Let's kick off something here. Let me talk about Ivy who has went through a lot of changes from Soul Calibur 2 to Soul Calibur 4.
Besides a dominatrix slut that we know her to be, she has already been a very much strong member of the cast, with her sword/whip style, most flashy command throw ever combined with a very evil memorable laugh(Criminal Symphony) and a very powerful short/medium/long range move-set that places her firmly in the top tier.
In SC2, all her important moves were contained with her normal moveset, her stance game was ok but not essential. Her key moves were in fact very buffed up, eg a quick chipping low 23K(looks similar to FC K) that remained standing and gave advantage, 4A+B(now WP 4A+B) that could be charged to an UB!, 33A(now SW 44A) that had good range, advantage on block and a strong combo on NORMAL hit, 66K(CL_WP66K) that had BT frames! 6['B'] (now WP6B+K) so very much accessible whenever, 1A(now WP1A) that gave advantage on hit(definitely better frames than now), ** TWO COMMAND THROWs that were fully accessible with a longer/more lenient buffer period and not keyed to stance like now) and her godly 2A which had a lot of range on it as some key examples.
In SC3, they made so many changes, a key thing being splitting her moves between SW and WP, with a transition(B+K) i think having a "dumb" backstep that made u lose frames and whatever. I was turned off by the changes so i didn't bother to learn the character at all though i know Raymus tinkered with her in the arcades. I did not have SC3 console as it was only available on PS2 and NOT on Xbox so i never really went really deep into SC3 at all (except playing Rock and Asta i guess).
Back to Soul Calibur 4, I have come full circle. After coming back from the Cannes World Cup Tourney(which was my prime motivator to get back somewhat into the game) and being exposed to a very proactive gamestyle by an Ivy player, I realised that it was time to take another look into this character. This might be THE ONE that i have been searching for: that would be GREATLY enjoyable for me to play hard and play well with and a strong technical ability needed. I envisioned a fantastic battle sequence with me duking it out with other opponents.
In a subsequent gaming session, with very limited Ivy experience, I focused on her normal moves. AA, BB, 2A, 2K, 66K, 22B, WS B and whatever i could muster to have a feel first. I could remember in the arcades during the old days when I was picking up a new character, you started with what felt comfortable and played with whatever you knew or had. I was so incredibly weak in CL, more so in WP as i did not know the key moves and application of it. Even in SW, i was not playing her to her full strength.
But it was fun and just an initiation. With this one gaming session, i was motivated to go back to the drawing board (or in this case forums and training mode vs AI) and picked up viable techniques to be able to compete well. Ivy was formidable even against the cheating Edgemaster AI, i got a sense of what could work, what couldn't work, tuning myself to when the AI made himself vulnerable and avoiding situations where i could be COUNTERED or be punished.
After many many rounds of battles I took a rest exhausted. Ready to come back again another day so as not to make playing Soul Calibur a chore.
Before Jovian came for a one-one session, i did some warm-up to get some flow and was able to compete well against him.
I did try WP, CL but more often than not stayed in SW just to be able to survive and inflict damage. In case you were wondering, he was playing Maxi - really not a bad character if u know what u r doing and know what the opponent do not know (heh which i discovered much much later when i started training Maxi myself). SW was also most natural to me as it presented the strongest mixup(among the stances) and VERY powerful interrupts that flowed with my style.
Is the story getting boring? Let's sum up things so far.
I started with a core knowledge of Ivy in SC2 - playing against and with her extensively, a bit against her in SC3, had some competition vs her in SC4, decided to try her out again for kickers (after previously abandoning her as i felt she was too complicated) and now i am back here again.
Boy did i advance super fast. Let me say it really really helped to have had experience in playing WITH Asta, Mitsu, Nightmare, Raphael, Sophitia, Cassandra, Yoshimitsu, Hilda and finally AMY(for the sake of the French tourney) in a progression that brought me full circle. The order is somewhat relevant and greatly influenced my playing style in the present moment.
How did it help me? I can't really explain it - it just would be different without going thru these characters. I got to try out various movesets and apply them in various situations, learning different mindsets in approaching each character.
I did not go though much vids(of other Ivy players) preferring to discover things on my own independently. The frame data was a big help of cos, practicing the combos enhanced my manual dexterity and playing against the AI on impossible settings improved my thinking/reflex speed and attacking techniques to a high degree.
What's left - COMPETITION. Hopefully you guys can come spar with me more regularly if u can spare the time. I am ON man - ready for battle.
At my current level, i am trying to create a a better flow between Swd-Coil-Whip, fearing much less to be trapped in WP at close range, and be very much more empowered in Coil than before. My transitions are definitely more natural now and I have some ideas on what to focus on and how to improve in using ALL her stances with an engaging and versatile style. The money is in the action, not in the talk so let actual play do the talking and teaching.
I hope to find out more neat stuff about her, having THREE movesets within one character with an almost seamless transition really excites me. She really has "hidden" stuff that makes things more interesting once you discover it.
I believe the solid Ivy players in other part of the world exposed to great competition have developed their gameplay to a high degree, with many tricks up their sleeves. For me, i just want to do well with this character and make her unbeatable with my very own unique style.
Topic: Ivy Character Thread (Read 109 times)