionably better lows than Karman does, so despite the worse range compared to Karman, it's easy for Rody to charge in and force Karman in a 50/50. If Karman knows how to handle Rody's mixups, Karman is free to punish Rody. That said, Karman will likely burn through meter a little more due to his instant reversal, on wakeup or neutral otherwise, and having a counter can make Rody second guess using highs or mids. Rody at the least has jump B he can use to delay a counter hit launch combo with the use of hops, an attack that also packs good range to deal with Karman. Karman is also unlikely to have much chance to use 4B as Rody is fast enough to punish it on reaction if the player is quick enough, so no plus on block pressure for Karman. That's more or less it, as it really is a matter if Karman guesses wrong or not on Rody's mixups - and that's with Karman being a very tough wall to crack with a strictly rushdown character.

VS Kasumi

Kasumi has little reason to block low against Rody, other than anticipating a 1BB mixup. If Rody's 1BB gets blocked, Kasumi can punish with nearly anything due to the huge frame disadvantage Rody suffers, and given her strong okizeme and combos, this is the last thing Rody wants as the second lightest character in the game that is also a rushdown fiend. The fact that Rody has to force himself in front of Kasumi to be a real threat is already pretty bad since that just makes it easier for Kasumi to punish simple mistakes. Rody can at least fight off Kasumi with his projectile if used very judiciously, but Kasumi can punish even this with 66B if she's close enough. For Rody to get by in the matchup, he needs to be very careful about guessing on his 50/50s and landing raw pokes consistently, especially taking advantage of delayable strings and forcing the Kasumi player to react and get baited into delayed, raw pokes. Fortunately for Rody, his combos are just as effective on Kasumi as they are on most everyone else so he doesn't have to force himself to learn Kasumi specific combos, which he doesn't need very many combos either to score a round, nor does he really need spirit when Kasumi is gonna be in his face the majority of the match anyways. The Rody player might be able to land one 646A if he can time it perfectly, however unlikely and will probably end in him getting smacked anyways. If Rody lands a knockdown against Kasumi, this is his chance to turn the whole round around in his favor, but this doesn't change Kasumi's frightening presence with her powerful normals and specials that can do what Rody can also do, just better and baiting rushdown instead of playing rushdown herself. Still, Rody has both speed and range to help himself, the Rody player just needs a ton of patience to pull through.

VS Lenny

It's less of an issue that Rody can't get in but more an issue that he has very little to work with to fight against Lenny's keepout game. While his own fireball cannot be stopped, Lenny can throw out a fireball to disable its hitbox, or if Rody throws it second, all it will do is trade with her fireball. Given Lenny's awful jump attacks, fireball and other anti-airs mean Rody doesn't have too much issue hitting her out of the air, and his jump attacks, particularly j.B, are better overall anyways. Even when Rody does get in, Lenny has just as effective rush combos as he does and a jab that always leaves her plus, giving Rody almost no room to fight back. Rody having more lows is a plus, but it doesn't matter when Lenny can trap him with 2A attacks from even farther away. Although, if Rody blocks 2A, he can punish Lenny even from farther away and close the distance, catching up to do okizeme and potentially turn things around. Lenny's wakeup options are mediocre if she isn't using 4A or jab/rush combo attacks, maybe 2A. Lenny's regular BnBs are also far more damaging than Rody's is on top of having a ranbu super. If Rody has the life lead, then he could potentially play keepout, but this then presents another issue: making sure Lenny never pushes him in the corner. Her midscreen damage is already huge with the right juggles, but if Rody gets caught in the corner, even with a counter hit launch, as long as Lenny has meter she can loop fireball and immediately 180 the round in her favor. In other words, Rody has to get in to avoid being trapped in the corner against Lenny, but also can't afford to get close to Lenny when her footsies zoning is strong and has a low that reaches so far his approach can become pretty predictable. It isn't entirely awful for him, with tight spacing and good timing he can still squeeze out a super in some cases to hit Lenny, particularly on okizeme where her options are not good - wakeup low kick in particular lacking a good hitbox. Having faster lows than Lenny when he's up close also helps, acting twice as fast as Lenny to get easy pokes, and by making Lenny block low he can utilize overhead properties. If he plays more patiently up-close than he usually does, he can prevent Lenny from getting in her rhythm.

VS Robert

The most likely thing to happen with this matchup is both characters playing neutral with each other to see who can get their two juggles in first. Robert can do slightly more damaging combos than Rody can, though they tend to have harder links and the reward isn't a massive difference. Robert has a ranbu super, but as long as Rody taunts when possible, Robert will not have much chance to use either that or his specials which he relies on. Rody doesn't need meter much in this matchup either beyond super, his fireball can help him but Robert can punish that with tools like 5AB and j.214B so it isn't always the best idea to try and zone with Rody, even if Robert is a primarily defensive character. Robert can usually outpoke Rody with his longer reaching normals, too, but on the flip side, Rody can somewhat better punish Robert on block. Overall not a hugely drastic matchup, one character needs more meter than the other but they both have the same end goal and achieve it relatively the same - land two juggle combos to call it a round.

VS Ryo

Ryo only needs to land one launcher and that's the match for him. Ryo's 6AACB rush combo gives him the ability to infinite combo Rody and Lenny due to their lightweight, and given that Rody is primarily a rush down character, to make one mistake spells his demise. Rody cannot afford to take this risk and instead opt to play the zoning/hit-and-run game against Ryo. While punishing Ryo won't be too big an issue, Ryo also has a ton more variety in the tools he can use and if he has the life lead, he can utilize fireballs and wall jumps to play the run away game and force Rody to chase after him. And if for whatever reason Ryo cannot punish Rody in a scenario, he can rely on Zan Retsu Ken and hope for the Rody player to choke for not expecting it. A unique trait for both characters is that they can both also meaty each other, Rody with CH 2B and Ryo with 33A, though Rody is better in this regard as it's less punishable and also faster to set up, on top of having better lows than Ryo to begin with. Plus, once he gets the momentum, Rody can of course still carry the round in his favor as he is just as capable of shredding Ryo's life bar, but too much of it relies on Ryo reacting poorly to Rody playing the zoning game and/or if Rody plays normally and can avoid being launched altogether. Counter hit launches won't be quite as bad, as they don't lead to an infinite, however it's okizeme for Ryo which Rody has little answer for beyond fast buttons and parries, and possibly a backdash away. Lacking a ranbu super doesn't help Rody much either, when he has a power slash type attack which leaves him still as opposed to Ryo's mobile ranbu super, making it harder to set up. As for Ryo, as long as he has the life lead, he forces Rody to play his game. The only immediate cause for concern is if the Rody player can bait whiff punishes and wall jumps not being as reliable due to Rody's anti-airs, most notably his fireball.

VS Sinclair

Rody wins on one simple fact: he's much faster than Sinclair. Not only that, but he's constantly in Sinclair's face, and as long as he avoids his overly punishable attacks, Sinclair can't safely land 4A if use it at all. He's bound to use them at some point (those moves being 6B, 1B, 2B, 3B), but outside of that, he's free to pressure Sinclair and force her to guess between a 50/50. He can't use jab to pressure due to its frame data, or 5B either. Given Sinclair has poor range and speed issues, Rody should safely be able to punish the majority of attacks with a simple backdash cancel 5C, leading to a knockdown. And if Rody wants to play really rough, he can hit Sinclair to get the life lead and zone her out with fireballs. Even though it's a slow fireball, Sinclair can't properly deal with it. Her dash and walk speeds are too slow, her jumps are awful with recovery, and the only way she could punish it is probably either 3A or 214A. Sinclair needs to play this matchup patiently and wait for the Rody player to make mistakes. Utilize universal mechanics whenever possible, particularly 4C parries if Rody gets aggressive with the mids and overheads. Sinclair can usually rely on jabs for quick pokes even though the damage will hardly do anything, since Rody is in her face a lot, but going for lows is usually not gonna work since Rody can act faster, even with his own lows. Sinclair's other option if she has to escape pressure is to use 4AB. Rody's rushdown means there's an okay chance that Sinclair can land a counter hit with it resulting in a knockdown to get some breathing room.

VS Wang

If Rody plays the rushdown game, it will essentially turn into a war of attrition where both characters are looking for low/overhead mixups with the exception that Rody is much faster than Wang. If Rody plays the runaway game, it's not as pretty for Wang. Wang only needs to block one projectile from Rody to close the gap, but this is a matchup where 22A is too risky for its own good. From up-close, Rody can punish it right away and from far away, Rody can trade with his projectile. Wang's small size doesn't help him much either when being wrongblocked by Rody only helps Rody, which leaves him not wanting to block low. And as is typical of Wang, his poor range is an issue. Rody's range isn't amazing either, however he has 3A and 4A, both far reaching launchers that make one mistake during footsies and Wang eats a juggle combo. Wang's super easily beats Rody's super thanks to being a ranbu super, and while slow, can potentially catch Rody off-guard if he plays the rushdown game, as opposed to Rody who has fewer chances to throw out super. Keep in mind, however, Rody can throw out projectile to stop it from afar. Wang can get by allowing Rody to act first and blocking against his pressure, which ensures easy confirms off of 6AA and if the Rody player gets predictable, 4C parries that help Wang score knockdown damage. Rody is also more likely to burn meter than Wang is, though all this means is less runaway from Rody and maybe some windows for Wang to use DP, maybe super.

Combos

Note: Combos marked with a ★ symbol are the optimal combos available to the character. Characters are also denoted by the first three letters of their names to indicate that the combo works on them. If it works on all characters, it will, obviously, be marked as "All."

Character Combo Abbreviations

• JIN: Jin
• KAR: Karman
• KAS: Kasumi
• LEN: Lenny
• ROB: Robert
• ROD: Rody
• RYO: Ryo
• SIN: Sinclair
• WAN: Wang
• WYL: Wyler

Rush Combos

Rush Combos
Combo	Difficulty	Damage	Works On	Notes
6AB	Easy		All	Basic Virtua Fighter-esque string, but reliable none-the-less. Fast speed and decent reach so it makes a decent quick poke punish.
6AAC	Easy		All	Rody's double punch into a strong C attack. The go-to option for raw damage or as a combo ender, though 6AABB is still better.
6AABB	Easy		All	One of Rody's main mixup options, by pressuring the opponent with a few punches and hoping they guess incorrectly, block low, and get hit by the 6B launcher. While you can use 6BB, there's no need to when 6b gives you ample time to juggle the opponent. It is punishable on block, however, so be very careful about going too willy nilly about this rush combo.
6AA, 1BB	Easy		All	One of Rody's main mixup options, pressure with 6AA and then combo into the double sweep hoping that the opponent guesses incorrectly. Just one problem: it's extremely unsafe on block, meaning if the opponent does guess correctly, then Rody will lose all momentum he had. Highly rewarding for Rody, but it's also highly rewarding for the opponent on a good read, especially if you're fighting against Ryo.
5AB (1), 2B~5B	Easy		All	An okay mixup, more reliable than the rush combo below it. The issue is since 5AB hits mid, the opponent can crouch block to nullify all three attacks. Rody also cannot cancel 5Ab beyond the first hit, leaving him to commit to the rush combo. If the opponent doesn't know the matchup they'll likely not realize this rush combo exists so Rody can gain some momentum from it.
5AB (1), 4A	Easy		All	There isn't a ton of reason to use this considering 6B is already a 6 frame launcher, but you could make the argument that having the extra attack to confirm into 4A as a launcher instead is helpful for mixing up the opponent. The big issue with this rush combo is only the first hit of 5AB can be cancelled, which means Rody has to commit to 4A if he chooses to use it. With this too, however, the opponent can crouch block to nullify both the 2B and 4A rush combo follow-ups. Still, it's extra damage compared to using just 6B by itself, so use this rush combo over a raw 6B if you're certain it'll land for the extra damage.

Juggle Combos

Juggle Combos
Combo	Difficulty	Damage	Works On	Notes
5C > 6AA > 6BB (whiffs in the corner, use 5C > 6A > 6B in that case)	Easy
3/4 > micro walk > 236B	Easy
6AA > 6B > 6AA > 6BB	Easy
3/4A > 6AA > 236B	Easy
6AA > 6B > 6AA > 5AB	Easy
(corner) j.B, 5AB (1 hit), 4A, 6AA, 6AAC	Easy
j.B, 6AAB, 236B	Easy
j.B, 6AAB, 6AA, 6AAC	Easy
j.B, 6AAB, 6AA, 1BB	Easy
6AAB, 6AA, 6AA, 1BB	Easy
j.B, 5AB (1 hit), 4A, 6AA, 6AA, 6BB	Easy
j.B, 6AAB, 6AA, 5AB (1 hit), 1BB	Easy
j.B, 5AB (1 hit), 4A, 6AA, 5AB (1 hit), 4A	Easy
j.B, 6AAB, 6AA, 236B	Easy