Under Night In-Birth/UNICLR/Linne/Strategy
Disclaimer: This is a community written page and may contain opinions that not all players may agree with. Use at your own discretion.
General Gameplan
Linne's main gameplan revolves around the usage of her strong midrange options, primarily 66C and most versions Kuuga. She wants to stay at mid to close range, so she can keep the threat of these options available. This is why dashblocking is so important against characters who outrange you: it safely moves you to the range where your options are most threatening.
Once she's in, she mostly relies on stagger/throw pressure in attempt to break the opponent's guard. With fast buttons with good range, a myriad of frametraps and spacing traps, and an extremely quick dash, she can threaten throw from more ranges than most characters, constantly keeping the opponent guessing whether they should be using a throw option select and giving you plenty of opportunities to break down their defense.
While she's on defense, she has plenty of threatening tools to break pressure or make the opponent think twice before committing to their actions, including a long-ranged 5f A normal, a one-button reversal dodge and a meterless DP.
Neutral
Pokes
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Movement
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Linne's primary goal in neutral is to get in Kuuga range and make a push in with her fast dash startup and speed. As Linne has no way to deal with long-range, dash-blocking will be the go-to for most of her matches. This is especially true against characters with range.
Primary Pokes
- 66C has 12 frame startup, and very good range for its speed, especially thanks to Linne's forward movement during the move. Converts into a full combo easily with 236[B] > 66, and can catch assaults and jump startup, although a character at full jump height will not be hit by 66C.
- 66C is your main neutral threat in most matchups, especially against characters who outrange you or have strong anti-projectile options. As such, being in range to threaten 66C gives you license to use other more risky but rewarding approaches such as dash up 5A.
- The various Kuugas are Linne's longest range options, their notable strengths including their disjointed nature (as they are projectiles) and the ability to dash cancel them for a full combo off a successful poke.
- Grounded Kuugas are your faster and longer range poke options, but are minus on block whether they are dash cancelled or not (except at very tip range).
- Air Kuugas are plus if TKed, but have much slower startup and shorter range. They can be used to force an approach against a blocking opponent, but can get beat in startup by various pokes.
- Rather than TKing air Kuuga, Linne can jump (usually upback) for longer before throwing the Kuuga. Done this way, the Kuuga is only plus if spaced and not shielded, but the increased height from jumping longer can go over low and even some mid pokes and punish their recovery. Also vulnerable to whiffing against close opponents.
Getting access to Vorpal/Chain Shift tilts the scale from manageable to easy by allowing her to get an almost free pass into starting pressure. At midrange with Vorpal, Linne can easily use 236B CS to get a big enough advantage to dash in and start pressure.
One of Linne's strengths in neutral lies in her ability to play the air-to-ground game fairly well. With a plethora of air tools that change her air movement, she can bait anti-airs fairly well. Similar to 236B CS, she can use j.236B CS to force the opponent to block for pressure. For a slightly risky option, she can also use j.63214X CS to force her way in for pressure as well.
At close-range, she can use 2B, 2C, 5C, and dashing 5A to try to fish for counter hits or start pressure.
Though she does have issues dealing with aerial opponents are mid-range and further, Linne can occassionally throw out a 236C/j.236C to try to catch the opponent air blocking and trap them to be air-unblockabled by e.g. 6C.
Offense
Low
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High
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Frame Traps
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Plus Moves
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-1 Moves
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Cross-up
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Pressure
Linne's high/low mixup is lacking and has to rely mostly on stagger/throw mixup. Thankfully, her stagger/throw game is very strong, as is her spacing trap game if you don't want to risk going for a throw.
Stagger Pressure
Hyphens are points where you can choose to attempt either a mixup or pressure reset after full recovering or choose to bait mashing by leaving a gap or staggering into the next move.
Here are some example routes I use along with some methods to vary the timing of the gaps.
- 5a - 5b/2b(2a) - 5c(2a) - 214b - ~a(mujinAfollowup)
- 5a - 5b - 5c2b(2a) - 2c(2a) - 236a/236b236c
- 5a - 2a - 2c214b - ~a
- 5a - 2a - 2c5b - 5c - 214ba
- 5a - 2a - 5c -
- 5a - 2a - 5c2b - 214ba
- 5a - 5c-
- 5a - 5c2b(2a) - 2c
- 5a - 2b - 5c(2a)
- 5b - 2c5a - 5c(2a) -
- 5b - 5c5a - 2b(2a) - 2c
After a B move, delay the C move as much as you can to make it more ambiguous. They will not be able to mash out. After an A move, don’t delay too long too often or you’ll get mashed out, but do it sometimes.
Options to mix-in after a hyphen (in no particular order):
It’s very hard to say the optimal percentage to mix these up and even which options to use or not use against each matchup, but these are the most common options. You should also be cautious of ending your anti-mash string too early too often because it’s in your opponent’s favor to mash out occasionally. It’s not “disrespectful” because it’s part of winning. At the same time, not ending your anti-mash string often enough can be missed opportunities.
5a/microdash 5a/2b/dash 2b/2c/dashC
- Standard reverse beat pressure. There will be a gap where you can be mashed out, but it’s safer than doing any dash-up mixups.
Dash grab
- Attempt to punish them for not mashing. Against more experienced players, this forces them to at least a percentage of the time input throw techs to avoid being damaged and losing GRD. You will then use other options to punish their throw tech OS’s. With the prevalence of all the throw tech OS’s out there, this can be a risky option in some matchups that rely on your persistent pressure. However, it’s safer to have your throw teched than be punished for your attempt to punish one of their throw tech OS. If you are close enough, then you can omit the dash, or use the Moving Throw option from the tutorial, which extends your throw range to work as far as a blocked 5B with no dash momentum. Not dashing makes the throw extremely difficult to react to, forcing your opponent to preemptively input their OS.
Dashup assault jC
- Punish them for trying to throw tech with a standing grab (4A+D) or with a crouch tech(1A+D), get 0.5 GRD blocks for assaulting, and more chances for stagger pressure. Loses to OS’s that specifically punish assaulting that are commonly called assault OS’s. There are some 2a’s with tall hitboxes that can antiair you, so be careful. Any time you get an assault jC on your opponent, you have enough frame advantage to continue pressure. It’s possible to combo off assault jC with microdash 5a. You have a grab/anti-grab mixup after making your opponent block one of these
Dashup assault delayed jC / land grab
- Continue pressure even if they shield the jC or punish them for trying to shield your jC. Not commonly used because you put yourself at risk for assaulting in the first place against assault OS’s, and you can get punished for empty assaulting in front of them. You also lose your chance at GRD breaking their crouch tech if you don’t react perfectly.
Dash 5A
- Leaves a gap enough for you to be preemptively mashed out, but beats delayed and possibly reactive mashing. It also used as a soft bait to catch an opponent off guard if they were trying to preemptively input a throw tech. More experienced players may be unphased and you’ll be putting yourself at risk to get mashed out hard each time you try. You have to take advantage of the fact that people are slower to react to a second stimulus that comes quickly after the first and knowing that your opponent knows this, learn proper risk-reward to beat their character’s preemptive options.
Dash 5C/2C/delayed 2B/delayed 5A/delayed 2A~D
- Hard read punish with an attack as they input one of their throw techs. Gives them time for delayed mashes. You hard read that they will not preemptively mash after you reset pressure and are trying to go for a throw tech at the standard non-delayed timing. The delayed 2A~D, where the hypen is a 1-frame delay, will tech their grab if they were trying to throw tech a predicted grab. It’s not as good on block compared to 5A or 2C. Using 2C or delayed 2B increases the window by 1-2 frames that you’ll punish them for trying to use a standing grab to tech.
Dashblock delayed grab
- Depending on how long you delay your grab and how baller your read was, you may have baited a VO or DP, GRD broke their crouch tech, teched their standing grab or thrown them out of their assault OS. Or they might have punished you for trying to dash-in after being -2, forced you into a blockstring, tech the grab anyway with a late throw tech OS, which sucks.
Walkback dash attack/grab
- Let them press their button, make it whiff, and punish them. Or watch them sit still as you walkback, and suddenly surprise them with a quick-ass grab. Be wary of your opponent’s lows and their startup and range and reward for mashing it. Distance dependent and heavily MU dependent as well.
Immediate Assault jC
- A pressure reset that can be reliable if your opponent tends to mash throw OS’s rather than preemptive buttons like the ol’ 2B after every gap. It gives you about half a bar of GRD, which is most useful right before GRD cycle is over.
TK Kuuga
- Not as useful as immediately assaulting in most spacings and matchups, because it loses you GRD if they block or shield it, and you lose the chance at GRD breaking a crouch tech. It doesn’t move you forward, so it can be used to reset pressure without getting blown up by shorter pokes. As an off-note, you can meaty with this from a range to be safe against some reversals.
7236B
- Very useful at further spacings to jump over pokes and counter hit them. Jumps over all lows and even some mid-hitting attacks, and if the move has long enough recovery, you get a counterhit into a full combo. If you don’t input this quickly, then you’ll lose frame advantage and risk whiffing B Air Kuuga right over their heads. They can dashblock under it if they predict shenanigans.
Walkback/backdash, do something else or walkback/backdash some more
- Linne has options to pressure at further ranges with things like dashC, assault jC, 7236B, and TK Kuuga. You give up the pressure of grabs though and switch into a mode where you try to punish them for trying to get out of the corner. It takes more commitment for your opponent to move their stick away from downback, dash into range and attack compared to just pressing a button. If they press a button there’s a chance you can whiff punish them. If they sit still, then you can dash in super quick and do whatever you want without them being able to react in time.
Roll behind them
- If midscreen and at the right spacing, you can give this a try. Punishable on reaction, but if they don’t react quickly enough they’ll get rolled. When they’re barely not in the corner after a knockdown, you can roll behind them and surprise them.
Linne Pressure Theory
The mixup of either throwing out a staggered(delayed) attack and trying one of the options above should be familiar. Here are some things you should know about the choices you make in your pressure and the reasons why I used X move in my string instead of Y move:
- Your opponent is looking for the frame where it is too late to cancel your attack into another when dealing with stagger pressure.
- Adding a microdash or dash before your meaty carries some of its momentum.
- For stagger pressure, this will allow you to stick closer to your opponent and throw them as soon as their throw protection wears off.
- Sometimes you want to end your blockstrings at a strategic spacing, so you do not always have to do this.
- 5a has the longest cancel window, therefore it is the most ambiguous.
- You have the most offensive options when you are closest to your opponent, which is why I start most of my strings with 5a and microdash.
- When used midstring, your resets become more ambiguous as well, but it may not be worth the opportunity cost of not using it earlier.
- 5b also has a great cancel window, frametrapping into a delayed 5C or 2C or a very delayed 2B.
- If you do a dash 5B on their wakeup, you’ll still be in range to grab them without dashing, so ending a string in 5B is not ideal but necessary.
- Sometimes I mix up my blockstring starter with 5B so that my best tool, 5a, can be used at a random point in the string instead.
- 5B also has more knockback than your A moves, so it makes the second mixup in your string a bit weaker.
- I like 5B - 2C5A because the 2C moves you forward slightly, is a low, and frametraps from 5B.
- 5b, 5a is a fairly common blockstring variation. They ready themselves to input a throw OS after a set time after seeing 5b not being cancelled, but then 5a comes out and potentially catches them offguard.
- You want to vary when you 5a depending on how you want to affect the opponent psychologically. Immediately 5a’ing after 5b gives you a bigger and better cancel window to punish and deter mashing while surprising them slightly. Delaying 5a a bit may throw off the timing of their throw tech.
- 2a has a terrible cancel window that is discernable when you do not cancel it in time, which is why I use it for whiff cancels instead of 5a, despite 5a leaving you with slightly more frame advantage.
- When I do the 5a, 2a string, I’m hoping that they decide to preemptively throw tech after seeing 5a, so I can surprise them by changing the timing with 2a and try to take advantage of the chaos.
- Eltnum does this sort of pressure a lot better, but I like to pretend sometimes.
- 2aa, on the other hand, has a great cancel window, comparable to 5A.
- At the risk of being more susceptible to shields (pushback from either hit being shielded in the corner can make a delayed 5B whiff), this allows you to create scary frametraps after an A button while saving 5A for later. The second hit is also a low, which can catch opponents standing up to throw or jump or anything like that.
- 2b is your fastest low and it is -6 with a decent cancel window and even longer special-cancel window.
- If you use it after 5a at the right timing, you’ll punish them if they went for a standing throw tech after seeing 5a.
- If you start a string with 2b pointblank, you can grab them immediately after to assert dominance!
- You can mix it up with canceling it late into B mujin (214B) or 2C just to throw it out.
- 5c is similar to 2b in that it has a long special cancel window.
- You can mix up 5c long delay 214B/236B, 5c into mixup, and 5c2a.
- If you are close enough after a 5c, you can do 5c[c] 63214b for a double overhead, 5c full recover 2b for a low, or dashup/walkback and go from there.
- When you do an empty 5c, there is a decent amount of ambiguity, and you end up a good spacing from your opponent in a good number of matchups.
- Even though the frame data is slightly worse, an uncancelled 5C looks a lot more ambiguous than a 5C that you immediately rebeat, giving them less time to react to the reset.
- 2b2a(whiff) is hard to react to. You can randomly throw it out after 5c/2c/5b/nonpointblank-5a and mix up doing something greedy afterward and blocking/shielding/backdashing your opponent’s attempt at reacting.
- 5A 5B 2B is a powerful string, putting you at a particular spacing where if you whiff 2A and dash 5A, you will make every A button whiff, even the really long ones like Orie and Hyde 5A.
- Each part of the string can also be delayed, and you can punish B or C button mashes after 2B with 2B > delay 2C or 2B > delay 214B.
- If they are trying to press a button on reaction to the rebeat instead, then an immediate 66B or dash 5A will very likely catch their button, as 2B 2A(whiff) is extremely quick and hard to react to.
- TK Kuuga can catch some backdashes if done midscreen close to your opponent.
- Whiff-canceled C moves are possible to react to. You are -2 if you whiff-canceled with 2a. However, Linne's powerful whiff punish options (5C, 66C, grounded Kuuga, upback Kuuga) make it difficult for your opponent to know which button to press even if they reacted.
- You want to mix up when you whiff-cancel and whether you whiff-cancel.
Consider these strings and their effect against mashing or sitting still:
- 5a-5b-5c2a, 5a-5b-5c-214b-~a, 5a-5b-5c2b-2a, 5a-5b-5c2b-2c2a, 5a-5b-5c2b-2c-236a/b
- Scary.
There are some spacings to keep in mind:
- Spacing where your 5a is longer than their A moves if applicable.
- Just outside the max range of their best poke for the situation so you can whiff-punish or reset pressure.
Intentionally not leaving a gap:
- A gap is a place you can get reversal’d out of. You can softbait them by intentionally not leaving a gap and punishing them for buffering the attack by not leaving a gap and dropping their charge, changing the timing of the gap (e.g. 5A-5B-2C vs 5A-5B2A-2C), and with a gapless low (5A-(5B/2A)2B-2C).
If they’re not killing themselves on you, you are going to have to think hard about how you will punish their throw tech attempts.
- Every throw tech they input is a small risk that they take. You won’t always know when they input one, and every attempt you make to punish a throw tech is a risk you yourself take.
- There is no risk-free way to open them up, you just have to try to maximize risk-reward.
- Risk-reward is influenced by many variables including your damage off a staggered move, their damage off a poke, the likelihood of all your opponent’s options, opportunity costs, life values, GRD values and cycle time remaining, and luck.
- Occasionally attempting to bait mashing or certain throw techs with 5c or 2b/5b rather than 5a for higher damage punishes will help push risk-reward in your favor.
Winning with good pressure is winning a game of averages. Sometimes you’ll get the short-end of the stick and that’s fine.
- What’s important is to identify whether you are doing an option too often or too little and not sweat it if it doesn’t always work in your favor.
Applying Theory in Practice
To simplify her pressure, punish their mash however you can if you’re scared via frame traps or well-timed and spaced pressure resets. And on the other hand, if they’re scared, mix up grab and assault if they don’t have a strong assault OS, Vatista flashkick, Linne FF, or Gordeau 2C to deal with it... and if they do, a lot less; instead, focus more on varying the timing and length of your dashes when doing 5a and grab.
For example, after you do dash 5a on their wakeup and expect them not to mash, do:
- 5a > microdash grab
- microdash 5a > grab
After doing dash 5a - 5b on their wakeup and expect them not to mash, do:
- microdash 5a > microdash grab
- microdash 5a > microdash 5a > grab
- dash 5a > grab
The timing is extremely specific to the type and timing of the throw techs your opponents are using, so adjusting the timing of your 5a or whatever you decide to throw out is key. Don’t hesitate to frametrap them anytime you think they’ll mash after any of those 5a’s, but remember that there will always be risk to blowing up throw techs and opportunity costs to blowing up mashing. You can and may need to replace the grabs written above with more (microdash) 5a’s, microdash at the right timing 5a2b for a chance to punish standing techs, dashblock/walkback to bait reversals, and 5b/2b/5c for stronger punishes and to further mix up your grab timings.
Knockback Pressure
In some matchups, you can try to keep them cornered or pushed out instead and punish their lack of options until you win. Stagger pressure has a risk of failing and putting you in a disadvantageous position, even if risk/reward is skewed in your favor when adjusted per matchup. For this kind of pressure, which I’ll call knockback pressure, you’ll give up some stagger opportunities and use your moves to knockback your opponent to where you end up in a favorable or less disadvantageous position. It’s most commonly used when one of your spaced neutral pokes are blocked like dash max range 2b. If a character like Carmine blocks that and you whiff cancel, you feel like you have to block because his 2C will catch your backdash and beat whatever you throw out too. After 2b5c5a, he can poke out with 2c on reaction confidently with little risk, so he can take advantage of that by using greedier options and hard reads.
If you did something like 2b2c5c(6c)(6c) (236a/b), you might end up at a range where you can walkback and dodge his 2c then whiff punish him for it at best, or you’ll end in a position where blocking or backdashing 2c puts you in an advantageous position. He won’t be able to take advantage of the previous scenario that was in his favor. You are minus, but the situation is practically neutral unless he was pushed into the vicinity of a corner in which case you are at an advantage.
When you tech a throw while cornered, it may be in your best interest to push them away so that you’ll minimize the chances of getting cornered again. You can also use it to stall for time when you’re winning or when they’re in vorpal state to both keep yourself safe from chainshift DP and to waste time on their cycle and make their vorpal use more predictable and forced. Options after 6c are buffed in UNIST or so I remember, so knockback pressure will be stronger then.
You can pretty much ad-lib these strings until you’re pushed the right distance, then end with 5c, 6c, 6cc, 236a, or 236b. You can use moves like 6b, also getting buffed in UNIST, which you’d otherwise rarely use to help control the amount of knockback.
In terms of cornering your opponent, the mindset is playing trying to play neutral at around 4-7 char widths away while they’re cornered and get them to kill themselves trying to get out. You have a lot of options like 7236B, 236B, TK kuuga, dashC, 6C, assault jC, dash 2B, walkback, jumpback j236A/j236C, wiggling back and forth, and dash grab.
Post-214BA Mindgames
You'll very often find yourself in the situation of doing 214BA on block, as it is a very scary frametrap after all B and C buttons and your opponent will quickly learn to respect it if they don't want to die. Fortunately, unlike many special cancels in this game, your turn is not necessarily over in this situation! Linne has a huge number of counterpokes and spacing traps she can set up from this situation, making turn-stealing surprisingly easy as long as you have the right read on your opponent.
214B-A is only -1 on block and creates a mind-game for both players on what buttons to press. Depending on whether you did it up-close or farther away, your best options change.
Up-close means doing 214B-A after one or two buttons or raw 214B-A in the opponent's face.
Options Linne uses up-close:
- 5A: 5f, pretty big, catches 7f + options.
- 5B: 6f, disjointed and more active than 5A, but shorter range.
- 6B: 7f, disjointed, whiff punishes all except big 6F A normals, reaches even if you block.
- 2B: 8f low that catches walk back.
- 5C: 12f incredibly disjointed normal that pulls back it’s hurtbox during startup. Makes big A normals whiff such as Hyde or Orie 5A.
- Divekick: An elusive option to stuff low-hitting options or high recovery normals such as Hyde 5A.
Up-close the mind-game is very in favor of Linne as a lot of her normals are disjointed.
Beware: if you cancel into the A followup often, the opponent can shield the last hit of 214B-A to make Linne -4 and use their big 8f/9f button to beat all your options. To beat this, stop at 214B and make them whiff a green shield (you can even throw punish it if you're very quick, but just making it whiff is good enough as you get a pressure reset).
Far away means doing 214B-A around max range. For example, 5A 5B 6B 5C into 214B-A.
Options Linne uses far away:
- 5B: 6f disjointed move that’s active and stuffs a lot of B normals even at max range.
- 66B: 9f long reaching move for it’s frames that has low recovery on whiff.
- 5C: 12f, disjointed and will make B normals whiff, potentially even C normals at long range.
- 66C: 12f, catches backdash and jump-back.
- Divekick: Jumps over many mids/lows at this range and punishes. Always minus on block.
- Jump-back Kuuga: Dodges many C buttons at this range and whiff punishes. Plus on block if spaced, but becomes minus if shielded, dashblocked into, or both.
Many opponents will not be as familiar with the post-214BA layers as you and will get beaten by one of these options. However, savvy opponents will wait and can whiff punish many of your counterpokes (especially 5A and 5B, which tend to whiff even after close 214BA). This opens up the layer of dashing up and resetting pressure, which is quite frustrating for opponents who just blocked a -1 move with no cancel options!
Other Mixups
In the corner, you can try to use 63214B to hit overhead, and cancel into CS or 236C to confirm or continue pressure. Though you can try to use 63214[B] to mixup with low, it can be fuzzy guarded.
One of her best overheads would be assault j.6B, since it's somewhat difficult to react to. Though it can only be confirmed from with CS, it can still swing GRD in your favor without CS, as assault builds 0.5 blocks of GRD and hitting the opponent if they don't react builds another 1 block. Beware that it is -4 on block, and cannot be CSed on block, meaning the opponent gets a guaranteed throw punish if they can block it.
Okizeme
Linne lacks any notable oki tools, and will usually just have to rely hitting the opponent meaty to start stagger pressure again.
Safe Jump Setups
Using j.6[B] double jump cancel as an ender, she can achieve some safe jump set ups.
623A CS Oki
If timed properly, Linne can cancel the active frames of 623A with Chain Shift to both meaty the opponent and cancel it safely if it whiffed (i.e. if they did something invincible), allowing Linne to meaty and still bait DPs.
- Unlike other special > CS DP baits, 623A is fast enough to be used on reaction to the opponent's wakeup timing, ensuring that you get a safe meaty no matter how much they delay their wakeup.
- Note that to work as a DP bait, 623A must be cancelled very quickly, before Linne becomes airborne, as most DPs are not air blockable.
- A few ways to input this option select quickly are 623A+D, A+D (using the throw macro), or 623D, A~D.
(Gimmick) 214X(~A) Cross Under
If you end a combo with 214X(~A) and the opponent immediately air recovers, you can delay dash/backdash underneath the opponent and do a meaty 5A to cross the opponent if you correctly guess which direction they tech.
Defense
Invincible
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Anti-air
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Fast Moves
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Linne's defensive tool kit is amazingly strong. With two meterless reversal tools (Force Function and 623B) and a far-reaching 5f normal (5A), she can easily break close-range pressure with the correct read or with chain shift. One of the issues she has is that she has a deadzone directly above her, which makes defending against corner jump-ins a little difficult.
General Defensive Principles
Blocking is much better in Under Night than it is in average anime games. The vast majority of overheads are reactable, chip damage is very low, there is no guard bar, and there is also substantial cross-up protection, making it non-disadvantageous to block for an extended period of time. Moreover, you slowly gain GRD while blocking attacks if you aren't in vorpal state, meaning it is actually to your advantage to block for an extended period of time if it would allow you to win vorpal, since access to chain shift makes getting out that much easier.
The main thing you need to worry about against most characters is throw. Throws are not techable on reaction*, as they have a 14 frame tech window. However, there is an 8 frame window of throw protection after exiting blockstun, meaning that you can tech throws by using very late option selects, covered later.
(* It is technically possible to tech a throw purely on reaction if you are looking ONLY for throw, but the mental stack and focus required to do this severely weaken other aspects of your defense. Not recommended for normal play.)
How to Chain Shift Defensively
Because she has a meterless fully invincible reversal (623B), Linne is always a threat on defense if she has chain shift. Mashing 2DDDDDDDD while in a blockstring will chain shift on the first frame that Linne can act, letting you confirm whether the opponent is in the middle of an action (you will see a red mist) and 623B if they are; otherwise, you can do nothing and stay safe.
It is very important *not* to mash defensive chain shift while holding back. If you mash 1DDDDDDD, you will get green shields, which extend your blockstun and remove gaps where there would otherwise be a gap to chain shift through. You can avoid this by mashing 2DDDDDDDD--you will still block any mids or lows in a true blockstring even though you're not holding back, and at the first gap you will get a CS so you don't have to worry about the fact that you're not blocking.
Of course, savvy opponents will try to bait your chain shift by doing nothing on your wakeup and/or doing a gapless string that puts them at an advantageous spacing for when you CS. You can call their bluff by not CSing and instead taking your turn. Linne actually has a very strong corner escape blockstring with meter, as she can spend 100 meter on 236C and roll behind the opponent to reverse the corner positioning if they so much as block a normal! The entire string, including the normal after the roll, can be made gapless, meaning the opponent's only option to stop this is to use Guard Thrust.
Anti-airing Assaults
Linne's Force Function (FF) is especially notable on defense as it is a one-button reversal (with a B+C macro) that can be input while crouching and has head invulnerability, making it possible to antiair assaults on reaction with Force Function + the followup slash. This is not possible for most of the cast, making it very scary for attackers to carelessly assault at a waiting Linne.
- If Force Function dodges an air button, the followup slash has 3f startup and full invulnerability, making it guaranteed to connect except against a latest-possible j.A which has 2f landing recovery.
- While you can still perform the followup slash if Force Function doesn't dodge anything, its speed will be considerably reduced. This means that if you react to the assault late and the opponent does an empty assault, it is possible for them to land in time to block the followup slash and punish.
Option Selects
Throw tech option selects (usually just called "option selects") are an extremely important defensive technique for all Under Night characters, as they allow you to defend against throws (teching a throw leaves you +8) while covering some other offensive option(s) in case your opponent does not throw you.
The most common ways for beginners to tech throws are:
- 1AD, also known as Crouch Tech or Crouch Shield Tech.
- Inputting AD while holding down-back will result in a crouch shield if you are not currently being thrown.
- 4AD, also known as Stand Tech
- Inputting AD while holding straight back will result in a throw if you are not currently being thrown.
Note that these are often thought of as "beginner option selects," they both have an important place in the option select rotation as your opponents try to call out more advanced option selects. Nevertheless, if you only use these option selects, your defense will be very easy to crack. This is because run-up assault will crush both of these option selects, GRD breaking your crouch shield or punishing the whiffed throw from a stand tech. As such, it is important to have an anti-assault option select under your belt when opponents start calling out your option selects with assault. Such an option select will anti-air an opponent who assaulted while also teching their throw if they threw you, all with a single input.
Unfortunately, Linne's only consistent anti-assault option select is Force Function/Throw OS, which is input by pressing B+C~A+D. This will beat out throws, assaults, and most attacks, but lose to an opponent simply waiting, blocking, and punishing. This makes Linne's anti-air option select riskier than most other characters, whose anti-air option selects start pressure if the opponent blocks.
How do I do Linne’s force function option select? (FF anti-assault/throw OS)
In order to option select between throw/assault, you need to press B+C~A+D (FF~throw) a little bit after you opponent gets in throw range. Here’s the explanation:
- The opponent walks up at point blank range and does a throw
- You input B+C and it does nothing because you’re in throw state
- You input A+D and you tech the throw
- The opponent walks up at point blank range and does an assault
- You input B+C and the dodge of force function activates
- You input A+D and the slash of force function activates and anti airs the opponent’s assault
Note that the Force Function/Throw option select is akin to using a DP/throw option select, meaning it can be easily beaten by the opponent running up and doing nothing: the dodge is punishable in recovery, and the follow-up slash is -11 on block with no cancel options. As such, it is useful to have other button-based option selects in your toolbelt, such as 2A OS (2AD or 1A~D) and 2B OS (2BAD or 1B~AD) to take your turn on opponents baiting Force Function.
2A Option Select (2AD)
Does 2A if the opponent does not throw you, and techs the throw if they throw you.
- Beats throw, beats or takes your turn against doing nothing (baiting a reversal or shield).
- Loses to assault and delayed buttons.
- Can also be input with 1A~D, which means pressing and holding A and then pressing D 1-2 frames later. If you press A and D at the same time, you will get a low shield instead of 2A.
2B Option Select (2BAD)
Linne's other "anti-air" OS, although it is character-specific. Does 2B if the opponent does not throw you, and techs the throw if they throw you. Unlike 2AD, beats some assaults, as 2B moves Linne forward far enough to make them whiff.
- Beats throw, beats or takes your turn against doing nothing (baiting a reversal or shield).
- Catches walk back, as it is a low.
- Loses to delayed buttons.
- Beats SOME assault buttons if they are very horizontal. In these cases, the forward movement from 2B will cause Linne to scoot right under the jump attack and end up on the other side of the opponent. Linne recovers fast enough to take her turn against the now-cornered opponent or, in some cases, even punish the landing recovery.
- 2BAD sideswaps under: Carmine j.C, Orie j.C, Enkidu j.C, Chaos j.2C, Byakuya j.C, Gordeau j.C, Phonon j.C, Eltnum j.C. Wagner j.C, Vatista j.B.
- Loses to assault buttons with a good vertical hitbox or a hitbox that extends behind them.
- 2BAD gets hit by: Wagner j.[C]/j.[B], Eltnum j.[C], Nanase j.2C, Hilda j.C, Vatista j.C (not an overhead), Akatsuki j.6C, Londrekia j.C, Hyde j.B/j.2C, Linne j.C, Waldstein j.C, Merkava j.C, Seth j.C, Yuzuriha j.2C, Mika j.C.
- Can also be input with 1B~AD, which means pressing B and then pressing A+D a few frames later. If you press B at the same time as A+D while holding downback, you will get a low shield instead of 2B.
Take the Throw
Also consider not using any option select sometimes, especially if it is early in the GRD cycle and the GRD swing won't matter that much. Getting thrown does not do that much damage against most characters (does not apply against Chaos/Byakuya/Wagner with CS), and OS callouts can't call anything out if you're not OSing! As long as you can react to the overhead, that is...
- As previously mentioned, you can use Force Function to antiair assaults on reaction if your opponent is baiting throw with assault. This makes not OSing somewhat stronger on Linne than other characters, who would simply block the assault and be forced to hold more pressure.
Timing Option Selects
- As a rule of thumb, you want to time your option select such that you press A+D at the latest possible window that still techs a throw.
- This is because you have 14 frames to tech a throw, and the later you perform a button-based option select, the less likely it is to get counterhit by a frametrap or a delayed button.
- You can practice the basic delayed timing in training mode by setting a dummy to do three things:
- 2A, Throw
- 2A > 5C
- 2A, wait/2A, assault j.C(depending on the option select)
- You should observe the following results:
- 2AD and 2BAD option selects should *not* get counterhit by 2A > 5C but should still tech the throw, and come out if the opponent blocks (remember to cancel into more buttons to start pressure!).
- BC~AD (Force Function Option Select) should not come out during 2A > 5C, but should tech the throw and antiair the assault.
- Do not use this timing as a universal rule! As you fight more advanced players, it becomes beneficial to vary your option select timings to throw off their punishes. For example, do it early enough, and their delayed button attempt might just get hit!
Counter Strategies
Zone Linne out
Linne lacks a good long-range game, so take advantage of it by staying out of her Kuuga range. If you have the health lead, try to keep her out as long as possible to kill time. Be careful when she has meter (and especially access to CS), as she can try to C Hien through your zoning. You can always try to cancel a special into an invincible move if you have the meter.
Just up-back
Though Linne is considered to have one of the best anti-assault/jump-in tools with her Force Function, her anti-air options beyond point-blank are very limited. Jumping backwards is a very viable option from mid-fullscreen range. Linne will need to commit to dashing and wait for you to land or try to chase you down in the air in most situation. Just be wary of EX Kuuga, as that can lead to an air-unblockable situation.
All minus frames
Though she can frame trap fairly well with specials and staggered normals, she'll need to reset pressure with a dash or TK Kuuga at some point. Linne has risk these pressure resets so she can stay in close range, else she risks losing the advantage and returning to neutral.
While Linne is very fast, her only notable plus moves while on offense are TK and EX Kuuga. Linne cancelling blockstrings into EX Kuuga will force you to block, but TK Kuuga can only be input when she's at neutral which adds to it's considerable start up. This means outside of EX Kuuga, she'll have to take a risk to do pressure resets.
Dash cancel is (almost) always negative
If at any point you block a grounded Kuuga and she dash cancels, unless you were hit at the very end of the Kuuga, she'll be minus. In most cases, a throw or fast normal will hit her or at the very least, force Linne to block.
- A good rule of thumb: if she cancelled a normal into kuuga, and dash cancelled it, it will always be at least -1. Kuuga dash is a very common frametrap option after far 5C, so it's important to be ready for this and take your turn on block.
Throws and delay lows beat dodge
If you're up against a Linne mashing Force Function, you'll need to adjust your pressure accordingly. Attacks with Throw property will outright beat dodge. To current testing, normally the slash follow-up is vulnerable to Foot attacks, but if Linne successfully dodges something (indicated by the blue aura), the follow-up slash becomes fully invulnerable and much faster (3f startup). In this case where you don't want to commit to a throw, it's better to slightly delay Foot moves so that Linne will have enough time to mash Force Function into the follow-up so that she doesn't gain the Full invincibilty.
Fuzzy throw OS B Hien
B Hien and it's charged version aren't very scary tools once you understand that there is a huge gap between the two hits. If you see B Hien incoming, block high, and right after you expect it to hit, mash throw. This will block the overhead and then if Linne uses the charged version, you'll grab her before the low becomes active!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is TK Kuuga? (TK Kuuga)
"TK" stands for “tiger knee”, which is a motion in an older fighting game. This allows you to do j236x moves as soon as you leave the ground. Instead of jumping and doing the 236B motion super fast, you can just do 2369B, which will immediately give you j236B on the first available aerial frame.
How is it different from normal ground/air kuuga? (Kuuga differences)
Each version of kuuga has their uses. The A version is slower on start up, but recovers faster. Here's a quick run down of the different versions:
- Ground Kuuga (236x)
- Fastest start up (12~30 frames), but almost always minus on block (unless at max range). Dash cancellable and can confirm on hit (still minus on block!). Using 236B CS is a vital part of Linne’s pressure/neutral game plan!
- TK Kuuga (2369x)
- Slower start up (18~30 frames), but always leaves you plus. Great to use in pressure and neutral, as it will low crush and is easy to confirm from.
- Air Kuuga (j236x)
- Good for fishing for random hits in neutral, but almost always minus on block. Halts air momentum so it can bait some ground moves. Counter hit air kuuga is very easy to confirm from!
- EX Kuuga (236C/j236C/2369C)
- Good for finishing up rounds, catching opponents jumping, resetting pressure, and gaining ground. Immensely plus on block/hit. Very easy to confirm from and can lead to air unblockables on block. 6CC 236[B] 236C is a good round finisher.
Each covers unique angles, so try to get a feel for using them all! Even try using assault kuuga sometime.
What are some good uses for chain shift? (CS Usage)
Linne has some very good fundamental uses for chain shift.
- 236B CS
- You want to use this during neutral or your pressure as a frame trap. It lets you have a safe-ish mid screen approach tool, as well. If you throw out kuuga and you see the opponent is in the middle of an attack animation, you are free to go in for a counter hit combo! If not, they opponent is forced to block it.
- Wake up/defensive CS 623B
- When you wake up or want to 2DDD out of pressure, you can easily punish any close range attack with 623B. It's frame 1 invul and has fast start up (6 frames at point blank), so make use of this to take your turn back!
- CS 63214C
- If you're going up against someone with long range lows or projectiles, this is what you want to be using. During neutral or opponent pressure, you want to CS and if you see a low or projectile coming your way, try using 63214C as it's projectile and foot invulnerable. Just be careful as they can react to your super flash with an special whiff EX cancel.
How do I roll cancel during a string? (5A roll cancel)
You can roll cancel 5A by pressing 6A+B on hit/block. You can also roll cancel any other normal if you're able to rebeat into 5A, so that the roll comes out so fast, the 5A isn't noticeable. Do note, this is minus so you can be hit if the opponent mashes correctly.
What about rolling out of force function? (FF roll cancel)
In order to roll(6A+B) out of force function(B+C), you need to dodge something first. You can tell when you dodge something when Linne gets surrounded by a blue aura. Be careful, as you have to practically read your opponent to do this properly or you’ll easily get hit for it.
Why did I get hit out of roll?! (Roll invul)
Linne’s roll invincibility isn't very long in UNIST, and the invincibility is in the middle (invul frames: 11~16 strike and 7~20 projectile, recovers on frame 23) of the roll. Don't rely on it to dodge attacks! It does have some wonky hitbox/collision box interactions, though (especially in the corner).
Match Ups
Hyde
 (Even) [character page][match videos] |
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Linne
 (Mirror) [character page][match videos] |
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Waldstein
 (Slightly Unfavorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Carmine
 (Favorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Orie
 (Slightly Unfavorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Gordeau
 (Favorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Merkava
 (Unfavorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Vatista
 (Slightly Unfavorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Seth
 (Unfavorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Yuzuriha
 (Slightly unfavorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Hilda
 (Slightly Favorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Chaos
 (Slightly Favorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Nanase
 (Slightly unfavorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Byakuya
 (Even) [character page][match videos] |
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Phonon
 (Even) [character page][match videos] |
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Mika
 (Slightly Favorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Wagner
 (Even) [character page][match videos] |
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Enkidu
 (Slightly Favorable) [character page][match videos] |
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Londrekia
 (Even) [character page][match videos] |
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Eltnum
 (Even) [character page][match videos] |
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Akatsuki
 (Even) [character page][match videos] |
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Videos
External Links
- Advanced frame data of Linne's move Cancellations by Japanese Schoolgirl
Linne Wiki Roadmap
Click here for the UNICLR roadmap.
Page last edited on: 2022-02-08 by Bruce.
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