Summary
Oldseph is not a very strong character overall and most fights while using him will feel like an uphill battle. As a player, Oldseph will demand very tight defense with having a very strong grasp of the games defensive mechanics to create gaps in your opponent's pressure or just outright killing momentum with both of his guard cancels (mostly the Stand ON version) as well as solid execution in order to assure that you combo into his command grab as consistently as possible! Utilizing his unique "running" dashes will also carry you far as most of his normals performed out of running boast long active frames & increased hitstun which make them rather easy to hit confirm out of; allowing for some crafty ways to punish your opponent for giving poor chase.
Spacing and Approach
Spacing is extremely important with Old Joseph. You won't find much or any success playing Oldseph as a purely rushdown or zoning character. Old Joseph doesn’t exactly excel up close and is borderline useless from far away. Managing to stay in a comfortable range where you're able to poke the enemy when needed while also being able to properly defend yourself is generally the best way to position yourself. Playing methodically and patiently is key. That's not to say Oldseph can't approach the enemy for combo/damage opportunities, but you must know when you're able to do so. Playing within your effective range and maintaining it is a skill you will learn over time.
Known for his poor options, you can't deny Oldseph was quite cursed in movement. Still, the unique way his dashing normals work, the bulky normals, and run, will surely surprise most people. Since it is instantly cancellable by simply letting go of the directional button or crouching, running can be quite non-committing and lets you get out of some bad spots pretty easily. Along with switching to Stand ON also stopping dash momentum and opening up different options for the footsies, you'll find this character to have oddly more effective range than you'd think (still, don't get too impressed, it's still not good). Keep in mind to turn Stand OFF while crouching, as doing it standing will enter an uncancellable animation which might put you in a bad spot.
Nullifying the opponent’s attempts at closing space is important. The most exemplary normals in this field are his 5B, 66/44B, 236A/B, 2/3B/C, s.5C, s.2C, 2C, s.j.A, and J.C. Chances are, you’ll be using 5B and 66/44B the most, since they cover a good amount of space, have quick startups, have the most hitstun, and generally are the most applicable. J.C is also to be noted, acting as a strong air to air. 236A/B covers a great amount of space, but is less safe, especially if the opponent predicts that you’re going to do it.
As for Oldseph’s approach options, many of the aforementioned normals also apply. Excluding 3C, all of these can be hitconfirmed from into a full combo. His primary approach options are listed below. Keep in mind to be careful with its use, but s.236C is still an important tool. During your approach (or a long-range dashing retaliation) you can trick your opponent into getting caught by the Hermit through cancelling your slide/dashing normal into s.236C or 236S>s.236C from Stand OFF which can be done very quickly by buffering 236 2S 36C. Even without buffering a normal, opponents have to be wary of this move. You can also simply turn Stand ON and instantly do it. It applies to all active/weapon Stand characters, but even if you are in one Stand mode, your other mode's moves are available with just one button press, so don't panic and consider everything thoroughly!
Anti-Airs and Air-To-Airs
As previously mentioned, nullifying the opponent’s attempts at closing space is important, and that includes the opponent’s jump-ins. Listed below are Oldseph’s primary anti-air and air-to-air options.
5B: Quick and covers good space. Can sometimes be comboed into 236A/B mid-air.
66/44B: Very similar to 5B, with the primary difference being that it advances the player forwards. Can also be comboed into 236A/B.
J.C: Although it’s a jumping normal, Oldseph’s J.C works well as an anti-air. Notably, the short hop version of J.C. If J.C hits a grounded opponent, you have a plethora of combo options available.
236A/B/C: While covering a good amount of space, it can be punished if whiffed. The C version should be used even more sparingly due to the long start-up but it is much safer on (push)block.
s.5B and its dashing version: Good reach and disjointed, though hits lower to the ground compared to some of the other options, so better use it late into a jump and from farther away.
S.5C: Fairly quick and covers decent space. Can be comboed into S.236AA farther than you might think at first.
214S S.214A/B/C: While technically one of his best anti-airs since it’s air-unblockable, it comes with the downside of requiring one meter. S.214A/B/C can also be used, but without the benefits that come from 214S. Generally recommended avoiding using this option unless you really need to ensure the hit and/or the damage.
Oldseph’s best air-to-air is his S.J.A because of the hitbox covering a not too big but still wide area and it has good active frames and start-up, making it good used early. S.J.B/C can also be used as air-to-airs but are worse due to their overall smaller hitboxes.
Okizeme
While not the greatest in the game by any means, Oldseph's okizeme options do exist and you will find use out of them. Below you’ll find some of Oldseph’s most common okizeme options.
(Important note: if you do an attack as a meaty like 3B or 663A/B, you won't be able to extend any combo afterwards with S.236A/B/C. This is because you’re not able to combo into hitgrabs or command grabs off of meaties, so end your custom combo with 214A/B/C.)
Oldseph’s most notable okizeme option is meaty 3B. This is because Oldseph can cancel into his unblockable command grab at any point during 3B. You do this just before it connects with the opponent on their wake-up. This forces the opponent to make a split-second decision. Either block to avoid the 3B or hold up to avoid the command grab. If the opponent blocks, they risk being caught by the command grab; if they hold up to avoid the command grab, they risk being hit by the 3B. If the 3B hits, you can hitconfirm into 236A/B or 214S (the 214S ending with S.214A/B/C can actually do more damage than the command grab).
Oldseph can also meaty with 663A/441A. The same command grab / meaty mixup applies here, but this move can be comboed into itself and other attacks like 66/44B and 3B from a meaty hit if timed correctly. Other dashing normals like 66/44B, s.66/44B, s.663/441B, 66/44A also work in the same way, but you should learn if they hit specific crouching characters to use them. Unlike 663/441A, meaty 66/44B does not combo into other normals, but it may be easier to combo from raw, unlike the prior's links to other normals. I mention s.66/44B and s.663/441B because it's important to note that Stand ON 360 does more damage, though they are harder to hitconfirm into a custom combo. s.663/441A, s.66/44A are not cancellable so don't bother with them. Neither is s.663/441C and it is also much more unsafe. And Stand OFF 663/441C is just outclassed by 3C, 3B and its dashing version + the Stand ON variants.
If you don't have meter or don't want to use it but want to go into a repeated knockdown, mix between command grab and 3C. Many players would rather avoid the damage and easy oki from 360, so they'll opt to jump most of the time. Constantly knocking them down with 3C uses no resource unlike a custom combo, so they'll have to start blocking eventually, which is where the command grab comes in.
You may also want to consider doing standing 360s without the use of a normal to buffer it. Your opponent is more likely to figure out what you're trying to do if you buffer the 360 out of a normal. If they think you're going to 360 on their wakeup (made more obvious by buffering) they can hold 8 and whiff punish accordingly. You can make the opponent think you're going to 360 on their wakeup by doing moves such as 3B or S.5C and instead hit them during their jump with S.5C, which can combo into S.236AA. It's all about the mind games. A good option into repeated knockdown with the aforementioned concept is to mix between 360 and s.2A>s.5B>s.3C, which still gives enough time for another 50/50 and does more damage than 3C.
Another option is whiffing S.6C during the opponent’s wakeup to try and condition them to block high, and then hitting them low with S.2A. S.2A can then be confirmed into S.5A S.3C, S.5A S.5B 214S, or similar. Don’t rely on this, though; the opponent will likely adapt to this quickly.
You can also cross the opponent up with 66C or other normals as demonstrated here and here. Your timings will vary depending on the character you attempt these on.
Corner-specific: You might want to consider using chained s.6C, since it is plus enough on hit (unlike the punishable raw version) to combo into s.5A then into a full combo. It's still not too reliable because of the lack of active frames making it risky and the tight link to s.5A. And if the opponent knows this and react to the chain before it, they could see it coming. You might be able to mask this by chaining into s.3C instead or ending the chain and doing something else, though it may not be worth the reward compared to the risk and effort to do it.
