"She Quan In My Own Words" (Official Christie DOA4 Thread)

[Awesmic]

NOTE: For those of you who don't understand the numerical format, I will try my best to translate.

7 8 9

4 5 6

1 2 3


Notice how I have typed these numbers as in the form of your number pad located on the right of your keyboard? Picture it also as you would your D-pad on your controller (or the axis on your arcade stick). The numbers indicate the points of direction.

Now when I'm describing a motion on the D-pad, I'll type the numbers together. For example, if I were to explain a half-circle motion forward, I'll type it like 41236. Get it? Got it? Good.

Now for the other keywords you should look out for:

p = punch

k = kick

f = free

t = throw

p+k = punch and kick

f+k = free and kick


On my spare time I've been slowly working on some form of strategy for playing Christie. So far I have statistics on her pros and cons, but in due time, I'll greatly expand on what I know and share it with you guys.

NOTE: I'm not a high-level Christie player, strat-savvy, or anything like that, but I thought, whatever... I gotta contribute something positive regardless of criticisms.

Offense

+ 9 frame jabs

+ Decent, fast pokes such as 6p, 66pp , 2 f+k, f+k, and 2p

+ A variety of potential launchers such as 9k , 33p , 8k, 6k (from Serpent Stance), crouching 3p, p+k from Serpent Stance, 4 p+k from Serpent Stance, and the commonly done 4f+k.

+ Easy, effective variety of juggles, especially when following up from low punch counter with 9k, pp2pp , 6kp or 2pp, 6kp have knockback potential, and are especially good against the wall.

- Most of her offensive game involves high and mid attacks, making mix-ups more difficult.

- Only two useful guard break attacks, 4p+k and 4p from Serpent Stance (4p from Serpent Stance being the riskier of the two due to the uncompromising wind-up).

- Launchers like crouching 3p and 33p require a counter hit or better.

-2 f+kp and 1pk string starters are relatively unsafe moves on normal hit when not in water.


Defense

+ Low punch counter hold only has potential for great damage, as it launches the opponent high to allow for a variety of juggles, specifically when followed up with 9k.

+ Has an effective throw that forces opponent to BT (6t), allowing for easy launchers if opponent is stunned with CH in BT.

- No parries or sabakis

- Weak throws, with 63214t being her most damaging, and it's only average compared to other characters' faster throws. It's best to use this on damaging floors.

Evasion

+ Serpent Stance adds to her evasive game, as the stance itself can avoid highs and some mids.

+ 4 and 6 (from Serpent Stance) are very effective mix-up tools when buffering with an SS move.

+ p+k from Serpent Stance crushes high-mid attacks and doesn't require stun to launch.

+ crouching 3p crushes highs and some mids.

+ f+k from BT rolls under highs and some mids.

- The sidestep from Serpent Stance is not all that useful, and the only attack to use during the sidestep first is a mid punch.


Wall Game

+ Best to use usual pokes and stun strategy

+ 9k and 33p allows you to juggle even when opponent is against the wall.

+ 236t offensive hold (or catch grab) changes to wall throw

+ Catch grab is the only good throwing option near the wall, and with only average damage potential.


Ground Game

+ If opponent is juggled, pp2kp is the basic combo of choice for forced tech.

+ 9kk and 66k are decent rushdown attacks on wake-up, although unsafe when blocked.

+ On damage floors, 63214t is ideal for a damaging throw. Likewise, if the opponent doesn't tech and is on the damage floor, you can use 2k, then 8p+k for the most damage.

+ Using 1p+k just as the opponent wakes up can trick the opponent to using a high or mid get-up kick, leaving you with just enough time to attack with either p,t, or even k (when in range). All three have great range, and k from Serpent Stance will turn the opponent around.


Learning Curve

+ Easy to pick up for beginners

+ 9 frame jabs

+ Fast, effective poking game

+ Decent stun game

+ Excellent variety of juggles

+ Serpent Stance helps evasive game

+ 6t allows easy BT opportunities against the opponent

+ Buffering 6 and 4 with Serpent Stance moves adds to your mix up.

- Offensive game consists of mostly mids and highs, making it tougher to mix-up

- Weak throws

-Serpent Stance is not as mobile as Helena's Bokuho stance, as you can't fully move back and forth while staying in stance.

- Free canceling strings like 1p , 3k , 6k , and 4k are important to expand on your mix-up game when fighting against players who see a pattern on your offensive game

 

[Awesmic]

Using Good Judgment on Weight Classes and Christie's Juggles


Part A: The Importance of Weight Classes


Remember, juggling isn't always about what combo looks cool, but what has the most effective damage, and in what situation. When you're planning juggles, you have to consider your setups, the environment, and your opponent's weight class (very important!). If you're not familiar with any of these in tournament play, you will not be able to play Christie the way she is meant to be played, nor any other character for that matter.

Remember the weight classes and the characters that fall under each:

Lightest: Kasumi, Ayane, Kokoro, Hitomi, Eliot

Light: Lei Fang

Medium Light: La Mariposa, Brad Wong, Jann Lee, Zack

Midweight: Helena, Christie, Tina, Ein, Hayate, Ryu Hayabusa, Gen Fu

Medium Heavy: Bayman, Bass, Leon

Heavy: Spartan-458

Heaviest: Tengu

Now that you've gotten yourself familiar with these, we will now determine what combos from each launcher would be most effective. These combos come directly from the DOA4 Master File itself, so I take no credit for them.
-----------------------------------------------------------

Listed are the attacks followed by the juggle for each weight. Attacks in parenthesis ( ) are the launching attacks within strings.

1)33p

Normal blow from critical:
Lightest - Medium Light Weight: pp2pp, 6kp
Midweight: pkkk
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: pkk2k


Counter blow:
Lightest - Midweight: 2pp, pkk2k
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: pkkk


High Counter blow:
Lightest - Medium Light Weight: 7pp2pp, 6kp
Mid Weight: 2pp, pkk2k
Medium Heavy Weight: pp4ppp
Heavy - Heaviest Weight: pkkk

2) 4p+k from Serpent Stance

Normal blow from critical:
Lightest - Medium Light Weight: pkkk
Midweight - Heaviest Weight: pkkk


Counter blow:
Lightest - Medium Light Weight: pp2pp, 6kp
Midweight - Heaviest Weight: pkkk


High Counter blow:
Lightest - Midweight: pp2pp, 6kp
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: pkkk

3)4f+k

Normal blow from critical:
Lightest - Midweight: pkick, 6kp
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: 4k

Counter blow:
Lightest - Midweight: pkick, pkk2k
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: f, pkkk


High Counter blow:
Lightest - Midweight: pp2pp, 6kp
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: f, pkkk


4)f+kkk (third kick connects with ground bounce effect)

Normal blow:
Lightest - Midweight: pkkk
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: pkkk

Counter blow:
Lightest - Medium Light Weight: 2pp, pkk2k
Mid Weight: pp2pp, 6kp
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: pkkk


High Counter blow:
Lightest - Midweight: 7pp2pp, 6kp
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: 2pp, pkk2k

5)1pk (kick connects as a launch)

Normal blow from critical:
All Weights: pkkk


Counter blow:
Lightest - Midweight: pp2pp, 6kp
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: pkkk


High Counter blow:
Lightest - Midweight: 2pp, pkk2k
Medium Heavy - Heaviest Weight: pkkk


*After low punch hold: 9k, 7pp4ppp



Part B: Juggles on Slope and Against Walls

The key to judging how to use juggles on slope factor on two directions, rising and descending. On a rising slope for Christie, from the Master File combos you must go up one weight class. On descending slopes you must go down one weight class.

So if you were to juggle a lightweight on a rising slope, you must treat the opponent as if it were a midweight, whereas a Heavy on a descending slope should be treated as a Medium Heavy.

When playing Christie, know this. If you plan to use a low punch counter against a rising slope, do not follow with 9k . If you do this, you will always go past the opponent and completely miss your juggle. Instead, back away and use the most useful string possible, even if it's just 6kp.

Also, using good judgment with 9k on even floors and descending slopes is important. If you plan to start with 7p after 9k , make sure you're away from the wall, because the 7p will be a wall hit, making you whiff the rest of the string completely if you're not careful. If you feel you'll hit the wall, it is best you do the following strings:

2pp , 6kp (lightest to light)

ppppp (light and midweight)

pppp2p (light - heavy)

pp2pp, 6kp (light and midweight)

4kk (light - medium heavy)

4k2kp2p (cancel or go to DF; light - medium heavy)

 

[Awesmic]

Dokuja-Fujin -- The Serpent Stance: General Strategy Guide


Part A: Serpent Stance Buffering (Shifting)

OK, in case you haven't read the Dokuja Fujin Buffering guide thread, I posted something useful regarding "shifting".

For those who aren't too familiar with this, you simply press 4 or 6 while in Serpent Stance; however, there is more to this trick than you think.

Just as you press 4 or 6 , you can also buffer into a move from Serpent Stance. . . and that includes sidestepping. It's also possible to "shift" after sidestepping, but you must remain in Serpent Stance position afterward. To do this, simply press 2 to remain in the stance after sidestepping.

What I'm about to post is a guideline for all possible Serpent Stance mixups using 4 or 6 (from SS) for those who want a more accessible read into this tactic. I will list more in time, if possible. Until then, enjoy, study, and practice.
_____________________________________________________

From Serpent Stance

4 or 6 (briefly), pp

4 or 6 (briefly), 4p

4 or 6 (briefly), t

4 or 6 (briefly), k

4 or 6 (briefly), 6p

4 or 6 (briefly), p+k

4 or 6 (briefly), 4p+k

4 or 6 (briefly), 4k

4 or 6 (briefly), 1k2k

4 or 6 (briefly), 1k6k

4 or 6 (briefly), 1kk

4 or 6 (briefly), 8 or 2
_________________________________________


The above stated can also be done after:

sidestepping from Serpent Stance (after pressing 2),

after pressing 1p2 ,

after 1k2,

after 1kp1p2 ,

after p+k2 (from behind),

after 4p+k2 from Serpent Stance

and after 9kk2 , so keep these in mind as well.





Part B: Serpent Stance Wakeup Strategy


For this section of the general Serpent Stance strategy, you'll need to familiarize yourself with all possible buffering moves.

To start off, Christie's new Dokuja-Fujin (DF) stance is possibly the most clearly new move in her arsenal. It is an entirely different stance from her normal one, and some moves from DOA3 are exclusive only to this stance.

For now we'll talk about its uses. Christie's DF is like Helena's Bokuho (BKO) stance, however, not as mobile. For Christie, you may have to think a few steps ahead before deciding how to wish to go into the stance. Her DF is useful for spacing, wakeup, and perhaps contributes to her mixups when used properly.

Spacing is simple. Apart from obviously stepping back, 1p+k is your basic bread and butter. Combined with 4 after DF, you'll cover a little more range. 4 (from DF) also helps sometimes when you just need that tiny bit of whiff space when you're using the stance from neutral (2p+k).

Wakeup games range from safe to downright risky. The most practical of these are waiting for a getup kick and then retaliating after 1p+k. However, not all opponents will fall for it. This is why clever buffering and knowing the whiff range of your attacks are very important.

A good punishing tool for a mid-low getup kick is p, whereas a high getup kick is t. A riskier option is k. With proper timing, k can also cleanly hit mid wakeup kicks. Preferred timing is just as you see the ball of the foot, but you must be in-close. (The kick cannot, however, hit a mid wakeup kick when the opponent rolls sideways.) But to keep opponents thinking, you'll have to learn how to do a "just shift", a term I'm using in short for quickly going to stance and buffering just as the opponent gets up.

Performing a just shift takes practice, and a good memory of the space between you and the ball of the foot against a getup kick, or in this case, the "whiff range". Your entire wakeup game depends on this if you plan to use DF. Should you judge the range wrong, you will screw up. But let's assume you do know the "whiff range". What do you do then?

It's simple. Of the many ways to get into DF, Neutral (2p+k) is the safest and quickest method. You have minimal opening for a catch grab and the least amount of frames to buffer from this position. Just enough, in fact, to quickly dodge the getup kick by buffering with 4 and then performing your whiffing move of choice. If the opponent just decides to get up though, you should still be out of range for the opponent to perform a throw on wakeup, thus when you press f or 4 to cancel DF on wakeup, you won't be at consequence right away.

9kk2 is one of the trickier and riskier wakeup games. I personally don't prefer to use it, but to perform this you will have to know the opponent will go down early, because it is slow. This move cannot be performed in-close to the opponent, and the opponent must be down at the time. There is also judging when the getup kick will start, and hopefully, you'll bait the opponent to a high kick altogether with proper timing once you start jumping over his low and mid wakeup kicks. Usually 66k and 9kk is anticipated on wakeup, especially near a wall, because of their effectiveness on wakeup.