GGML/Sol

From Dustloop Wiki

Overview

Overview
Daisuke's Vision. The Original Install. Sol is the most well-rounded of the non-god-tier characters. He has one of the best overall kits, but nothing that really makes him stand out as exceptional. His slashes, mostly notable f.S and 5H are among the best in the game, possessing great speed, range, and conversion ability. Add in Gunflame, a more typical SNK style fireball in this game, and you get a pretty solid neutral game. Volcanic Viper is no slouch either, being one of the best reversals in the game. It's near impossible to punish, invincible and active for years, fast, and becomes air unblockable when charged. With all these tools at his disposal, you'd think Sol would be at the top of the tier list, but the unfortunate reality is that this is ML, and being incredibly strong at everything isn't the same as being absurdly strong at everything. Still, Sol is one of the stronger characters in the game and one of the easier to pick up, so don't be afraid to give the Guilty Gear a shot.
Sol
GGML Sol Portrait.png
Defense
120%Raw Value: 12
Jump Startup
6f
Backdash
22f
Meter Gain Mod
120%Raw Value: 12
Charge Time
54f
Forward Walk Speed
100%Raw Value: 768
Backward Walk Speed
100%Raw Value: 588
Dizzy Resistance
80%Raw Value: 24
Fastest Attack
5KGGML Sol Badguy 5K-1.pngGuardMidStartup4,8Recovery9Advantage-8 (4F)
Volcanic ViperGGML Sol Badguy 623SH lv1.pngGuardMidStartup4RecoveryAdvantage- (4F)
Dash KickGGML Sol Badguy Dash Kick.pngGuardMidStartup1Recovery2Advantage-10 (1F)
Reversals
Volcanic ViperGGML Sol Badguy 623SH lv1.pngGuardMidStartup4RecoveryAdvantage- (4F)

 Sol is an aggressive slant on the shoto Short for "Shotokan" A character archetype defined by being similar in some way to Ryu from Street Fighter. Shotos usually have a horizontal fireball, an invulnerable reversal, and a forward moving special move. archetype with accessible execution.

Pros
Cons
  • Volcanic Viper : Volcanic Viper is a great guard cancel and useful anti-air with the air unblockable property when charged. On top of that, it has very low recovery for an invincible reversal, being borderline unpunishable in most situations.
  • Strong Normals: Sol has a wide variety of normals for almost every situation: a set of solid anti-airs, a 5H that covers almost every angle you could want while killing on connect, and more. Many characters are highly threatened or straight-up lose to Sol bulldogging his way toward them.
  • Easy Gameplan: Unlike some, Sol has no complicated tech or alternate win condition. He runs at the opponent, presses his godlike normals, dps on defense, and infinites when he gets a hit. His infinite is one of the easiest in the game too.
  • No X-Factor: Sol is the definition of a solid character in Missing Link and has no major weaknesses, even compared to the characters ranked higher than him. However, he doesn't have an aspect that pushes him to the heights of those top tiers, such as Millia's zoning, Baldhead's normals, or Chipp's mixups.

Normals

How to Read Frame Data
Damage
A quantification of how a character's health bar is reduced when they are hit.
Guard
The act of defending against incoming attacks. Guarding either negates the damage from an attack entirely or reduces it to minor chip damage.
Low
Guarded against while crouching
Mid
Guarded against in either the crouching or standing state, but not while airborne
High
Guarded against in the standing state
All
Guarded against while crouching, standing, or while airborne
Throw
Cannot be guarded against, but only applies to grounded opponents
Unblockable
Cannot be guarded against
Startup
The time before an attack is active including the first active frame. For example, an attack with 10F startup means the attack will do nothing for 9 frames, then hit the opponent on the 10th frame.
Active
The active frames of an attack refers to the amount of time an attack can hit the opponent.
Recovery
The recovery of an attack refers to the amount of time an attacker must wait before they may perform another action, even blocking.
On-Block
A measure of frame advantage when the opponent blocks an attack. Positive values indicate that the attacker can act first. Negative values indicate that the defender can act first.
On-Hit
A measure of frame advantage when the opponent is hit by an attack. Positive values indicate that the attacker can act first. Negative values indicate that the defender can act first.
Invuln
Short for InvulnerabilityA state where a character cannot be hit. A common component of reversal moves.

5P

5P
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
7 Mid 6 8 10 -1 -2 none
Pretty generic jab with short range. Not his fastest normal, and slower than his considerably longer-ranged pokes. Not much reason to use this, though it is safer on whiff than most of Sol's kit.

5K

5K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
13,10 Mid 4,8 19 9 -8 -9 none
Incredibly active anti-air kick, and tied for Sol's fastest normal, making it his best abare option. Unfortunately air blockable, but it'll net you pressure at least. Long animation so don't miss.

c.S

c.S
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
19 Mid 6 3 21 -3 -2 none
Fast combo starter/filler gatling option that leads to your main CC infinite on hit. Fairly unremarkable outside of that. Mostly comes out if you're autopiloting f.S > 5H > CC, but luckily its frame data is largely interchangeable with its proximity cousin, so this is of no consequence.

f.S

f.S
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
21 Mid 6 3 24 -7 -6 none
Game-defining poke. Reaches just shy of roundstart distance against most characters and leads into a very lenient CC infinite through its gatling into 5H on hit. Sol's kit at large is centered around the threat of this normal at all times, and it's the standard for "one of Missing Link's stupidly good footsie normals". Poor to whiff due to its long recovery, and has a notable hurtbox extension, but that won't stop you from dash f.Sing, now will it?

5H

5H
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
23,18 Mid 4,11 4,3 22 -3 +2 none
All-purpose button. Fast, solid hitboxes, and easy to use in infinites when CC'ed thanks to very high hitstun. Tied for Sol's fastest normal, but the first hitbox hits above and behind him, so it's better suited for weird anti-airs than as an abare option. Like many of his other normals, it's bad on whiff. Sticks his hurtbox out more than f.S so it's more liable to trade or lose.

Fierce Strike

6P
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
11 High/Air 26 18 0 -11 -4 none

The index for this move wasn't uploaded onto Dustloop for several months, which should clue you in to how relevant it is.

Slow, easily reactable overhead that probably won't open many people up. Luckily, it moves Sol forward a great deal and gatlings into c.S, letting him continue pressure on block and route into a CC infinite on hit. Unfortunately, getting the opponent to not hit you out of its long startup or otherwise evade it before it goes active is very difficult in this game.

2P

2P
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
7 Low 7 4 11 0 -1 none
Fast, safe low that leads into a CC infinite on grounded hit. Useful as a low mixup, but its short range makes it not ideal in neutral.

2K

2K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
15 Low 8 4 29 -14 -22 none
The move which would become Sol's iconic 2D in future games. This is not a good start to its legacy. Techable, as with most sweeps, leaving Sol minus on hit. It launching the opponent up means Sol can't gatling into a CC infinite after, either. 2P is faster and also a low, making it better for pressure, and 2S has it beat as a low profile poke. Can combo into Volcanic Viper but don't bother.

2S

2S
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
22 Mid 8 4 13 -2 +3 none
Relatively fast and safe poke. On hit, can lead into a CC infinite from even max range. It's significantly shorter and a little slower than f.S in neutral, but is a bit safer and leads to a kill just fine. Solid button to press in neutral.

2H

2H
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
28 Mid 8 8 21 -8 -3 none
Another solid anti-air option, though it's also air blockable. It's generally a little slow and has piss poor horizontal range, so it doesn't get much of any chance to shine in neutral or combos. 5K will usually be pressed instead as an emergency anti-air, and 623H will usually be pressed as a more committal one.

j.P

j.P
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
5 High/Air 4 8 9 none
Fast, mashable, and highly active air jab. Shrinks Sol's hurtbox a fair deal, making it an effective air-to-air.

j.K

j.K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
11 High/Air 9 12 11 none
Highly active air-to-air button. Not as disjointed as j.S' air-to-air hitbox, but it stays active for longer.

j.S

j.S
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
14 High/Air 9 11 5 none
Big and active air normal. Has a disjointed air-to-air hitbox for its first 3 frames, then a small hitbox directly under Sol for its last 8. Useful air-to-air and acceptable jump-in.

j.H

j.H
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
14 High/Air 5 until landing N/A none
Fast jump in with infinite active frames until landing and no recovery whatsoever. A very good move to just do if Sol happens to be below the opponent. Can hit multiple times, but getting all the hitboxes to line up in this way is finnicky, so it will generally only hit once. Hilariously the hitbox here isn't actually any better than later titles, yet it's still one of the best jump ins in the game.

Universal Mechanics

Dust Attack

S+H
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
18 All N/A none
Unremarkable move. Doesn't have much range and while it's fast your slashes are faster. No real reason to use it.

Throw

6H or 4H
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
20 Throw 1 N/A N/A N/A none
Pretty good throw. Its low launch angle means you can potentially get a tech chase after they tech it, and its far horizontal launch keeps you safe from being punished on hit. Adds an extra layer to Sol's mixup.

Dash Attack

6[6]
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
13 All 22 N/A 8 +18 +6
Just as unremarkable as every other dash attack. Plus on block and on hit, which is nice.

Instant Kill

All Guns Blazing

P+K > 236X
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
FATAL All 12 18 14 N/A N/A Above Knees
Not a very good instant kill. Has a fairly long startup and a long animation, making it bad to throw out. In addition, its low profile is worse than most others and its hitbox is tiny, making it a fair bit worse as an anti-air or counterpoke. Still useful in the usual IK ways, just less so.

Specials

Gun Flame

236S or 236H
Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
Gun Flame S 9 Mid 9 until contact 31 -17 +1 none
Gun Flame H 9 Mid 12 until contact 31 -17 +1 none
Unlike in later games, this is a bog standard fireball. Travels along the ground, and which button you press determines its speed. Alright in neutral. Has an extra hitbox at point blank that does extra damage, but there's rarely a reason to hit with it intentionally. Can be dash bugged from long distance to start pressure safely behind a fireball.

Volcanic Viper

623S or 623H
Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
Volcanic Viper 14,18 Mid 4 1-5 strike;6-8 above feet;strike until Sol turns on his side
Volcanic Viper Level 2 14,18 Mid 4 1-5 strike;6-8 above feet;strike until Sol turns on his side
Volcanic Viper Level 3 14,18 Mid 4 1-5 strike;6-8 above feet;strike until Sol turns on his side

Sol's iconic DP Dragon Punch A move that has invulnerability during its startup, long recovery, and a rising motion.. Using either S or H will determine if the move travels a short distance or far; S reaches to about the peak of your jump arc whereas H goes to the top of the screen regardless of level. Versions are otherwise identical, and for grounded reversal usage the S version is preferred since both are potentially punishable on hit but H is much easier to. Punishes will only be airborne, though, so they're not too scary.

This version of Volcanic Viper is much more difficult to punish than it'd appear to be unlike later games. It has next to no landing recovery, and even if the opponent gets any airborne punish Sol will likely land and have his histun cancelled to cut the combo short. The hitbox and speed is very hard for a lot of characters to contest with anything besides blocking, and the higher charge levels are incredibly scary to get hit by, contest, or even block.

All versions of the move, regardless of level or button, will spawn a lingering projectile above Sol right as he becomes vulnerable again. It is difficult to hit with this projectile, since it doesn't connect from the rest of Volcanic Viper and is in an awkward location.



At Level 2, Volcanic Viper becomes air unblockable and gains two extra hits, dealing more damage. The S and H versions occupy about the same space, though the H version has slightly more momentum, so the versions become largely homogenous at higher charge levels. Sol's primary air-unblockable attack.

At Level 3, four large pillars of flame come with Volcanic Viper, occupying pretty much the entire half to third of the screen that Sol does it on. All of the flame pillars are fully disjointed and reach down far enough that all the hits will connect on all crouch blockers. Both the S and the H version appear to be identical, and both of them travel at the same angle as Level 1 H Volcanic Viper.

Level 3 Viper is incredibly strong and every 623SH Sol does during Dragon Install becomes level 3, in addition to Dragon Install's stacking damage benefits. The move does an extreme amount of chip damage from all of the flame pillars, though most characters can spare Chaos Gauge to Faultless Defense the chip damage away. If Dragon Install is stacked a number of times, this attack is capable of instantly killing many characters on connect and dealing gargantuan damage on block.

Aerial Volcanic Viper

j.623S or j.623H
Version Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
Aerial Volcanic Viper 14,18 Mid 4 1-5 full;6-8 above feet;full until Sol turns on his side
Aerial Volcanic Viper Level 2 14,18 Mid 4 1-5 full;6-8 above feet;full until Sol turns on his side
Aerial Volcanic Viper Level 3 14,18 Mid 4 1-5 full;6-8 above feet;full until Sol turns on his side
Volcanic Viper, but in the air. Each air version appears to be identical in every way to its equivalent ground counterpart. As a raw air-to-air, it's decently unsafe and Sol has better options, so it's not used much. It is, however, excellent at stopping air stalls since all versions are air unblockable, including level 1, unlike grounded Viper.

Riot Stamp

214K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
14 Mid minimum 16 until contact 34 -12 -8 after hitting wall, 1-8f full
Unfortunately, unlike in later games, this isn't an overhead. Not a move that should be used often, since Dash Kick is better in every way.

Bandit Revolver

236K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
9x3 Mid 7 24 17 -9 -3 none

The sprite is a complete knockoff of Fei Long's Chicken Wing from SF2. Aside from that fun fact, it's unremarkable. Not great on hit or block, no real practicality in neutral, and if you're comboing into this, you probably could've done a CC infinite instead and won the round.

It's airborne during recovery so it's difficult for anyone to get a meaningful punish on you for using it, at least.

Dash Kick

66K
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
13 Mid 1 20 2 -10 -6 1-2f full

Infamous for being the easiest move to make a fake OTG infinite with. As a result, it's commonly used to cheese the AI and unlock characters, or to make a funny YouTube video about how broken the game is.

Outside of that, this is a solid move. It has instant startup and a lot of active frames, it can be made safe on block when spaced, and its virtually nonexistent recovery makes it safe to whiff. It can even net a tech chase afterwards. Solid option to throw out. Combos into air Volcanic Viper on hit. Because of how it's input, it's hard not to dashbug it, which usually results in it going fullscreen.

Supers

Dragon Install

214214S
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
N/A N/A 17+(10)+28 N/A 290 After Expiring N/A N/A none

Effect lasts for 498 frames, or a little over 8 seconds. Increases hit & chip damage by about 35% and notably increases your movement speed, while locking Volcanic Viper to level 3 for its duration. Renders you unable to gain meter the entire time it's active.

Most notably, in this game DI stacks with itself, though this is only possible in Desperation State. The practicality of this is nil unless someone's trying to fullscreen stall you since you're vulnerable even Dragon Installing once in neutral, but it's funny. It is worth noting that using Dragon Install again while the effect is already active does not refill the timer.

Once DI inspires, Sol's left inactionable for ages and almost certainly instantly dies, letting the opponent get to full charge and still have time to do an infinite or whatever their optimal combo is. Because there's no way to extend the timer or really have a "safe" way to exit DI besides praying on a stun, this makes DI incredibly dangerous to use practically.

Tyrant Rave

632146H
Damage Guard Startup Active Recovery On-Block On-Hit Invuln
68 Mid 20 57 54 -2 +6
Big, decently fast, air unblockable wall of fire that does a lot of damage. The hitbox actually lingers after Sol recovers, too, making it potentially useful to cover the air. Would be a good combo ender due to how easy it is to combo into, but this is a game with CC infinites, so you should do that instead.

Colors

Navigation

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