How to ACTUALLY win ranked games: New mechanics explained, common character breakdowns, "anti-spam" strategies [UPDATE 07/06/15]

1. Changes To Mechanics From STORM 3

The most obvious change to the game is the seperation of Awakenings, Ultimates, and support types. You can only choose to have one, omitting the other two. Make the decision based on your personal skill and your team choice.

The bane of Rushdown players. This consumes 25% of your chakra bar (cannot be used below 50% chakra bar size) to counter any dash or basic physical attack that connects, guardbreaking your opponent for a LONG time (Note: if hit by ANY projectile, including items and shuriken, the stun will end). However, it cannot counter Jutsus, grabs, supports, ultimates/team ultimates or any projectiles.

The counter only lasts for a split second, during the flash:

But, the animation lasts for a second longer, so whilst they look like this:

They can't move, they can't counter, they can't block, and the best part? They can't substitute. So if you're playing rushdown and someone keeps countering your dashes, just cancel the dash and throw an ultimate at them. They'll be a sitting duck.

All characters now have two guardbreak attacks in place of their up item. It looks like a relay attack from STORM 3, however now it simply breaks your opponents guard (Even if they're not guarding) for a short time.

The range is relatively short however. It's roughly the range of Pain's grab.

NOTE: The guardbreak attack is considered a dash, and thus can be counterattacked.

You can now cancel into an ultimate jutsu at ANY time in your combo. Simply perform the input for an ultimate jutsu or team ultimate jutsu during your combo and it'll immediately activate.

You are now able to cancel the Jutsus of the following characters, by pressing the block button:

- Naruto (All of them)

- Sasuke (Taka)

- Sakura

- Pain

- Hidan

- Tenten

- Sai

- Hinata

- Kabuto (regular)

A Jutsu cancel works a lot like a Dash cancel. It takes a bit of chakra and there's a yellow flash that will instantly take you out of the jutsu. You can use this to trick opponents, defend yourself from a trap, or create advanced combos (Like this one[www.facebook.com] ).

- Can no longer tilt during Ninja move

- Can no longer grab during Ninja move

- Can now dash during a roll-up animation or ukemi (Tech-roll)

- Removal of Relay attacks

- Windmill shuriken stun nerfed

- Moving the left analog stick whilst guarding will cause you to immediately ninja-move in that direction.

Below is a quick look at the main changes that will affect you during your time on Revolution:

Now, with all of that out of the way, let's look at who is going to be giving you the most trouble online.

2. Strategies For Ranked

Below are some videos I have created to showcase certain strategies you can implement to your playstyle, with added information below each one.

1. Shuriken jumping

Shuriken jumping allows you to keep good pressure at a distance whilst remaining mobile, meaning you can move closer to/further away from your opponent as well as avoid attacks.

Whenever you are in a game and you are not doing something (such as attacking, charging chakra) you should be harassing from afar as well as moving into position for your next move. It's recommended to use a little chakra to throw chakra shuriken too, especially with special shuriken such as Ino, Pain or Naruto.

2. Mei support Attack Drive

For whatever reason, the projectiles in Mei's ground combo still carry their stuns from her normal combo (Other supports will not stun, only deal damage). This allows pretty much any character to have a very easy infinite combo, that costs no chakra and can be done immediately, assuming Attack drive is active.

Note that when you have attack drive active, Support character 1 will start their combo on the second hit of your combo, and Support character two will join in on the third. Also, if your support is currently engaged (this means currently on the screen doing something such as using a jutsu, is being attacked, doing cover fire or ground combo, etc OR currently knocked out) then they will not be able to initiate a ground combo. Thus, if you do your combo too fast, your support will not be able to join in the combo, meaning that Mei will not appear to stun.

To help avoid this, it's recommended to pick Mei as your second support character. If you select her as the first support character, she will finish using her stun sooner, which means you will have to cancel your combo faster and thus risk going too fast. Picking her second gives her more time to recover.

With some characters, you can fit a 4th hit from your combo in before Mei finishes her attack, increasing damage output.

3. Attack Drive stun extensions

The shortened version of the dash stun animation (http://puu.sh/gr4kt.png) can be extended into the full dash stun animation when there is a support attacking your opponent with "ground combo".

This results in easy infinites.

4. Character stun locks

You may notice that you're sometimes left unable to move or do anything with your character, after your opponent misses a combo. Sometimes you can move but can't jump, attack, or guard.

The reason for this is because the game locks your character whenever your opponent uses an attack that is long and shouldn't be able to be dodged or blocked. These sorts of attacks usually come near the end of a combo string, meaning that they also shouldn't be missing (As they typically require the previous attack to have hit a target which normally means the next attack won't miss) however should the attack miss (such as connecting at the wrong distance or whilst you are airborn) you can be pushed out of the combo, meaning the next hit will miss, but you'll still be "locked" from inputs. A good example of this is Chiyo's up combo. This can also happen after substituting out of specific parts of an attack.

This has been a feature in all STORM games, but there has been no way to exploit these animations as you were locked into the attack, unable to dash/jump/ninja-move cancel out of it. However with the latest additions of Ultimate Jutsu cancels (able to directly cancel a combo into an ultimate jutsu) and counter attacks, there is a way to intentionally cause this and use it to your advantage to lock your opponent temporarily.

Simply look for an attack that has a long animation (some cinematics have a "startup" animation which is what I used in the video, but it can also be done to non cinematic attacks such as EMS Sasuke's up combo, immediately after his Susano'o arm grabs the opponent and before he slams them into the ground), and as soon as you see that animation start, do an ultimate. You can also Counter attack, but due to the 25% loss in chakra and long wait before being able to attack, its uses are limited.

5. Bypassing Defense Drive

"Guard support" has been the bane of many players and has been coined a staple "noob tactic" by salty rushdown players who get angry when they can't just run into you and circlemash your tits off.

However, for a little bit of chakra, you can easily bypass "Dash Cut".

With exception of Combo ultimates, team ultimates, UJ/Ring-out substitution and Strike-Back, a support cannot perform a new action if it is currently performing something else.

When a support tries to block your dash, there are three animations;

1. Entry. They jump in from off-screen and stand in front of the player. This is triggered by the start of your dash animation.

2. Guard. this will remain for as long as your dash lasts.

And then one of the following;

3a. Knockback. Once you collide with them, they will take damage and fly backwards. This will cause you to be "bumped" backwards, unable to do anything except substitute, giving the other player time to react/retreat.

OR;

3b. Exit. If your dash doesn't connect with them, as soon as you exit the dash for any reason, the support character will jump back out of the fight.

Remember how I said they cannot stop one action to perform another? That includes their entry and exit animations; If you were to dash during the exit animation, they cannot stop their exit animation to block you, meaning you'll sail right on by.

You can perform this very easily. Simply dash, then cancel your dash by guarding, and then dash again immediately. Costs a little more chakra, but no more Dash Cut.

Do note that Chakra Guard, the other Defense drive action, is triggered by your opponent charging chakra, not your dashes, so this trick will not work against that.

6. Air guard to easy ultimates

When your opponent blocks something in mid-air, it's not obvious but there's actually an animation for it. You'll notice that your opponent happens to do a little "twitch" as he's falling. If your opponent does this after blocking an attack in the air, that means he can't block.

If your opponent is too low to the ground, the animation will not complete and thus they will remain blocking.

I "discovered" this after getting frustrated at rushdown opponents; I'd guard their dashes in mid-air, and upon landing they were simply free to combo me.

3. Strings And Infinites

First, a video that will explain most of this:

And now, some information, which is also located in the description of the video;

Every single attack in the game is made up of strings. However, most of them have only one string; You press guard and attack once to do the entire grab, you only press X once to jump, etc.

The reason why it's so important to know when you can jump in your combos is because subs are scarce. If your opponent subs you and starts charging a Rasengan, knowing if you can simply jump out of your combo and guard it can save you a substitution. Likewise, knowing you can't get out of your combo on time will save you from trying and failing, resulting in losing health and momentum.

All attacks have a small grace period for you to press the next input to move on to the next string. The advantages of this are that you can do your combos more slowly, which allow you more time to react to any counterattacks your opponent may pull off, and you're more likely to succeed in cancelling out of your combos at a particular string if you don't press the attack button rapidly.

However, the downsides are that it's quite easy to accidentally stop your combo by taking too long to perform your next input, and longer combos mean your opponent has time to gain a substitution and escape.

---

If you happen to be playing in a Fluid Rules tournament, it's possible to get the "Neither player can substitute" rule, which means that successfully pulling off an infinite usually equals an easy win, as most supports will be hit by the combo if called in at the wrong time.

There are more animations that can be chained into an infinite, depending on how fast the initial attack is. It's always better to look forward to the longer stun animations. The one shown in the video is the second longest, however the shorter version of that stun is far more common. If you wish to extend the length of that specific stun, you can learn to do so with Attack Drive supports here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cLAJ_RmDHY

The best animation (but most uncommon) is the stumble animation from things such as Pain's/Nagato's tilt. These typically pull the opponent towards you and are very long stuns.

4. Supports, And Battle Types.

There is no such thing as Singles ranked. You're going to have to deal with your opponents using supports. There has been a lot of speculation as to what supports are "good" and what ones are "op", to the point that some people condemn the use of certain support characters. So why are they so good?

Well, even at their base usage, 2 supports are two whole extra jutsu that you get to choose before the match. Imagine if Pain had a fireball jutsu? Pick Itachi support, and you got it.

And the more in-depth you look at it, the more intricately a support can affect the outcome of a match. Even something as simple as getting in the way of an explosive tag could save you.

The usefulness of a support varies on who you pick and how you use them. Let's pick an example of a pretty basic support; Rock Lee. One thing to note is that, a support jutsu is STILL a jutsu, and as I have covered in a previous guide, two physical jutsu will cancel each other out, no matter how "strong" they are. This means that you could cancel out your opponent's Rasengan Barrage with something as simple as your support's Leaf Combo Attack.

But what if it's a projectile? That's fine, Rock Lee is still a body and that projectile will react to hitting him the exact same way as it will react to hitting you, except you won't be taking the damage. Don't forget that abusing your supports too much will result in them being eliminated temporarily, leaving you without a leg to stand on if your opponent goes on the offensive. If you plan to use your support like this often, consider taking a support that works defensively, such as Pain/Nagato, Neji, or Sakon/Ukon. A support with a projectile works too, since they will usually be safe behind their own projectile and won't take damage.

So, what else can your support do? Well, let's say you're finishing off a combo but your opponent could sub out and catch you in a bad spot. That's fine, call in your support, move out of the combo, let your Rock Lee finish your combo off. You even get the added opportunity to continue attacking as your opponent is knocked into the air. This could be a great opportunity to call in your other support (let's say, Itachi) or even launch an ultimate jutsu (or Combo ultimate or even Team ultimate, thanks to your supports) to catch them on the way down. that are good for combo extension like this are Rock Lee, Kimimaro, Kabuto, or Akatsuchi.

Another great use of supports is for dealing with awakenings. Usually when an opponent awakens they are no longer able to use their supports. This essentially leaves you in a 3v1 scenario with these odds in your favor. Make use of that by making your opponent run through your supports to get to you, eating away at the time they have in their awakening and setting you up to deal with it easier.

Giant True awakenings such as Perfect Susano'o in particular are easier to deal with by using supports. Physical jutsu will not connect, however projectiles will. You can concentrate on dodging (which is the only thing you should do during your opponent's giant awakening) and get a little bit of damage off with your supports, ready to finish off your opponent once they exit awakening mode.

Below is a list of supports that I would recommend as they fit almost all playstyles;

- Karin (Close ranged, but gives amazing debuffs to your opponent and has great tracking)

- Taka Sasuke (Mid-ranged, very hard to avoid, pretty fast)

- Pain (Great for blocking big attacks or repelling an attacker that is overwhelming you)

- Akatsuchi (Forces your opponent away even if they block, should he connect with them)

- Kabuto (Great tracking with a good stun and ending in a knockup)

- Anko (Very good combo extension, hard to sub out of, can lead to a strikeback)

- Sasori (Brilliant when used in Drive Type, Projectile has great priority)

Finally, one important thing to know is that the supports you use also depends on your chosen Type. It might be worth it to take a solo Naruto support as Sasuke if you want that great Combo ultimate, but if you're going to pick Awakening type you'll probably want a more versatile team.

-Coming soon-

5. Common Online Strategies

These appear to be much worse than what they truly are. Basically, the other player will bait you to do an attack that they can counter, and then they will hit you with an ultimate after countering.

First off, it's important to note that you take less damage during a guardbreak state. So if you do fall for this, you're not as doomed as you may initially think.

Secondly, remember that counters are a MASSIVE risk. If you suspect someone is going to counter you, simply don't attack with a counterable attack (For example, grab them instead of tilting them) or stop your dash with the block button. Chances are the other person's reflex will cause them to counter anyway, and you will get to land a free jutsu/ultimate. Even if you don't hit them, you'll have a 25% larger chakra bar than them for a while. You can easily bait someone into using the by dashing at them and stopping before you reach them. Just keep making it look like you're about to attack, only to do something else. If you're fighting someone relying on counters they're going to rinse their chakra and you can wombo combo them.

NOTE: This is a very good tactic for avoiding Danzo's 1-hit kill during his awakening.

(By the way, I'm calling it now that people are going to complain and "ban" counter attacks the same way two supports and guard types were in STORM 3. Kids just don't know how to deal with it so they refuse to play against it.)

2. Huge awakenings

Similar to the boss battles of previous STORM games except there's a player behind it.

Your best bet is to simply dodge as much as you can and wait for it to end. They do not last as long as a normal True Awakening. However, once they've used their awakening actions and you feel you can safely do so, they WILL take damage from combos, supports and jutsu (except ultimates) and it's not going to be easy to avoid these attacks, giving you free damage.

3. Ranged users

Ranged users saw a slight buff due to the fact that they can counter attack during a ranged combo, as well as all of them having the chance to have an instant awakening or immediate access to guard-type supports. A lot of new players had trouble against them before, so it's gotten a bit harder now.

However, you can counter them in almost the exact same way; Their ranged combos only have the priority of regular shuriken, so anything that would run through those will run through shuriken. So you can simply dash through them (keeping in mind that they will be able to counter that dash if you don't stop it before reaching them), and if you manage to pull off a Rasengan, you'll run clean through any ranged combos (And jutsu are also immune to counters). However, the safest method is to simply fight fire with fire; just move around and throw shuriken and other projectiles to safely prevent them from pegging you with their combos. Throwing a windmill shuriken will still cut through most of their attacks and still interrupt them.

4. Drive Type (Specifically, Defense Drive)

The dreaded guard-type.

Believe it or not, there is a really, REALLY easy way to counter dash-cut. Just dash, then stop your dash, and then immediately dash again. If you dash whilst the supports are currently doing an action (Such as using a jutsu, or jumping out of the fight) then they won't perform dash cut. So your first dash will cause them to appear, and when you stop your dash, the supports will jump up and away, during this time you can dash without initiating dash cut again.

For now, that's all I can think of. If there are other things that are common in ranked that you'd like me to show you how to counter, simply tell me in the comments and I'll add it in.

6. Recommended Teams

ALL characters can be good under certain circumstances. I can't tell you what characters to pick. I can only tell you what ones I feel are easier to use.

To start, Naruto is an obvious choice. He's an all-rounder. Go with Classic Team 7 (Sasuke and Sakura) for a well balanced team that will work with any type.

For those looking to try someone a bit more hard-hitting, Juugo is less nimble than other characters but has menacing potential once he's up-close. He's more vulnerable to being turtled, so take supports that are good for chasing down opponents (Taka Sasuke, Suigetsu are two recommended ones). Other characters are Sakura, Tsunade or Kisame, whilst suggested supports are either anyone with good tracking (Preferably projectiles) such as Deidara, Kakuzu, or Fu (not Fuu, Fu is Danzo's subordinate) or someone to benefit you up-close like Karin or Kabuto.

And for those that want the opposite, Shisui is a very common choice. His combos are favored because he moves around a lot in them and are very fast. If you don't plan on using any ultimate cancels, then take Awakening type as your Susano'o can save you in a bad match. I'd recommend taking Itachi as a support, however you can also put Madara as a support with Itachi for a great zoning setup. More recommended characters are Minato, Konan or Hanzo, and some good support for them are characters with air jutsu like Naruto or Sasuke (Jumping flames) or someone to prevent hyper-aggression, such as Pain/Nagato, or Rock Lee.

I would highly recommend avoiding Puppet characters and Ranged characters if you are not having much luck winning. They add more levels of complication to a fight that, whilst in the right hands can be devastating, will not help you focus on getting the basics down.

7. Summary

Currently this guide is rather bare, however I'm going to make it public MUCH earlier than I intended to in order to get as much feedback as I can. I'll be adding videos as well as more sections as I go, but for now, I'm going to summarize what you should take away from this guide:

1. Make use of as many of the new mechanics as you can. If you can consistently land or bait counter attacks, or learn a new mixup with a jutsu cancel (Such as this one on my facebook page[www.facebook.com] ), you'll have a HUGE advantage over those who don't try to learn them.

2. Nothing in this game is unbeatable. Sometimes, the odds are stacked against you and it's understandable that you will lose. ACCEPT THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN BEFORE YOU BOTHER PLAYING RANKED. If you get in the mindset that "Wow, that's too powerful, it should be changed" then you are NOT going to get better at beating it, even if it is true that it should be changed or not, that doesn't change the fact that you need to be able to beat it just like the other players you see with positive W/L ratios. There is ALWAYS a way to outplay anything that appears overpowered.

3. Try every character. I never thought I'd like Juugo, however I tried him once or twice in STORM 2 and he's been one of my favorite characters ever since. Go with the characters you like first, but then branch out.

4. PRACTICE MODE EXISTS FOR A REASON. They added the CPU option to make it guard AFTER you hit it, meaning you can test to see if a combo works better. It's also good to just practice other things, such as jutsu cancels, testing the range of your attacks, or simply getting the feel or tempo of your character. Spend a LOT of time here practicing everything you can.

For now, that concludes the guide. I'll add more to it as often as I can. Feel free to check out my other works by visiting my Facebook[www.facebook.com] , Twitter, or YouTube page, where I post STORM things randomly.

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=316407005					

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