Soulcalibur VI/Haohmaru/Introduction

Introduction

Born into a poor family of vassals to the shogun, Haohmaru grew up with a keen interest in the sword. During his youth, he would often leave home on training journeys to hone his skills. The strikes he can unleash are so formidable that they have inspired tall tales of his strength; some say that when he flies into a rage, he can easily cut down the supernatural, while others whisper that he can slice clean through entire mountains.

Haohmaru brings some aspects of Samurai Showdown with him into Soulcalibur 6, including projectiles, his devastating heavy slash, deflecting the opponent's blade, and even fighting bare-handed. He can even cancel some of his attacks into special attacks, has a Rage function, and unique meter options such as alternate supers and the classic Issen.

Strengths	Weaknesses
Basic High damage Huge range on basic attacks Added offense through Ronin cancels High comeback potential through rage mechanics Good frame advantage on hit; Good spacing on moves on block Good Zoning tools and mid range kit Best backstep in the game Hardly needs combos Good throws	Requires very sound fundamentals Identity is almost entirely as a defensive zoning character Slower than average attacks Terrible wall combos Poor to nonexistent gap closers Unorthodox Without rage, very hard to comeback from life deficit Poor close range tools due to slow buttons Reliant on big reads for big damage

Unique Mechanics

Ronin Cancel

Haohmaru can cancel a variety of his moves, hit or block, into special moves or his unique deflection parry, much like his home franchise. This allows him to remain unpredictable even on block.

Rage

Much like Samurai Showdown, Haohmaru has a Max Rage state that he enters by falling below 30% HP (or by hitting his unique 14-slash-attack Soul Attack). In Max Rage, some of his special moves become powered-up alternate versions, and he gains access to a new critical edge via 6A+B+K.

In Max Rage, he also gains access to a new variant of Soul Charge, Rage Explosion (4[A+B+K]). Rage Explosion gives him all the usual benefits of both Max Rage and Soul Charge with even more damage than a normal soul charge, and it also gives him access to Lightning Blade (RXP 4A+B+K), a very fast super-like attack that deals very high damage. Using Lightning Blade will instantly end Rage Explosion but leave him in soul charge. Haohmaru needs to be careful about Rage Explosion's use, as it is only usable once per match - afterwards, he will no longer have access to Max Rage or Rage Explosion.

See Strategy for a full strategy breakdown.