Overview
Hello,The purpose of this post is to share a tutorial on some of the advanced combat mechanics found within the closed beta. As this is based on beta content please be aware many notes will change over time.
Advanced Technique Control References for Guide (Based on PS4 Controller):
(L2 + Direction) = Power Fly in Direction “Not Advanced just here for comparason”
(L2 + Snap Direction or Hold L2, then Direction) = Dash Step “Seems useless but isnt”
(L2 + Snap Direction or Hold L2 Snap Direction), While Taping X) = Vanish Stepping
Stanima Breaking Techniques
(Snap Direction + Square) = Snap Stamina Break Medium
(Snap Direction + Triangle) = Snap Stamina Break Heavy
I strongly recommend practicing each of the navigation abilities and stamina break attacks untill you get the hang of using them on demand before moving forward on this guide.
Defensive Strategies
Now that we have covered the core mechanics that will be used in this guide lets talk about how we can use them in practice.
Vanish Stepping
During the beta I have found in XV2 Vanish Stepping to be the ultimate defensive ability, providing you with very gracious invisibility frames as well as filling your opponent with fear and confusion. Vanish Stepping has even proved itself as a stamina free way to avoid massive ki blast spam, ultimate attacks, and even surviving attacks from a giant super namek in the tiny world tournament stage buying you the neccessary time and distance to release your ultimate attack and finish them off.. it can also be used offensivly to close in on opponents that are spamming ki attacks safely and effectively.
As of the current state of the game it can however be abused to win matches on timer with the only real counter being rush attacks (Square + X, X) followed by another vanish after knock back to punish with combo, and possibly stamina break (more on stamina breaking on offensive strategies)
Counter Attacking
Often you will find yourself against a talented oponent who knows how to deal with standard counter vanishes (Tap X While being Hit or Tap X While Blocking to use 2 or 1 stamina to escape and go behind opponent). When it comes to opponents who know how to deal with counter vanishes they snap in the direction behind them and continue their ferocious attack, this usually leads to you expending all your stamina while continuing to take a beating.
So like they say a good offense is a good defense, lets modify your instinctive behaviour and change your input here are your options when fighting an advanced opponent.
After Being Hit and Teleporting Behind your Oponent Do one of the following:
1. Use a Step Vanish backwards and then to the side and forward and begin your counter attack.
2. Step Vanish to the side and initiate a Grab, Hold Circle and release after the grab animation to unleash a Ki Blast Barrage.
3. Step Vanish Backwards and unleash a Super/Ultimate (Only good if opponent stamina is below 2 bars) Opponent must be trying to attack you after your initial vanish for this to work.
4. Use a Dash Step to the side and begin your combo or set yourself up for a perfect block.
Remember this tactic will work against most good players however some more advanced players may adapt to your tactics and begin also step vanishing when you vanish behind them to avoid dealing with this interrupt, when this happens it typically becomes a battle of predicting where your opponent is step vanishing to and properly attacking with your direction tilted where the opponent is step vanishing too, while this is tricky players often have a habbit of repeating patterns such as left,right, back, right, left, etc and its your role to identify their pattern by early in the fight forcing them into those positions.
Offensive Strategies
Here we try to look at some best practices and application of using advanced mechanics in your online encounters.
Stamina Breaking
Snaping a direction and melee attack will lead to a stamina break attack different than the one acheived by holding down heavy attack(triangle) which is used for breaking blocks rather than open stamina breaking.
The snap stamina break abilities are a double edged sword as if you land one it will break your opponents stamina compleatly however if you miss it will leave you open for a few seconds meaning you could take punishment or even worse your opponent may break your stamina instead which if this happens essentially means you could lose an entire bar of health or more depending who you fight.
Currently I have found some of the best ways to land stamina breaks are to plan when you will use it, as it is a change of tactics it is also a very powerful tool to throw off your opponent and give you that neccessary edge to turn a losing fight into a victory.
The way I have found success using stamina breaks in online matches is to force an opponent down below 1 bar of stamina and then mid combo stop tapping attack and instead input the snap attack cancelling my combo into a stamina break.
Using this model you opponent has very limited methods of escape as they lack the stamina to vanish of your attacks…
Now the reason why unpredictability is so important is because your opponent can actually still escape and possibly even counter and break your stamina!! Danger!!
If your opponent is aware that you are working towards stamina breaking then he can modify his inputs to incorporate a step dash or step snap vanish while your combo pauses into a stamina break if this is the case then you will be wide open and in a position to take serious punishment.. if not then you may have won the match.
Conclusion & Video
This document is still built on testing done within the beta and will be updated as new mechanics and strategies are discovered.
As anything all the above is subject to change and is truly in the hands of the developer.
For the time being I hope this guide is helpful to those looking to improve their skills and acheive their next level of success in PVP.
Below is a video for your reference incorporating these mechanics into actual gameplay.