Melty Blood ReACT (Based on 2.008) V.SION FAQ Version: 1.3 ================= Table of Contents ================= I: About the Author II: Melty Blood ReACT Game system III: V.SION Introduction/Movelist IV: Strategies V: Credits - People who have helped VI: Change Log =================== I: About the Author =================== My name is Sp00ky, and this is my first ever FAQ. I'm a 24 year old Computer Technician based out of New York City. I came in contact with MBR thanks to it's exposure in part by Yukinose (Japan's famous Guilty Gear Bridget player) as well as exposure on Shoryuken.com's forums. (Much love to Linalys, VmanofMana, Master Chibi, Bellreisa, and the rest of the SRK Melty Blood crew.) You can send me feedback on this FAQ at the email address: vmf425@yahoo.com. Make sure the subject is something along the lines of "Your Melty Blood FAQ" or I won't know what you want and may just dump it as Spam. This FAQ is copyright Victor Fontanez 2004 (aka Sp00ky). You are free to use it for any personal purposes. However you may not use it for profit in any way, shape, or form. You also may not post it publicly on any message board or website without my express permission. You may not alter this FAQ whatsoever. These sites currently have my permission to post this FAQ: www.gamefaqs.com www.gamecombos.com www.neoseeker.com www.dlh.net ================================= II: Melty Blood ReACT Game System ================================= ReACT's system is varied. The main features are: Chain combo system: Similar to Guilty Gear's style. You can chain any class of attack into another class as long as you haven't used it yet. Thus weak/medium/strong, or strong/medium/weak. Special moves/EX Moves: Similar to Street Fighter 3, each character has a series of special moves, and many of these have an EX form, which creates a more powerful version of the move at the cost of some Magic Circuit (super meter) Heat/Blood Heat system: While in this mode you can perform Super moves as well as string several EX moves at lowered cost. You may regain some health as well. Shield/Last Arc: You can Shield against attacks (Similar to Parrying in Street Fighter 3.) Shielding while in blood heat can activate a hidden super. This FAQ assumes you already understand the basic concepts of the game system. If you don't you should check out Kalciane's excellent FAQ on Gamefaqs.com ================================= III: V.SION Introduction/Movelist ================================= Sion Eltnam Atlasia is one of the newest characters to join the Tsukihime world. Her first appearance was the original Melty Blood (of which ReACT is just an expansion.) Sion was once an attendee of Atlas Academy, a school for Alchemists. In the world of Tsukihime, this is akin to a magician of sorts. Sion advanced quickly at the academy. With her good looks, calculating attitude, and quick advancement, she found herself feared or hated by her peers. Sion is an extraordinary woman, even for an Alchemist. She has the ability to see the thoughts of others, as well as briefly take control of their minds by using a special filament called "Etherite." (This is what the thin whip she uses in combat is made up of.) The knowledge of how to use Etherite and control minds is a part of her lineage and was passed down by her parents. Sion also has advanced control of her own brain - she can "overclock" her mind to cause thoughts to move swiftly. She can also split her brain's resources to perform up to 7 tasks in parallel. This makes her a dangerous woman, almost like a walking think tank - she can calculate and predict someone's actions hours or even days before he or she actually perform it. Sion, however, is cursed. She was bitten by the Vampire Warakia, and tainted with the Thirst For Blood. In the normal game's storyline, Sion is trying to find a cure for this curse. However, what if Sion becomes too infatuated with her hunger for blood to think logically? This "what if" form of Sion is referred to as Vampire Sion, or just V.Sion for the purposes of this FAQ. If you're curious about V.Sion or Melty Blood React in general, check out my V.Sion combo Video at http://www.combovideos.com/page.php?id=156 You need to register with them to view the video, but registration is quick and painless. For more Melty Blood madness check out Linalys' multiple character video at http://www.combovideos.com/page.php?id=158 or Mad Tea Party's at http://www.combovideos.com/page.php?id=157 ======== Movelist ======== The Following notation will be used in this FAQ: 7 8 9 4 5 6 A B C D 1 2 3 The numbers correspond to joystick directionals where the player is facing RIGHT. A: Weak Attack B: Medium Attack C: Strong Attack D: Shield Thus 236C would be the famous "Fireball Motion" of Quarter Circle Forward, executed with the Strong Attack. ================ Move Description ================ Normal moves: _____________ 5A: A quick side arm jab aimed at the opponent's gut. So-so combo starter, can often be ducked under. Not extremely useful. 5B: V.Sion lifts her knee to the opponent's chest. Probably the best move to use when attacking from her run to punish. Combo filler in other cases. 5C: A 3 hit rushing arm strike with some startup. Good damage, however you can't chain normals from it. High damage filler in some combos, don't toss this out of nowhere too often. 2A: A ducking kick. Fast, great combo starter, decent priority. Short range compared to other 2As, but still her best poke. 2B: A lunging punch while crouching. A bit slow, mostly used as combo filler. 2C: A sweeping arm. High damage, good priority, set up for most of her Juggles. Cancel the recovery with another move if blocked, or you'll be punished. 7/8/9+A: A downward kick. Fast, ok priority. Hard to go into a ground combo after jumping in with this, but it will stuff some anti airs. 7/8/9+B: A jumping overhead arm sweep. I only use this as combo filler. 7/8/9+C: A jumping flip kick. Combo starter, combo filler, so-so air to air. 7/8/9+C(hold C): An alternate version where V.Sion juggles the opponent up. Good setup for combos if you can land it, but landing it is tricky. Command moves: ______________ 6B: An overhead kick. Fairly fast, and easy to combo after if it lands. The window to combo off it is somewhat tricky, practice. 6C (4C follow-up): V.Sion strikes with her whip. If you perform the follow-up, she pulls the opponent's feet out from under them while pulling the whip to return. As of 2.008, you can no longer OTG after this. However, it remains a useful block string for mind games. 3B: V.Sion performs a double-fisted uppercut. This is her 'basic' launcher, and can be combod from a fair amount of moves. Don't take this for granted - it's the best launcher in the game, but still punishable. Throws: _______ B: V.Sion grabs the opponent and flings them in a high arc. You can follow this up if you toss them into the corner, but the timing is VERY tight. Low Damage. c: V.Sion grasps the opponent and performs a jumping kick to the midsection. It places you and the opponent at very unusual positions after it hits, and feels a bit awkward in use. Twice the damage of the B throw (which still isn't much..) Special moves: ______________ --------------------------- 236+ A/B/EX: Cut! (Forward) --------------------------- A version: V.Sion exclaims, "Katto!" While bringing her arm forward. Three "blades" Will shoot from her arm for a short distance ahead of her, slashing the opponent once. This move is punishable even if it hits on the ground. At the very least, the blades persist even if you are hit out of the animation. EX/Super cancelable. B Version: Similar to A version, but hits 3 times and is safe if it hits. The blades still persist, and you can use this move to cancel the recovery of any normals that leave you open to defend yourself. (This particularly applies to 2C and 5C, which are punishable on block) EX/Super Cancelable. C Version [EX]: V.Sion exclaims, "Katto! Katto! Katto! Katto!" While bringing her arm forward. Works similar to the B version, for slightly more damage. Probably her most useless EX move. ------------------------- 623+ A/B/EX: Cut! (Upper) ------------------------- A version: V.Sion exclaims, "Katto!" While bringing her arm upward. Three "blades" Will shoot from her arm for a short distance ahead of her, slashing the opponent once. This juggles if it hits, but doesn't seems possibly to follow up. So-so anti air but I don't recommend it. Blades persist if you're hit. B version: Hits 3 times. This juggles if it hits, and you can in some circumstances follow up with an air combo, though it is hard. A bit slow but can be used as anti air. C version [EX]: V.Sion exclaims, "Katto! Katto! Katto! Katto!" While bringing her arm upward. Three "blades" Will shoot from her arm for a short distance ahead of her, slashing the opponent 5 times. This does good damage, juggles if it hits, and is impossible to breakfall until you hit the ground, making it a great air combo starter or launcher in a long combo. Punishable if blocked. One of her most useful moves. --------------------- 214+ A/B/EX: Etherite --------------------- A Version: V.Sion screeches in a husky voice and extends her coil of Etherite, aiming for the opponent's ankle. If this lands she trips the opponent up. It doesn't seem possible to follow this up, but at least this can hit OTG. B Version: Similar to A, but V.Sion will pull the opponent onto their feet, setting up for a combo depending on distance. This version will NOT hit OTG. Doesn't seem possible to combo INTO this move, lowering its usefulness. C Version[EX]: A mix of the A and B. Hits 4 times for moderate damage, and sets the opponent up for a ground combo. This will hit OTG as well. Extremely key to many of her longer combos. --------------------------- 22 + A/B/C: Illusion Summon --------------------------- A Version: V.Sion coils her Etherite, creating an Illusion of Arcuied. The Illusion will perform Arc's Uppercut. (Typical Dragon punch style move.) It is possible (although hard as hell) to combo after, but this move is fairly slow and easy to punish during it's startup. Use it for mind games, or an EXTREMELY early (psychic) anti air. B Version: V.Sion coils her Etherite as above, summoning an Illusion of Satsuki. Satsuki performs the B version of her rushing slap. Similar startup to above, similar combo ability after. Use it to keep an opponent grounded after wakeup, or for mind games. C Version: V.Sion coils her Etherite (again), this time summoning an Illusion of Akiha. Akiha's Illusion will SLOWLY walk forward a few steps and perform her 6C (a step kick.) This will wallslam if it hits, and can be followed up. You can combo the opponent before Akiha lands her kick, but most likely the opponent will just block. Limited uses as compared to the A/B versions. ---------------------------------- 214 + A/B/EX (Air only): Leg Throw ---------------------------------- A Version: V.Sion dives quickly downward at an almost vertical angle. If she reaches the opponent, she will grab their neck between her ankles and slam them down. This IS blockable. B Version: Similar to above, but with some startup. V.Sion will come down at about a 45 degree angle. And yes, it's still blockable. Use sparingly as a surprise maneuver, or to OTG the opponent. C Version[EX]: Similar to the B version but without startup. If V.Sion grabs the opponent, she will slam them 5 times. You can use 4/6 to guide the slams left or right. V.Sion will end up standing on the side where she performs the last slam. Super Move: Bite: 63214 + C ___________________________ You must be in Heat/Blood Heat to perform V.Sion's super move. Heat: V.Sion yells in a pained voice, and reaches out to grab the opponent. If she connects, she will bite into their neck for good damage, as well as healing a portion of her life. This move is unblockable and has very high priority, however there is a small amount of startup before the super flash. The range is also nearly point blank if you want it to land. Blood Heat: Similar to Heat, but reaches a bit further. It naturally does more damage, and heals more of her lifebar. This can be combod into in certain circumstances, though the scaling is horrendous. Shielding moves: ________________ Shield Bunker: 214 + D ______________________ V.Sion performs a slower version of her 6C. It juggles, and is cancelable if it hits. It's powerful enough to make it practical for countering in the heat of an opponent's combo, though risky. Shield Counters: ________________ To perform V.Sion's shield counters, you must follow up a successful shield with the command 236+D Ground: A string of Cut! Moves, leaving the opponent in a juggle state. It is possible to follow this up. (and indeed, you should!) Air: A modified version of V.Sion's Air C Attack. It juggles up for a follow-up opportunity. Crouch: V.Sion rushes forward and switches up to the opponent's back. Depending on how laggy the move you shielded, you may be able to follow up with a combo. Last Arc: _________ To perform V.Sion's last Arc, perform a successful standing shield while in Blood Heat. V.Sion will coil her Etherite behind her, summoning an illusion of her protector until death, Reez Baife. Together, V.Sion charges the opponent while Reez slams into them with a large weapon dubbed the 'Pile Bunker'. EXTREMELY damaging. You can follow this up with EX Etherite into combo. ============ IV: Strategy ============ V.Sion, while severely weakened by recent patches, still maintains a good crust of her game. Her main focus is on a somewhat brute force method of attack, as well as playing mind games with the opponent to create openings. Mixup Game: ___________ This is the part of her game that sadly, has suffered most. Her old mixup series that would create high damage opportunities now become minor hits for small damage. With this in mind, take a whittling approach to your offense. The idea is to coax your opponent into making a mistake with your minor tough to avoid strings, and then open a can of whoopass when the frustrated opponent leaves a bigger opening. Use: The 6C -> 4C Block string. When you perform a small ground combo that is blocked, try ending the chain with this. It leaves you with a HUGE frame advantage if blocked. (and lands a knockdown/minor damage if unblocked.) Abuse the hell out of this! After the string, there are a few follow-ups that can come in handy. Following up with dash -> throw is REALLY hard to avoid, though it only does minor damage. You can also try dashing up and performing her overhead, which creates a combo opportunity if they fail to block. Summoning Arc (22 + A) will keep them grounded (or score an opening if they jump but fail to block.) Finally, if you landed this point blank and have the opponent trained for your other actions, try a rushing 2+A or 2+C (if they block high looking for the overhead. You can follow this up with EX Etherite.) You can also try just blocking when you've annoyed the opponent sufficiently with this technique, and see if they create an opening for you by using a laggy high priority special. Mix it up. Wakeup: A similar situation to following the 6C-> 4C string. V.Sion's overhead is good if done early enough that they can't hit you during the startup. You can also Summon Arc (22+A) if you predict a jump, or try Summoning Satsuki early (22 + B) to keep the opponent grounded. Throwing a waking opponent can annoy them into making a mistake, which you can punish on their next wakeup with 2+A. (Combo if it hits, perform a string into 6C->4C if it doesn't, to put the opponent back under the mixup radar!) You can also abuse the priority on your HEAT super by landing it on a waking opponent. Finally, once you have trained your opponent with these, walk just outside the opponent's throw range and just BLOCK. It works wonders. Instant Air Dash: V.Sion's air dash isn't spectacular, but you can IAD it on occasion. The best attack to use after IAD is C, as you can easily combo after, and it stuffs some slower anti airs. A has good priority but it's REALLY hard to combo after. Defending yourself: Learn the timing on your opponent's common specials or strings, and its gaps. You can punch through their offense VERY effectively by canceling your block with a well-timed shield bunker -> EX Cut! (upper). Doubly effective are V.Sion's standing shield counter (which also chains into EX Cut! (upper) and Last Arc (which chains to EX Etherite). Landing these can flat out win you the round - they're that good. Details and 'technical information' that don't apply anywhere else: V.Sion's EX Etherite can be canceled during any hit before the 4th. This allows for some interesting links that don't really do much damage, such as EX Etherite -> A Etherite (knocks down) or EX Etherite -> Blood Heat. (horrific damage scaling as a part of a longer combo). Combos ______ V.Sion's combo repertoire is fairly linear, believe it or not. A lot of her moves are easily comboable, but the most damaging combos have a lot of similarities. Primary combo focuses: For jumping attacks, I will use the notation 8. However you may need to use 7, 8, or 9 depending on the combo/your position as relative to your opponent. I'm going to avoid basic stuff like 2C -> Cut! (Forward). This stuff you could figure out after 2 seconds in training mode. I'll mostly try and concentrate on the most efficient combos. First off, V.Sion's Air Chain: (Launcher) -> 8B, 8C, doublejump, 8B, 8C, Air Dash, Air Throw. In any combo where I indicate the "air chain" that means this combo. Note that you COULD toss some As in there, but the new damage scaling makes this often not worth it (You often end up with LESS damage.) Train yourself to follow up 2C with one of three strings based on meter. 3B -> Air Chain 6C -> EX Cut (upper) -> Air Chain (Low meter cost) B Cut! (forward) -> EX Etherite -> extended combo. (Use when you have a lot of meter or are in heat mode) Combos: 5A, 5B, 2B, 2C, 3B, Air Chain. 6B, 2A, 2B, 2C, 3B, Air Chain. (Hits overhead.) 2A, 2B, 2C, 6C, 4C. (This is the typical string to use when being blocked. Follow up with one of your mixups.) 2A, 2B, 2C, 5C, EX Cut! (Upper), 3B, Air Chain. (The timing is a bit tricky on the 3B. This is a typical EX claw launch.) 2A, 2B, 2C, B Cut! (forward), EX Etherite, 2A, 2B, 2C, 5C, EX Cut! (Upper), 3B, Air Chain. (High damage combo, uses up quite a bit of meter, but gains a chunk of it back in the process.) Some spots in this combo have tricky timing. EX Cut! (Upper), 3B, Air Chain. Does MORE damage then the above (much more difficult to perform) combo. Use this as anti-air and catch your opponent by surprise for big damage. Summon Satsuki, Satsuki hits, 3B, Air Chain. (Typical Satsuki follow-up.) Summon Satsuki, 8C(charged), doublejump, 8B, 8C, air dash, air throw. Summon Akiha, Akiha hits, EX Etherite, combo of your choice. (Typical Akiha follow-up) 5C, B Cut! (Forward), EX Cut! (Forward). This is the anti-footsies chain. Fast, good damage and can catch an opponent looking to play footsies by surprise. ========== V. Credits ========== CjayC: Much love for one of the greatest gaming sites in history, Gamefaqs.com. The Shoryuken.com Melty Blood ReACT Crew: I would have never known this game if not for you. ============== VI: Change Log ============== This is FAQ Version 1.3. The Change log follows. 1.3: Updated Authorized Sites list 1.2: More typo fixing and cleanup Updated some strategy information Added information on available combo videos 1.1: Lots of Typo fixing Updated Reez Baife/Last Arc information. (Credit: Linalys) Updated Copyright information Added Throw information (duh...) 1.0: Everything! You can contact me regarding this FAQ at vmf425@yahoo.com. Please make the subject line of your email relevant to the FAQ.