Soulcalibur VI/Haohmaru/Strategy

Meter Usage|

Critical Edge

At i20 with the range it has, Haohmaru's critical edge seems to be one of the weakest in the game, but the key is the way he can combo into it.

He can do various strengths of CE punish with different starters of different speeds.

i14: aB CE -- 65 damage i16: WR B CE, or just SA combo which does 75+SC i18: 66B CE -- 80 i20: regular CE -- 74

He can also combo into from command throws:

(A+G) 66B CE -- 80 4(A+G) aB CE -- 68

Complimenting throws, 3B CE does 71.

It's also possible to do the pretzel CE input after confirming a 3B or 4(A+G) to add three damage. For 3B, you can use the 3 part of 3B as part of the pretzel. For 4(A+G), wait until the opponent fully switches sides, then do 3 41236 aB 421B+K.

Being able to do 70+ from both a throw and a mid when you have meter makes ending rounds easy, as they are forced to guess right or lose the round.

If you are really good at hit confirming, you can safely fish for 66B CE. A safe opener to 80 damage is not even close to the worst meter option in the game, and Haoh can do even better.

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Soul Charge

Haoh's regular SC at first seems to only excel at whiff punishing and doing gimmicky tracking tornados, but dig a little deeper and you'll find that he has threatening mixup tools for every defensive option the opponent does, through combo routes to 623A+B BT B+K 2B+KB.

-Throws lead to either aB or 66B into 623A+B -4B is an i16 mid CH tool that combos to 2B, which combos to 623A+B -623A/623:A is a tracking high that is a regular move, but on CH it combos to the 623A+B combo -44A is a tracking mid that combos on CH to 623A+B, somewhat CH confirmable -22AB is a fast tracking high that combos to 2B+KB -6A is a middle speed high that combos to 623A+B on CH, though it is a difficult CH confirm -66B+KB is a strong mid that does 14 in chip damage, 20% guard damage, the second hit cannot be GI'd, and can lead to WF on hit confirm -2B+KB similarly is a strong mid with 14 chip, it does 24% guard damage, the string jails, and it knocks down. It also gives 2 slashes -B+K is the least useful as a mid, but its damaging range is longer than the other two, so it can let you place a big damage mid at yet another range.

Additionally, his ronin cancel mixup gets a big boost. -421B/8A+B does 18/14 chip and 14% guard damage, while being 0 on block and beating RE -If you think they'll step, cancelling to 623:A will CH that and combo to 623A+B -Cancelling into 623KBB can also be decent pressure, as there are two places to stop the string, three if you count whether to ronin cancel at all. If 66BK for example hits, you can confirm for the BB. If just 623K CHs, 2B+KB combos for 65

So, the idea is that if you run at them, at any point you are threatening to do 66B into ronin stuff, or you may hit them stepping with 623:A, 22AB, or 44A. If they let you in close, you can do his devastating throw mixup, where if they break the throw they still have to deal with a 623:A/66B/runup throw/66B+KB mixup. AABB can also useful here in catching step quickly, and if AA hits, the BB string ender is a force block, and it can be done after hit confirming AA.

Scary run-in mixups tend to encourage pokeouts and RE from the opponent, so shuffling in and out and baiting this can easily induce a whiff, which you can punish with 623A+B or 66B into 623A+B. Throwing a 236A tornado from a distance can hit people trying to poke out early, as well. 44K on non-LH can combo to aB into 623A+B.

His oki becomes much more devastating and safer since 2B+KB does not result in a recoil, so if you get a knockdown, you can force these mixups constantly. Just remember to run forward after his knockdowns to chase down techers.

His punishment i14 and above also becomes incredible. -aB and 2B combo to 623A+B for 66 and 59, respectively -at i16 and above you can go right into 623A+B for 86

Not so useful SC moves are B+K and 8B+K. B+K -has armor to it, but this does little to help it land. -It only absorbs one hit and usually gives the opponent time to block after an absorb. -It's rare that the absorb will result in a hit, at best it will prevent a CH from some moves. 8B+K -the evasion frames are (TC 12-13) (TJ 16-?), not very useful. Must call out a low or throw far in advance, and if wrong you will be stepped and punished or interrupted.

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Soul Attack

SA is a powerful i16 punish, either doing far more damage than any other SA, or granting Rage without being low health.

The input is 236A+B+K AABBKKABKKKKB+K, but mashing buttons that aren't A+B near the end will do the entire sequence. Completing the sequence does 45 damage, doing it with all the correct buttons adds 3 damage, and hitting all the JFs adds another 3 damage. Either way, hit it and they are sent across the stage, with you in rage and SC (but not RXP).

The sequence is ronin cancellable after the 3rd to last hit (special cancellable). If blocked, this is an opportunity to use A+B/214B or SC 8A+B/421B to do some chip damage and be at +0. On hit, this is an opportunity to ronin cancel into 623A+B BT B+K 2B+KB for 75 damage and better oki than completing the sequence. 623A+B into BT B+K 421B tech traps all on some, and is at least a force block which results in the best oki on hit. The drawback to this combo is that you don't get Rage, so it's up to you to judge whether 30 damage and better oki is worth the Rage.

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Rage

Rage is entered by having your health bar drop below the tick mark or by completing Soul Attack on hit without ronin cancelling after the 3rd to last hit.

The bonuses favor whiff punishment and mixups with throws, as well as providing bonuses to normal attacks. However, you are usually low health when in rage, so if you are wrong on the mixups or fail a whiff punish, you could lose the round.

623B/2A+B with Lethal Hit on whiff punishment. Combo followup is 623KK 623B or just 623B for ease of use. At i18 it's able to whiff punish 2As with good reactions. The frame 4 TC on this move also makes it a tempting risk to take. In either case, the easy input makes it easier to do reactive whiff punishes or step-TC.

623K gets a safe K extension which adds damage and creates hesitation from punishing the first K. This makes 66BKK another great whiff punisher, though doing a bit less than a LH 2A+B. The second hit can be made unsteppable by spacing the 623K or 66BK so that the K connects late, giving less time between the blockstun and the second K. The first hit remains steppable and both hits are GIable, so mixing up the ronin cancel to 214K, 623:A, or 214B is needed.

To compliment 66BKK as the mid part of the mixup, command throws will combo to 66BKK. (A+G) 66BKK and 4(A+G) aB 623KK are the combos.

Rage makes 66B do 67, (A+G) do 67, and 4(A+G) do 58, allowing for easy meterless round ending mixups.

Punishment improves with opportunity to aB 623KK for i14, or with meter at i14, 236B+K for 65 damage.

Lastly, in Rage, holding SC causes a Rage Explode.

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Rage Explode

Rage Explode gives a damage boost to all attacks and the addition of some very strong tools, at the expense of not being able to enter Rage for the rest of the game.

Rage Explode grants access to both Rage and SC moves, as well as unique moves Issen (4A+B+K), 6B+K A+G, and a further extended 623KBBB string.

Issen is i14, reaches a very long distance, and combos out of throws and any ronin cancel on hit. After usage, you lose Rage and Rage Explode but retain SC. Its damage depends on how much SC time you have left. When SC time gets below 27%, comboing to Issen is less favorable than comboing to 623A+B, which will do extra damage from the Rage Explode bonus.

So, it's a race against time to make use of the Issen, putting pressure on the opponent to stall you. However, all methods of stalling are vulnerable.

If the opponent is hit by the Rage 4(A+B+K) RXP SC blast, they are at -8 from a distance, an immediate Issen will CH their movement for maximum Issen damage. Knowledgable opponents will then want to stand still and block and punish this if it comes, as Issen is very unsafe.

Standing still leaves them open to command throws, which combo right into Issen. Any pokeout or RE to avoid a mixup leaves them open to being baited into an Issen whiff punish. SC too can be baited with movement and exploited by running in for a mixup.

Another option for RXP offense is to use WF. WF A+G is a 70 damage unbreakable throw.

Notice we lack safe options that lead to Issen on ducking. We could instead use the standard SC mids, or go for a 3B, but by the end of the game, where you should be using RXP, you also are likely to have one or two of the slash LHs available. With three heavy slashes landed, you have access to a LH mid, WF BA, and with five slashes, 66B 236B which jails and is safe and LHs.

66BKBBB is similar in usage to 66KBB in regular SC, and can be used as the mid part of the mixup as well, as you can hit confirm the 66B after the K hits.

If you're really good at hit confirming, Issen is possible off any ronin cancellable move except 44A NH.

Issen damage by SC time left (roughly): 100%-72%: 98 72%-50%: 86 50%-27%: 74 27%-17%: 62 17%-0%: 50

Example Issen combos (damage is for 100%-72% time): (A+G) 66B 4A+B+K (102) 4(A+G) 4A+B+K (101) 66B/WR B/2B 4A+B+K (102/95/75) 3B/22B 4A+B+K (91/88) 44K 4A+B+K (102) CH 4B 4A+B+K (97) CH 22AB/623:A 4A+B+K (93/89) CH 44A 4A+B+K (117) 236A 4A+B+K (90) LH WF BA 4A+B+K (117)