GBVS/Belial/Strategy

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 Belial


General Tactics

Belial is a versatile character that is effective at most ranges, but excels at close range and just outside of mid range. Up close, Belial can establish pressure with c.L and 2M which are both advantageous on block, and can also go for pressure resets with Everyone’s A Little Crooked (236H > 4X). Outside of most opponent’s poking ranges, Belial can pester his opponent with either 2U of 5H to poke or whiff punish, and has a strong fireball in L Goetia (236L)

Should Belial ever end up having to play defense, Notoria (623L/H) is a fully invincible reversal, which allows him to blow through the opponent’s plus frames, provided that the move is off cooldown. In addition, Belial’s 2L is the farthest reaching 5 frame normal in the game and is a move that he always has access to, letting him disrespect a lot of pressure sequences other characters have to hold. Give Daddy Some Sugar (5U) is a parry that can interrupt certain strings and can grant Belial a hard knockdown if it hits.

Belial often finds success by scoring a knockdown and running an oppressive offense through the use of his frame traps and occasional grabs. In the corner is where Belial becomes especially scary, as any confirm into H Asmodeus (214H) will lead into a highly damaging combo.

Neutral

Long Range

Belial has one of the best projectiles in the game in L Goetia (236L). It’s very fast with relatively good recovery, which allows him to establish presence even from full screen. That being said, what truly pushes this fireball over the edge are its follow ups. The L and M versions of Everyone’s A Little Crooked travel upwards and can snipe opponents attempting to jump over Goetia. The correct version to use depends on the opponent’s position relative to the fireball; L is typically better for opponents that are still in front of the fireball when they jump and M is for when they jump over it. Keep in mind that the follow up significantly increases Belial’s recovery after his fireball, so practicing both reaction times and awareness of which version to use is vital.

Belial’s parry, Give Daddy Some Sugar (5U), can also be used in certain matchups to punish long range options and score a hard knockdown, allowing you to transition to okizeme From Japanese "起き攻め". Attacking an opponent about to wake up after they were knocked down, usually with meaty attacks or mix-ups.. Specifically, it guarantees a punish on fast, far reaching projectile type moves with a lot of recovery, such as  Ferry's GespenstGBVS Ferry 236X.pngGuardAllStartup21Recovery30Advantage-4 and  Zeta's Infinite WondersGBVS Zeta 236X.pngGuardAllStartup20Recovery22Advantage-7~0. Against more traditional fireballs, like  Katalina's Frozen BladeGBVS Katalina 236X.pngGuardAllStartup16RecoveryTotal 45Advantage-9, parrying the projectile from further away will actually allow the opponent the opportunity to block, at which point Belial’s turn is over and he has to take a mixup. Also keep in mind that against forward-moving rush type moves such as  Charlotta's Shining OnslaughtGBVS Charlotta 46X.pngGuardMidStartup15Recovery8Advantage-10, the parry has a tendency to whiff completely, again putting Belial in a disadvantageous position (although not necessarily guaranteeing a punish). As stated earlier, the usefulness of Belial’s parry changes in each matchup, so try recording different moves in training mode to see which moves can be universally punished by parrying.

Mid Range / Footsies

Belial differs from other 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. characters in that he does not have traditionally strong mid range buttons, and often finds himself struggling to compete at the ranges of certain normals such as  Djeeta's 5M and Percival’s 5M. Instead, Belial should be looking to play either just inside of those ranges with 2M and 5M, or just outside with 5H and 2U.

2M is a high return move that gives Belial what he wants on both hit and block. On block it is +1, allowing him to either frame trap into itself when properly spaced or get greedy and run up to his opponent and establish the threat of c.L / grab / universal overhead. If he catches his opponent low, then on normal hit you can link into 2L for a mini combo. Landing a counter hit is the ideal scenario, as it will allow Belial to link into 5H, which opens up the most possibilities for combo routing. 5M is another good option at this range as it is extremely difficult to whiff punish for a large number of characters and at certain ranges even allows you to hit confirm it into Asmodeus, due to the fact that it hits twice. However, unlike 2M this move is minus on block, thus ending your turn

5H and 2U are great complements to each other. 2U is one of the longest reaching normals in the game; it’s a neutral warping tool that can outrange most opponents’ moves, catch people walking back and forth looking for whiffs, and score a hard knockdown for oki. This will naturally coerce people into standing their ground (unless they feel like getting walked into the corner) and preemptively pressing buttons to control space so that Belial can’t constantly walk into his sweep range. This is where 5H comes in, as it’s one of, if not the best whiff punishment tool in GBVS. It’s forward movement and fast startup makes it able to pick up punishes against even relatively “safe” moves like  Cagliostro's 5H, forcing opponents to be very conservative with their buttons. This is the end goal, as it will allow Belial to approach and start his offense. Keep in mind that while Belial can special cancel the first hit of 5H into H Goetia for an “easy” way to win neutral against less experienced players, more savvy competitors know that 5H can actually be punished with a well timed Dodge, making 2U the safer option in neutral.

Goetia and its follow ups are still strong at the mid range, however they now run the risk of your opponent either predicting and punishing them with a well timed jump or Cross Over, or reacting with an SBA to blow right through the fireball. The latter is only possible if the opponent has a fully stocked SBA meter and the former is prediction reliant, so the player should not be discouraged from using Goetia, as it’s a crucial tool to controlling space.

Offense

Defense

Matchup Information

Further Resources

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