Score Attack Guide - Guide for BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger

Score Attack Version 1.11

Table of Contents
[1.1].............................................Patch Notes
[1.2].............................................My Beliefs
[1.3].............................................Things to Know
[1.4].............................................Match Ups
[1.4.1]...........................................Bang Shishigami
[1.4.2]...........................................Taokaka
[1.4.3]...........................................Iron Tager
[1.4.4]...........................................Carl Clover
[1.4.5]...........................................Noel Vermillion
[1.4.6]...........................................Arakune
[1.4.7]...........................................Litchi Faye-Ling
[1.4.8]...........................................Jin Kisaragi
[1.4.9]...........................................Fore Word
[1.4.10]..........................................Unlimited Rachel Alucard
[1.4.11]..........................................Unlimited Hakumen
[1.4.12]..........................................Unlimited v-13 (Nu)
[1.4.13]..........................................Unlimited Ragna the Bloodedge
[1.5].............................................Appendix
[1.6].............................................Credits

[1.1] Patch Notes

Version 1.0 - First Version of the Guide is born. The incomplete form of the
guide based mostly on personal experience in the Score Attack mode.
Version 1.01 - Minor Formatting problems fixed.
Version 1.1 - Added contact information so people can contribute and more
minor formatting fixes. Also inserted more input information and put in a key
to interpreting them.
Version 1.1 - Minor tweaks, added in some more notations, including how to
break Jin's freezes if anyone didn't know.

[1.2] My Beliefs

1) Choosing Jin is not the only way to complete Score Attack. 

I want to emphasize this.

While I personally find the act of choosing a character simply to make doing
this task easier disdainful, I can understand if your frustrations force you
to such an act. I wanted to get better with Ragna, and one measurement of how
far I’ve come is my ability to go through score attack slowly yet surely. When
I began I couldn’t even beat Bang, I had no concept of the tactics required.
At the time this project began, I have come far enough to reliably reach
Rachel.

2) Patience is more than a virtue, its necessary.

This is a frustrating and hard mode. Hell Difficulty cannot prepare you for
the constant nut punch that is the Score Attack mode. You cannot get anxious,
nor can you get frustrated, both can easily see your life total slide to 0 and
a double loss kicking you back to the bottom. I can teach you the tips I have
learned in playing this mode, but you cannot make use of them, until you have
the patience to see it through. No guide can work if the player cannot be
patient enough to work on what is being taught.

3) You will fail, a lot.

This is not a questionable fact. Even those who try this with Jin and using
the ice car method to blitz down opponents will fail. It happens, you need to
accept these failures and learn from them. Learn what moves your opponent used
to counter them, how the computer reacts, and furthermore, how to punish those
actions. I won’t be showing you a cheap and easy trick that you can spam
repeatedly, I will be showing you how the AI functions, what logic it uses,
and how to create a logic loop that can be punished and abused. Thus far I can
reliably loop one AI, Tager, but it’s a start, and perhaps in pointing out
where the AI loops occur, others can be found.

Now, onto the meat of my guide!

[1.3] Things to Know

1) I will make references to moves and show you their inputs in order to help
you recreate them in Training mode. This allows you to recognize them at
least when fighting agianst the characters. It also reminds other players how
difficult it can be to fight these characters as these inputs are input
flawlessly.

789
456
123

These numbers correspond with the position the stick needs to be put in to
perform the necessary move. So a quarter circle (90 degrees) forward is
denoted as 236. Knowledge of the inputs is mainly academic. For Sake of ease
A twin circle around the stick or single circle will be denoted by their
degrees. (720+ and 360+ respectively)

2) Learn how the revolver combo system works.

Its one of the simplest things in this game to understand, but requires you
spend in depth time to learn how the moves function. The revolver system is
set up much like the speed system in Yu-Gi-Oh. (Yes, I know, but it’s an apt
comparison, give me a chance.) You can link together moves in seamless combo
strings; the important thing to note is that when you move along in a combo,
you cannot go back. What I mean is this:

Weak -> Medium -> Strong -> Drive

This is how the revolver works, when one move is put into the "chamber" the
combo is locked in at that level. You cannot go down a level. For example, if
Ragna throws out a quick jab, then his basic medium attack, (5B) he has locked
himself into medium strength attacks. Any weak attack will allow your opponent
a chance to escape and okemi out of his attacks. There are few exceptions to
this rule, so it’s easier to just learn it like this, and then figure out how
your character breaks these rules.

What this also means, is that at any time, you can cancel any move into a
special move. This means that moves that may be punishable normally can be
salvaged from being harmed simply by canceling into a special move. Ragna is
notorious for doing this with Infernal Divider or Blood Kain, which gives him
frames of invincibility.

3) Learn what Rapid Cancel means.

This goes above and beyond how to perform these moves. Rapid Cancel is the act
of giving yourself frames of advantage over your opponent. For example Jin
Kisaragi can ice car across the screen. If he does this too often, his
opponents will know to block and punish this tactic. A good Jin Player knows
that a well timed rapid cancel of the ice car, will net him a few frames where
the opponent is stuck blocking. Because the opponent hasn’t reacted to him
stopping the move short, Jin can now throw or stagger an attack for the
inevitable counterstrike.

4) Counter Assault can be a life saver.

Counter Assault is pressing A+B and forward while locked in block stun. Block
stun is the frames of blocking that your character is forced to perform when a
move connects. Let’s say that a move hits Ragna who blocks, Ragna must
continue blocking for 4 more frames. If the stick is not held back Ragna will
stop blocking, four frames after the move ends. During those four frames, a
counter assault can be initiated simply by pressing forward with the A and B
buttons. Everyone’s counterassault is different. For Ragna it looks like his
neutral medium attack, and it may be possible to initiate combos off it as if
it WERE the medium attack.

5) The computer will use Distortion Drives and Throws like they’re going out
of Style.

That’s right; the computer has no qualms about using Distortion drives, and
will do so if they think it puts them at any advantage. This is perhaps what
sets them above the Hell Difficulty the most, their ability to use Drives when
we as players would feel appropriate. Be careful as the computer may even
teach you a thing or two about how to use drives. I know I found out more
about Noel during score attack, than I ever cared to learn in Ranked Matches.

Throws are often tacked on against blocking enemies. Expect them to show up
often, and not just against Tager. Bang, Noel, and Arakune are notorious for
throwing when able.

6) Score Attack has the following set pattern of foes for you to defeat.

Next to their names are the difficulty I ascribe to these characters.
1.	Bang Shishigami (Easy)
2.	Taokaka (Easy)
3.	Iron Tager (Medium)
4.	Carl Clover (Medium)
5.	Noel Vermillion (Medium)
6.	Arakune (Medium)
7.	Litchi Faye-Ling (Medium)
8.	Jin Kisaragi (Medium)
9.	Unlimited Rachel Alucard (Hard)
10.	Unlimited Hakumen (Medium)
11.	Unlimited v-13 (Nu) (Medium)
12.	Unlimited Ragna the Bloodedge (Hard)

[1.4] Match Ups

[1.4.1]........................................................Bang Shishigami

Bang Shishigami is a ninja character, and because of this relies on his speed
to carry him through the day. In a straight up fight, Bang loses every time,
and so Bang will avoid this at all costs. While he is by far the manliest man
of the cast, he also has one of the highest hit point totals in the game. This
leads to a situation where you have to wear him down slowly then burst for the
last bits of health. The Key to defeating Bang is to keep these things in mind:

1) Bang will rarely use the Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan(214214D). His preferred drives are
the Steel Rain(214214B) and Fatal Eruption(23663214C).

2) You cannot perform any kind of attack into Fatal Eruption(23663214C). He has
limited invincibility to all but one attack type, throws. If he rushes you,
you CAN throw him.

3) The easier method and one less likely to leave you frustrated on timing, is
to merely block Fatal Eruption(23663214C) and punish accordingly.

4) Bang loves Burning Heart (D) with a passion. He will counter your attacks Ad
Nauseum, be careful, and don’t let this happen to you too often. Keep in mind
though; it’s more that he’s getting free hits off, than any worry about the Fu-
Rin-Ka-Zan. 

5) Moves blocked by Burning Heart (D) will not move the Guard Libris Gauge.
This makes it hard to guard crush Bang, so I would not recommend relying on it
with the frequency that Bang activates Burning Heart.

6) With this in mind, you CAN punish Burning Heart (D) by staggering your
attacks. Once he feels your attack chain is over he begins to move into his
attack, and during this time, a well timed second hit can punish him. However,
he will keep blocking moves until there is at least half a second where there
is not attacks coming in, you have to stagger them specifically to abuse this
tendency.

7) Bang takes to the air often, punish this tendency with a nice anti-air move.

[1.4.2]................................................................Taokaka

Taokaka is all speed no defense. A few well placed combos can burn down
Taokaka easily. The problem is in placing those combos. Taokaka literally
plays a game of cat and mouse with you, jumping about the screen to both get
away, and dive right into you. Also, Taokaka has a tendency to hit low as a
mix up, solely to annoy and break defensive blocking. There are two ways to
fight Tao. Learn her combos and when you can safely counterattack. Or attempt
to be on the defensive and counter attack.

NOTE: Taokaka has a tendency to be in the air, and upon hitting her will
always hit the ground before continuing her assault. While uncertain if this
is an AI logic fault, you can punish this by starting a combo for when she
hits the ground.

1) Taokaka is constantly in the air. Any move that has Head Invulnerability or
frames of invincibility on startup is excellent choices to punish the ADHD
kitten.

2) When Taokaka crouches she can easily duck under a myriad of moves. Only low
attacks will hit her when she’s that low and even Nu’s infamous Legacy Edge
(236236D) will miss the Kitten if she’s crawling towards you. While she seldom
travels when down low, keep in mind her duck gives her the ability to go under
a lot of attacks.

3) Taokaka has a habit of throwing things across the screen(214A, B, or C)
then either activating Hexa Edge or drive tackling into you. If you can dash
under the thrown item you can hurt her before she uses the item to catch you
off guard.

4) Taokaka is also known to abuse "I’mma beat the Crap outta you!"(214214C)
This maneuver is a tough nut to crack as being on the ground at all during the
maneuver can end in you getting pounced. The priority on this Drive makes it
favorable against the field, working against moves like Carnage Scissors. Keep
in mind this move is NOT a throw. It is a hit and should be treated as such.

5) While rare she has activated Almost Becoming Two (236236B), and while in
this mode becomes a monstrous threat. Her damage output equals easily that of
Ragna or Tager when she’s allowed to start accumulating hits on you. Your best
bet is to just barrier block and hope you can weather much of the storm. If you
feel risky you can try to mount an offensive and whittle away her time in this
mode.

[1.4.3] ............................................................Iron Tager

Tager is pretty much the tank character of this fighting game. Every fighting
game has the character that does massive damage and can take massive damage.
Tager’s weak points are his speed and the fact he relies heavily on throws.
He does however have all the health in the world to wait you out. A turtle
Tager can be the most frustrating matchup in the game, as he has a lengthy
negative warning timer. Luckily, this Tager will come out to fight and say
hello.

1) Learn to break throws. Learn to break green ones, learn to break purple
ones, but learn this skill! While certain moves cannot have their throws broken
in certain cases (Genesic Emerald Tager Buster when performed outside a combo)
being able to react to the throw and breaking it saves you a headache down the
road.

2) AI Logic Loops: Tager has a huge one easy to exploit. Anytime you are more
than halfway across the screen, Tager will perform his 2D in an effort to
connect and magnetize you. Using this to your advantage standing roughly more
than three quarters across the screen will see him end the maneuver right next
to you, and during cool down be punishable with any combo you see fit.

3) Never, EVER dash into Tager. Doing so will result in a back dash Tager
Buster(360+A or B). 

4) Tager will begin to go into overtime the second you are magnetized. Avoid
this at all costs as the AI program is on the low setting until magnetism
happens. Once it goes into overdrive, you can expect a Magnatech Wheel(236236D)
or GETB(720+C) the first chance he gets.

5) Expect Tager to Spark Bolt (63214D) the first opening it gets. This is an
automatic Magnetism and an invitation for Tager to kick the AI into overdrive
mode. If you can beat him before that happens, it’s for the best. While not a
"hard" timer, it does indeed make the match harder to fight as he WILL draw you
into moves for MASSIVE SOVIET DAMAGE. (Obligatory Mike Z reference complete.)

[1.4.4]............................................................Carl Clover

Carl can be one of the most frustrating fights of your life if you aren’t
careful. The strategies for fighting him go almost hand in hand with the
strategies for fighting him online. With one huge exception no Clap Loop(1),
he will fight you on as uneven a facing as possible. Remember this and keep it
in mind when fighting him and you should have few problems.

1) Carl will use Nirvana a lot, but you can largely ignore the puppet if you
use one important fact: If you so much as TOUCH Carl (even on block) Nirvana
will deactivate. This pretty much demands you to stay atop him to keep this
from becoming a 2-1.

2) Carl is fond of using a cross up to set you up for a number of attacks. His
favorite is to jump and hit you with the knight on the way behind you. He also
will tend to pogo off you and do it multiple times if possible. I’ve seen him
pogo up to two times before abandoning it.

3) Watch out for Laetabilis Cantata, (632146C) or his huge gear drive. He has a
habit of dropping it on you if you are putting too much pressure on him.

4) That said Rhapsody of Memory(236236D) is used when he is near the doll and 
so are you. Expect to get guard broken if this happens.

5) Carl’s command dash Vivace (236A or B) gives him invincibility. Be wary of
it as use of the wrong move during it will result in a punishment. He often
uses it as a cross up as well.

[1.4.5]........................................................Noel Vermillion

Noel is a very odd character. With a mix of melee and ranged attacks it gets
hard to pin her down. Zone her and get hit by an optic barrel. Get in too
close and expect a drive chain that leaves you backing off from her, and with
considerably less health. In a way she can play as Maxi (from Soul Caliber), as
button mashing with Noel can produce results that look impressive, even if her
player doesn’t know how it happened. (Not knocking on Noel, just drawing a
parallel.)

1) Noel will never use her Anti air attacks. While she is by far the safest
person against them, the computer AI seems to forget her anti air defense
exists. Abuse this oversight.

2) Noel will often use Fenris if you allow her too much time on the ground.
She does however switch to Thor when you keep her aloft or go airborne. Learn
which one will be used to counter your style, and more importantly where the
opening are. I have seen a Fu Rin Ka Zanned Bang accidentally run into Thor’s
final hit (the missile) because they thought they could dash up to her. Also
remember, Fenris only does the follow up strike (strike 18 of the combo) if
the first strike (the animation is noel pulling out her gun) connects. If all
she has done is shot you, you are somewhat safe as she won’t pull the final
blow.

3) Noel also is a chain revolver drive spamming hippy. The problem is, unlike
the newer players online, she knows how to time the drive spam so her
invulnerability frames are when you really wanted to attack her. She will
shamelessly also use strike through to cross up if you block or are out of
range of the initial hits.

4) While she rarely uses it, 5C > 6C (when she throws her gun out) is
horrendously notorious for giving Noel Frame disadvantage. The only way I’ve
seen this move not get punished severely is to strike through cancel the end
of that move. Because the computer will rarely strike through after the 6C
abuse the hell out of this flashy yet stupidly abusable maneuver.

5) Noel is also throw happy, using Muzzle Flitter (214A) to get in close if you
tend to shut down her offensives. Be wary of this maneuver and duck if you see
it coming.

[1.4.6]................................................................Arakune
Arakune is this games version of Faust. That means to say that his moves are
very awkward to figure out counters to and the fact that the character is
creepy to begin with puts most people fighting him ill at ease. This mental
block makes it hard to fight him, and the fact that his moves are very
beginner friendly doesn’t help either. Once you get used to that it’s still
hard to beat Arakune because of his Curse drives. Don’t get me wrong, he’s
punishable once you get in, but as anyone who’s played Rank Matches more than
a month can tell you, that’s a rather big IF.

1) Logic Fault confirmed: Arakune has a bad habit of teleporting right behind
characters at match start in order to throw them. Its stupid, and you’d think
he’d learn, but there it is. If you start up your matches with 5A jabs
repeatedly, not only will you catch him, but open him up to other combos as
well. (I often play the alphabet game and go ABCD>214B>214D myself, but then
again I am a newb.) To create the logic, merely stay put and wait for him to 
sink into the ground, then begin mashing on A. He will rise up into your 
attacks.

2) Much like Tager, Arakune’s AI logic is waiting for you to be cursed before
it kicks up its difficulty. Once you realize this, you have an easier time
fighting him, as you can bait his moves that curse. Just be wary as he relies
overly much on clouds, and this is unfortunately a good habit for the crazy
psycho. Avoid getting cursed for long periods of time, and you can avoid
combos that abuse the Super Bee.

3) Arakune also loves taking to the air. He is unfortunately also good at
blocking your attacks. Because of his low defense you need to be patient, keep
poking him and once you confirm a hit, combo the every loving crud out of this
sack of insects.

4) F-Inverse (236236C) is hard to punish. If you block one hit of F-Inverse
you do however become somewhat invulnerable to the other hits. However, you
will rarely get the chance to block one of those hits. If you can avoid
getting grabbed F-Inverse does crap damage for the effort required. However,
if you do, you are going to see just how damage proration works in this game as
he will do much damage to you.

5) F of G (214214D Mid Air only) is IMPOSSIBLE TO BLOCK. If you are on the
ground when this attack goes off, you will get hurt and possibly lose the
fight. While he tends to rely on F-inverse, F of G does get thrown out
occasionally. If he is in the air and you see the distortion flash, jump. You
may be too late to stop damage, but it’s worth a chance.

6) Watch out for D bug! (When Arakune releases D during a curse state.) This is
often referred to as Super Bee, and is the bug that comes down then back up.
While his bugs do good damage, this one is capable of multiple hits that can
deal massive damage. (And woe to you if it hits during F-Inverse, that’s just
a world of pain I’m not ready to describe).

[1.4.7].......................................................Litchi Faye-Ling

Litchi is by far the combo queen of Blazblue. Unlike Nu who is really four or
five hits multiplied by five and called a combo, Litchi works to up her combo
gauge. A good Litchi player will combo you, and then summons her staff back to
continue the combo while you are in cool down. This means that no matter what
you do, if Litchi is active for even a frame, she can call back Mantenbo and
potentially ruin a combo in the making. Be wary of the stick and further of
her combo prowess. You are literally dancing a razor’s edge against her.

1) Litchi Faye Ling abuses Thirteen Orphans and All Green. Thirteen Orphans is
the more manageable of the two, as it is straightforward. However, being
farther from Litchi makes this attack all the more bearable as she will throw
you into her staff to kill you if you are too close. All Green is used mainly
when you are the proper distance from her, and she staff is not in a good
position to connect. Great Wheel is used occasionally when she is putting
pressure down, but as it only hits a few times before coming down on your
position is easier to dodge. Essentially Thirteen Oprhans is used when she
needs to create pressure and her staff is placed. Great Wheel is used to
continue pressure with her staff or once she has called it back and she would
have Thirteen Orphaned. 

2) Litchi is actually far more dangerous without her staff, than with it. Do
not expect to have an easier time just because she threw her weapon away. You
have to stay atop her, because if you give her a chance to recover and do
anything, she will begin a combo that easily will stretch to 12 or 13 hits.

3) Litchi may have okay HP but her defense is lacking, a solid combo will take
a good chunk of her life. Be patient find holes in her defense and wear her
down. Unlike Bang this will be a shorter match because the holes mean more.

4) When her staff is in motion pound on her quickly. A hit confirmation will
stop all attacks except Four Winds. Four Winds causes her staff to spin and be
white and black. Understand that this move is pretty much unstoppable once
started, so you need to get her away from her staff, so when you hear "Four
Winds" you aren’t hosed by a combo breaker.

5) Tsubami Gaeshi is her dragon punch (623D with rod), and gives her
invulnerability frames. The attack is two parts as it goes up AND comes down.
Be wary as most people forget it comes down, this also has the benefit of
placing her staff, allowing her to potentially combo to something like
Thirteen Orphans.

[1.4.8]...........................................................Jin Kisaragi

Jin Kisaragi is another odd character. Much like Noel and Litchi he has a good
mix of ranged and melee attacks. However, he is decidedly a control character.
His ranged attacks are used to continue pressure, or to create it and be
followed up. Much like Nu his projectiles are meant to be rushed after, so
expect Jin to get up close and personal if a sword of ice is flying at you.
Also his decent defense and solid attack rate make him a nightmare to fight.

1) Jin tends to use Tyouga Hyoujin as his drive of choice. Rarely will you
see use of Hyoku Getsumi (Ice Arrow) mainly because he doesn’t combo into it
the usual way (throw + ice arrow). He has a nasty habit of using Tyouga
Hyoujin after he has frozen you, and so you need to break freezes early and
often. (Mash 4 and 6 in rhythm repeatedly.)

2) Jin lacks the bad habit of Ice Car outside of combo. More often he will hit
you for a few hits then ice car to hit you some more. You will rarely get a
chance to punish him because of this.

3) Jin uses Gale (623C) more often than not. When he wakes up, or sees a move
that rushes you in, he will Gale to knock you silly for it. Bait this as the
cool down on Gale is so long, it’s hard to NOT punish Jin after seeing it.

4) Jin’s moves have insane Priority. This means that when the two its would
collide, Jin’s moves are active faster and tend to connect rather than clash
with other hits. Add in that Fubuki [Blizzard] (623A or B), Rehhyou [Gale]
(623C), and Hirensou [Dual Ice Strike] (623D), are like normal dragon punch
maneuvers in that they give invulnerability and you can see why Jin can be a
nightmare to fight. You need to bait these moves and punish them hard.

5) Jin has one of the highest hit point totals and defenses in the game. You
will be playing touch and go with him A LOT. Be prepared to Barrier Block a
lot of his stuff as he can and will easily barrier crush you from afar. At
least Barrier block mitigates the Guard Libris Gauge increase.

6) 6D and 2D have long cool downs on them. This means that if you can instant
block or evade these attacks you have a free combo on Jin. Do not expect Jin
to give these away lightly, but take advantage of them when he does. 

[1.4.9]..............................................................Fore Word

Up until now your fights have been against merely superiorly programmed AI’s
that play characters you have the ability to play normally. You have seen
tactics that make you cry and further endured the torture of Score Attack. At
this point, most people would pat themselves on the back and say the next four
can’t possibly be that hard.

They are all wrong.

Once you have reached this point, you have graduated from beginner school. All
the characters that precede the final four are merely a test to see if you
even stood a CHANCE against these powered up characters. At around this point
in the Jin Kisargi does Score Attack guide, the other writer went on a
diatribe about how Nu was in other words BS. While he seems to know what he’s
talking about Nu is a fragile egg, and is not used at a proficiency that
actually makes his argument hold water.

That’s right, unlimited Nu can be far worse than the other writer gave her
credit for.

At this point I will also admit to a small amount of inexperience. Unlimited
Rachel Alucard is at this time the only one I have the most experience with,
as she is my roadblock. I have reach Unlimited Ragna once, but in helping my
friend figure out how to kill him have ample experience playing AS him and
have seen the AI in action.

So, having played both halves all I have is the knowledge of Arcade Hakumen
and Nu, both are unlimited and so a lot of the same strategies apply here that
did there. Keep in mind timing is tighter and they will be more abusive of
their bread and butter tactics. I can only note tendencies of them at lower
health and hope that’s enough to help you guys as well. If you’ve made it this
far, do pat yourself on the back however, some of these fights can be tough
for various people. I know I had little to no problem with Arakune, and my
friend’s Tager hates the little sack of bugs. Everyone is going to have their
hardships, all I can do is hopefully point out some friendly advice in
overcoming them.

UPDATE: Beating Unlimited Rachel is coming more frequently for me, but the
initial success I enjoyed against Nu seems to have worn out. I get her close,
so the method works, its merely refinement to reach Unlimited Ragna.

Back to the Guide shall we?

[1.4.10]..............................................Unlimited Rachel Alucard

Rachel is the games resident Zoning character. This means her whole strategy
revolves around keeping you inside a nice little box, while entering and
leaving said box on a whim. Her attacks are meant to lock you down so you
cannot reach her and put an end to her game. At this point I can give you
general tips about Rachel, but as she is in boss mode the tips are really
geared towards that aspect of the fight.

1) George the XIII(214A) is her best friend. I kid you not, that frog has
been the end of me more often than not. George receives the largest buff of
her moves in that discharge will no longer make him disappear. This means the
frog while annoying in the past becomes a nightmare as he will shock you
multiple times. He also now takes two hits (or one particularly powerful hit)
to destroy. Rachel will abuse George if you start putting pressure on her. AI
LOGIC: If you are as close or closer to her than the starting positions, she
will summon George. Get over it.

2) Sword Iris (22A) is freed from normal restrictions. On normal Rachel sword
iris requires that she must have fired Tiny Lobellia (236A B or C) first and
set up lightning rods. Then she has the ability to use Sword Iris and call
down lighting only at a rod. Unlimited Rachel has no such restriction. Instead 
Sword Iris will come crashing down at the spot most inconvenient to you (either
behind or from the front) and strike down three more times, moving across the
screen. Atop this, if Rachel says "Sword Iris", it’s already too late. The move
is independent of her from the point she says it, and you are going to have to
deal with it.

3) Impish Gysophylia (214B) will see a lot of play as she abuses the wind a 
lot. Expect to see it crash into you if she even thinks you are going to start
mounting an offensive. It's easier to wait till it has gone past you and begin
to act, than to let her hit you repeatedly. Also, unlike George, Gysophylia
will disappear the second you connect with any attack on Rachel. Keep this in
mind as it means she can easily summon another one.

4) Rachel loves her combos, and will use Sword Iris to combo into things like
Baden Baden Lily (632146C), or attacks from George. Also be wary of her 
downward attacks (j2C being the biggest offender), she often uses this to 
create an in and combo into you.

5) While Sword Iris is free of restriction, no such freedom exists for Baden
Baden Lily, expect it to be used when you are near her or the Tiny Lobellias.

6) Rachel’s health remains unchanged from her normal state, and so makes it
easier to mitigate what she does. The problem is that her powers are no longer
bound by the rules she has arbitrarily put upon herself. This makes the fight
more difficult as you are really going to be picking your battles. The best way
to handle this fight is get rid of George fast. If he’s around the pressure on
any character can be far too great to handle. Keep in mind that George’s defeat
will result in a long cool down and you won’t have to worry about him showing
up for awhile.

[1.4.11].....................................................Unlimited Hakumen

Hakumen is another character that has the turtle and deal good damage
situation. However, Hakumen’s damage is mitigated by the fact he relies on the
Susano’o Sankishin Unit being charged up enough to perform what he needs it to.
In unlimited mode, the suit charges up faster giving him access to his drives
and distortion drive attacks quicker. That’s right, his specials also use up
his Magatama.

1) His gauge holds 8 Magatama in total, and a normal distortion drive
(Yukikaze and Shippu) uses four of them. His special attacks use up one to
three. Mugen uses all eight but is by far the most potent. Mugen allows the
Susano’o unit to function as if it had infinite Magatama, allowing him to
function as the hero he was in the Dark War. Hakumen’s damage increase is more
from the fact he regains Magatama faster than anything else. All special
attacks combo into one another and so therefore the ability to regain them
faster can lead to serious problems to the unaware.

2) Hakumens Guren (236A) has invincibility associated with the rush forward.
Don’t expect anything to connect while he’s in motion. He often can use this
after a throw for added damage and on connect will bounce you back to him.

3) Hakumen will often use Kokuujin: Shippu (Squall), as a combo off any
attack that knocks you into the air. Done right this often results in the
inability to tech and block the attack. The computer will rarely do it right.
If you are in the air tech as fast as possible to avoid any potential damage
from the Squall.

4) When Hakumen is low on health he will begin to spam his Counters(5D 6D 2D).
Stagger attacks accordingly to avoid this unnecessary damage, as it can be
annoying. Also note throws cannot trigger his counter, as he will not be
active to actually do the follow up. This also works against Yukikaze, which
will do massive damage if you stupidly attack into it.

[1.4.12]...................................................Unlimited v-13 (Nu)

v-13 or Nu is perhaps the most problematic character on the staff. Her
character can function well both in melee from afar. You will never be at an
advantage against her as she will be fully capable of handling you no matter
where you are. That said, the safest spot is decidedly next to her, as 90% of
the characters in the game rely on getting in close. Ranged games will rarely
end well.

1) Nu uses extensive use of the Distortion Drives Legacy Edge (236236D) and
Calamity Sword(632146d). Expect her to combo you and deal massive damage with
either one. The changes from her normal version are simple, Legacy Edge does
double the hits, and Calamity Sword now goes across the screen, with the
potential of hitting five or six times.

2) Nu's normal drive attacks (5D, 6D, 2D, jD) now strike twice per attack
rather than once. This means they do more damage as they hit more times.
Be wary as your life goes down incredibly fast when not watched.

3) Nu rarely uses Act Parser (66 or 44 after certain drives) and so you
don't have to be overly wary of it. However in its place she does use 6B
(Spins and then spreads legs two hits knocks you into the air), and then
continues to combo you.

4) Nu abuses Gravity Shield (214A, B, or C) often placing it under you to
either hinder your advance, or cause you to float in midair. Either way any
attack that connects with Nu will cause the shield to lose its grip on you.

[1.4.13]..........................................Unlimited Ragna the Bloodedge

Ragna is the final character on your journey through Score Attack. This
character is a berserker style attacker with low defense to back it up. The
problems with this, is when he goes into Boss mode his defining weaknesses (Low
Defense and second lowest hit points in the game) are mitigated when his Hit
Point total is almost triple the normal amount. Add in that his drives do more
damage and Ragna the Bloodedge becomes the Azure Nightmare.

1) Ragna's drives now take up more of the screen. An attack that misses now can
hit you from across the screen. Never assume you are out of his reach.

2) Blood Kain is gone. Ragna is permanently under its influence and so you now
need to worry about Devoured by Darkness and Carnage Scissors. Devoured by
Darkness is a grab and therefore unblockable. It is however, slow and can be
easily interrupted. Carnage Scissors has perhaps the more abusable openings.
Carnage Scissors is only invincible in the startup. Once he begins to move
he is open to damage. If you lack a projectile to hit him with, after the first
hit you can interrupt with anything, including a distortion drive.

3) Hell's Fang (214A) is Unlimited Ragna's bread and butter way of crossing
the screen quickly. Anyone who has played Ragna online longer than a week
knows that this is decidedly a bad idea. This means that your time to punish
the Azure Nightmare is after he does this maneuver. You can open with a combo
after the first hit as you have a 50-50 chance, he will not follow it up (214D
after Hell's Fang).

4) Ragna also tends to use Infernal Divider(623C or D). This maneuver is like
any other Dragon Punch in the game in that its invincible until its concluded.
On Cool Down punish like anyone else. He WILL follow up (236C then 236C or
214C) on any infernal divider that connects.

5) Ragna regains alot of health when he attacks into you. He roughly regains
the same amount of health that he would if the attack connected WITHOUT Blood
Kain. Add in that Devoured by Darkness recovers over half his life, and Carnage
Scissors just under that, and any distortion drive that connects can mean Game
Over.

[1.5]..................................................................Appendix

(1) Clap Loop is Carls infinite Combo that can be performed. The exact Combo is
as follows, but is only added as a side note to understand how thankful you
should be the computer doesn't use it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27OwE9dok6M

This video is the property of TenKaiGear of Youtube. The only purpose of this
video is to show off the terror fo the Clap Loop.

[1.6]..................................................................Credits

I'd like to say thanks to the Dustloop Community which has helped me advance my 
gaming to the next level. These guys have helped me out in learning what I was
doing wrong as well as giving me a resource to return to for advice. Thank you
guys, you rock!

All questions, comments, and critiques can be sent to Dahlios[at]Yahoo.com.

Please put in the subject line RE: Blazblue Guide, so I know what the heck
you're talking about. If you use this to troll me, expect it to be treated as
spam.

My X-Box Live Gamertag is SethDahlios. Feel free to contact me for fights or
whatnot.

This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal,
private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed
publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other
web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a
violation of copyright.

All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.

Copyright 2010 Patrick Dennis.