GGACR/Faust/Okizeme

Faust

Overview

Starter Guide

Combos

Introduction

Being the easiest character in Guilty Gear, Faust has a lot of straight-forward answers to common defensive options. An opponent jumping on defense is easily challenged with 2K>2D (A string of lows). An opponent mashing or inputting backdash can be caught with 6H, j2K and Forcebreak Chop.

Shackling both jumping and pressing buttons means players will sit in block, playing reactively. Once this happens, Mettagiri, Faust's command grab, comes online as a reliable option.

At high-level, Faust has access to FDC j.K: a fast overhead that may or may not be reactable depending on how you input it. Combining this with low options (or empty FDC > command grab) allows for some pretty potent and layered mixups that lead to knockdown or continued pressure with or without items in play.

You do not need FDC j.K to rip open an opponent. It simply sits in stark contrast to his already capable Low/Whiff Punish/Throw game.

If you don't feel comfortable running offense up close, Meaty 2H > Item Toss establishes some incredibly tough situations for opponents to challenge. If the downed opponent's reversal options are too threatening, or you simply don't feel confident in running oki, it's always a strong, and dominant option.

Item Setups Off Knockdowns (Listed in Order of Frame Advantage)

TODO: Reorganize so that categories are by item, then knockdown.

Bomb.

-> Video

-> 2D > Item.

-> Mettagiri.

-> Mettagiri Corner.

-> Throw

-> jD Knockdown.

-> GMW Knockdown.

Hammer.

Poison.

Tarai.

Meteors.

Coin.

Chibi Faust.

Chibi Robo.

Chibi Potemkin.

Dumbbell.

2D Item Toss (2D > 236P)

This is the most advantageous knockdown timing-wise, and the spacing on items line up favourably for you. Hammer and Dumbbell whiff, but food items are immediately picked up.

Bomb

Full conversion off high/low mix.
If confirms are blocked, jump cancelling out of the explosion can force an overhead>empty low setup.
Off 2D > Item, no Throw Mix without RC or Kamikaze.

Possible Meaty Low Options:

2K(2),2D jc > Air FD (Dodges Explosion) > Pickup (Character specific)

Possible Meaty Overhead Options:

FDC jK jc j2K (Timing is character specific)
FDC jK > 5P,2S jc (Very strict, character specific)

Possible Mixup Opportunity:

Fake FDC > non-meaty 2P,2S jc

Washpan (Tarai)

Knocks down vs. backdash.
Can cover vs. certain reversals.

Possible Meaty Low Options:

2P > Tarai Hits > 6H
2P > Tarai Hits > Dash cS

Meaty Overhead Option:

FDC jK (No j2K followup). Almost as advantageous as 2P, done correctly.

Safer Mettagiri Opportunity:

Tarai covers a whiffed Mettagiri should they try to jump away or poke out.

Mixup Opportunity:

Superjump FDC over their head. Land into empty low or falling jK. Safe from rising airthrow against some characters.

Other Conversions:

Chain into 5D off any hit to launch.

Poison

Slightly less advantageous than Tarai, but still confers good mixup opportunity. Most setups you can get off Tarai hit, you can get off Poison.
Air hits on backdash in some cases. Spacing dependent.

Meaty Options:

See Tarai.

Coin

Thanks to its random trajectory, it will randomly land meaty or bounce in front of the opponent.

If it hits completely meaty, you can't use the hitstun to link into things you couldn't normally.

It's slow enough to eyeball the trajectory with practice. If you see a non-meaty Coin about to connect, you can see the above sections for potential conversions.

Meteors

Off 2D > Item Toss, you'll want to delay as long as you can if you want to combo into Meteors off a ground hit. Meteors positioning being RNG means all the followup pickups can be slightly inconsistent.

Character face-down wakeup timings can play a small part in whether or not these connect consistently.

If you find your confirm hasn't connected, end your pressure just as Meteors comes out to go into a mixup. Mettagiri before Meteors connects is a very fearsome option. You also have a good opportunity for FDC jK/Fake FDC Low mix, or raw FDC/Low mix if you're fast enough.

Low Conversion:

2K(Last hit, Meaty),2P,2S,2H > Pogo > 2 > Microdash > 236S > Pogo.S > Pogo.H

More Consistent Overhead Conversion:

Meaty FDC jK > 2P,2S,2H > Pogo > 2 > Microdash > 236S > Pogo.S > Pogo.H

High Damage j2K Conversion:

Meaty j2K > 2P,2S,2H > Pogo > 2 > Microdash > 236S > Pogo.S > Pogo.H

Slightly Inconsistent Overhead Conversion (Full Ground Confirm):

FDC jK jc j2K > Microdash > 5P,2S,2H,5P > Meteors Hit > Dash Up > cS,2S,2H > 236S > Pogo.S > Pogo.H

Raw Mettgiri Setup:

2D > Item Toss (Meteor) > Raw Mettagiri on their wakeup > Meteors connect Meaty.

Throw Setup:

(Tick any of 2P,5P,2K(1),cS) > Throw > Meteors Connect > Dash 5K jc jK jc jK,jD

Chibis

In the case of Chibis, you can often end your blockstring just before they connect and go for a mixup.

Chibi-specific conversions are probably best eyeballed, given how drastically they change based on 2D knockdown distance.

Mini-Potemkin

Certain characters are easier to freestyle on using Mini-Potemkin. If the opponent is cornered, generally you can jD knockdown into Potemkin and relaunch with either Pogo or 5K pickup.

Hammer and Dumbbell

(Whiffs)

Midscreen Mettagiri (214H > Microdash Item)

This is a very advantageous knockdown, and unlike 2D > Item Toss, the spacing and timing midscreen sets up nicely for Microdash > Item Toss > Meaty Hammer or Microwalk > Item Toss > Dumbbell.

Generally speaking, you want a pretty tight Item Toss if you want an easier time converting off Bomb.

Hammer

Hammer doesn't launch on hit and is best when it connects slightly off meaty timing with microdash delay. You want the delay in order to shackle backdash, and punish opponents for attacking on wakeup.

Meaty 2H Setup:

2H > (Hammer Connects) > 41236K

Overhead Setup:

FDC jK > (Hammer Connects) > 2H > 236S > Combo

Low Setup:

2P > (Hammer Connects) > 2H > 236S > Combo

Dumbbell

You can land this with a microwalk before Item Toss, but doing so is going to deny you Meaty Hammer and good spacing on other items. Meaty Hammer being just as good and more frequent means it's probably better to ignore this option.

Easy confirm off Dumbbell hit: 5K jc jK jc jKjD

Bomb

Possible Meaty Low Options:

2K(2),2P,2S jc > Air FD (Dodges Explosion) > Pickup (Character specific)
2K(2),2D jc > Air FD (Dodges Explosion) > Pickup (Character specific)
2K(2),5H(1),2D jc > Block Explosion > IAD FB Pogo. (Freestyle save, damage sus)

Possible Overhead Options:

5P jc FDC jK jc j2K (Timing is character specific)
FDC jK > 5P,2D jc (Air FD to dodge explosion) > Pickup (Character specific, hard to get meaty.)

Meterless Raw Mettagiri Conversion:

Mettagiri > Pretty Tight Microdash Item Toss > Slightly delayed raw Throw on their wakeup. Slashback the Bomb Explosion to pickup (lol).

Tick Forcebreak Chop (Decent Fuzzy Mash Punish):

Meaty 2K(1) > FB Chop > Pickup

Washpan (Tarai)

Can cover vs. certain reversals.

Possible Meaty Low Options:

2K(2) > Tarai > Convert (Seems char specific) 2K(1) > Tarai > Convert

Meaty Overhead Option:

FDC jK > Tarai > Convert

Very Strong Tick Mettagiri Opportunity (Unblockable++):

Tarai covers a whiffed tick-Mettagiri should they try to jump away or poke out. It's especially potent because the timing can set up literal unblockables, where Tarai will catch their prejump (lol).

Meaty 5P > 214H > Tarai Hits
Meaty 2P > 214H > Tarai Hits

Poison

Slightly less advantageous than Tarai, but still confers good mixup opportunity. Most setups you can get off Tarai hit, you can get off Poison.
Air hits on backdash in some cases. Spacing dependent.

Meaty Options:

See Tarai.

Coin

The spacing on this is generally pretty good, but has a chance to land in front of the opponent. The Coin doesn't land meaty, but this allows it to cover for setups. Conversions are similar to other late-hitting items.

Meteors

Here, most fast knockdowns (Throws, 2D, 236S > 2 Dismount Ender) allow you to use the incoming meteors in the subsequent meaty setup. There's also a good timing opportunity for 6H traps into Scalpel.

Swag 6H Conversion (Crouching or CH starter):

Slightly delayed 6H > 41236K > 4 > 5P,cS > (Meteors Connect) > Dash up 5K,2H > 236S > Pogo.S > Pogo.H

Chibis

Chibi Faust

In a lot of cases should you carry to the corner, you'll find that the spacing on Chibi Faust sets up a strong pickup on certain "fat airborne characters" should you manage to end a combo in Going My Way, leading to a bonus pickup.

If you can't route to Pogo, using Chibi Faust in the next knockdown is beneficial.

Chibi Robo

Chibi Robo's speedy ground movement actually makes him pretty good at setting a followup situation should you get to combo into Pogo here:

Meaty 2P,2S,2H > 236S > 2 (Dismount) > Dash in for Strong Meaty Chibi Oki

Chibi Potemkin

Generally speaking, your meaty options here allow you to freestyle into a Chibi Potemkin combo if you get the corner, or you can take most knockdowns and lead into Chibi Potemkin pressure.

Corner Mettagiri (214H)

Corner Mettagiri is a little different, in the sense that most items you throw, end up off screen. After throwing an item, you can still meaty FDC jK or walk back to Meaty 2K safely out of throw range. This allows you to pull the gacha to net yourself Bomb or Meteors, and running oki anyways if you come up empty handed. There's another setup that allows some item interaction (OTG cS,5P > Item Toss) that can lead to less risky outcomes in some cases.

Bomb

6H (High reward)

Backdash 6H > Pogo > 2 (Dismount) > Dash Pickup (Character specific)

FDC jK:

FDC jK > 5P,2S,2H,5P > Dash Pickup (Character specific)

Low Options

2K(1),5H(1),2D jc (Bomb Explodes) > FDC > Land > Dash Pickup (Character specific)

Meteors

See Midscreen Mettagiri for similar setups.

Chibi Potemkin

Immediately starts pressure (Gross)

Chibi Faust

Can sway back and connect late.

Items That Whiff Uselessly

Donut, Chocolate, Churro(Chikuwa), Hammer, Dumbbell, Poison, Chibi Robo.

Corner OTG cS,5P > Item Toss

jD

Strengths:
Weaknessess:

Pogo Going My Way (Pogo H)

Strengths:
Weaknessess:

2D

Strengths:
Weaknessess:

Scalpel > Forcebreak (41236K > 236D > 236D)

Pogo > Dismount (236S > 2)

Strengths:
Weaknessess:

Kanchou (236236S)

Strengths:
Weaknessess:

How do I decide what to do?

Hedging Your Bets (AKA: "How To Beat Paper AND Scissors")

Even in a game like Guilty Gear, there's only so many useful options a character can make use of in a defensive situation. This section will generally show you how to cover two or more relevant defensive options with one of your own, even when taking into account "high-level" defensive techniques such as fuzzy jump/fuzzy mash.

A breakdown of "fuzzies" will be covered at the bottom of this page. Read that if you want to understand exactly why you'd use the following options.

Faust doesn't have to do anything fancy here if he doesn't want to. His basic options are plenty to rip open even the strongest opponents.

It should be noted that the following guide doesn't even involve items.

Items like Chibis, Meteors, Poison, Bombs, etc, allow you to make all kinds of ad hoc decisions that will transform what's listed below into something even stronger and safer. Your throws will be safely covered should they whiff or get challenged and your 6Hs will be harder to pay attention to, among other things.

The guide below serves as a great fundamental starting point so you don't have to bank on them to make things happen.

This guide focuses on close-range oki and mixups

There's an addendum below it that outlines what to do at a distance, or if you simply aren't interested in going in. This is very important if your opponent has some ridiculous reversal option that you don't want to challenge, or you're playing against a specific character whose defensive tools are simply too threatening/spicy/baiken to deal with in close.

This guide uses Throws or Mettagiri (214H) as the basis of offense

Your goal, using this guide, is to throw your opponent (Option C), or block their inevitable reversal (Secret Option D). Options A and B used in tandem enable this to happen. Here's why:

Starting out, throws are going to be Faust's only "invisible" offensive option, in the sense that a good tick throw done tightly on someone's wakeup, or as they leave blockstun, can't be reacted to. If your lead up to a throw is too sloppy, they can react to the "setup" and jump/mash, but done cleanly this won't happen on reaction. They can only be challenged on prediction. The distinction between decisions done on reaction and prediction is very important, but only for troubleshooting and properly understanding why these options work as they do.

The mere threat of throw causes people to jump, mash or reversal on prediction. People prefer to jump or mash before they do reversals... usually...

You can make the following guide work better by practicing doing throws as early as possible on an opponent's wakeup or after buttons.

Option A: Challenging Jumps (and Fuzzy Jumps)... with Meaty 2K

Spoiler: Do 2K>2D meaty.

Meaty 2K beats lots of wakeup things. Jumps, buttons, non-invuln reversals...

Fuzzy jumps are weak to repeated strings of lows (This is key).

Fuzzy mash isn't going to hurt you here.

Breakdown

Meaty 2K, spaced so you can't be thrown, is going to be the basis of your offense. It beats wakeup normals, non-invuln wakeup reversals and wakeup jump free with a pretty generous timing. You can go right into 2D to continue to try and catch a jump or poke post-2K if you feel they aren't biting. The situation post-2K is very similar to wakeup, in the sense that your opponent might still fuzzy or make use of reversal options.

The main reason to do 2K>2D like this is that a fuzzy jump attempted slightly after wakeup has a very good chance to be caught holding 7 (Up+Back, since they're jumping) by the later hits of 2K/2D.

Option B: Challenging Buttons... with 6H, j2K and 214D

Do 6H so it hits a little late on their wakeup

Don't do it meaty, your goal is to get them to hang themselves by poking into 6H unnecessarily as they try to mash.

Even if it doesn't work, and gets blocked, an opponent wary of 6H is going to be playing reactively because 6H is so hard to challenge outright. A reactive player trying to deal with 6H isn't fuzzy jumping. A reactive player isn't fuzzying options. A reactive player isn't backdashing on wakeup should there be the looming threat of a 6H > Pogo pickup for 60% of their lifebar.

Meaty j2K is very safe and very plus

Meaty j2K is incredibly good at beating wakeup throw; it's a strong counter-hit option; it's incredibly plus on block (Somewhere in the +16 range?); it's a terrifying move to try to poke into; it's terrifying to try and challenge Faust afterwards; and it can safejump slower reversals.

Late j2K is very safe, very plus and deals with certain fuzzy options better

A later, not-quite-meaty j2K is going to be a bit better at challenging backdash and delayed/fuzzied options compared to meaty j2K.

Asking yourself if a late j2K is going to "crush" your opponent's favourite fuzzy mashed options is going to be a big question to ask yourself when studying your opponent. Ignore meaty or safejump timing to take aim at their button with j2K. You'll be plus even if they block, and you might snipe their backdash in the process.

The trade off is you can't safejump this way, and their normal done as soon as possible on wakeup could potentially beat you out. That shouldn't be a problem if they're fearful of Meaty 2K (See "Option A") and fearful of Meaty j2K.

214D (Forcebreak Chop) is a very unfair move.

Because 214D is pretty much entirely invincible from the waist down, it is incredibly good at blowing up fuzzied mash options, on top of being an overhead. The kicker here is it's also a special move, which means you can place it in strings where the opponent might not even expect.

An opponent might fuzzy mash after 2K's first hit, 5P or 2S in order to hedge against jump cancels. They might be aiming to press buttons after 2D. Who knows?

If they ARE pressing buttons on defense, for whatever reason, a sudden 214D is going to go up, over, and donk them.

It just costs 25 bar.

It's recommended to use it in matchups or situations where the above listed options just seem too risky for challenging your opponent's defensive pokes.

Option C: Challenging a Player Who Won't Jump OR Press Buttons Anymore... with Throws

If they're scared of Option A and Option B: It's time to 214H

I mentioned "hedging your bets" earlier, correct? A smart player will do the same thing on defense.

Option A and Option B have a small, manageable weakness: Reactive play paired with FD does a lot to shut down Faust when making use of anything listed above. Threatening to counterhit them, threatening to 2K their jumps... it all loses to low block and reactive play. 6H is a good overhead, but it's reactable. 5D is reactable. FDC jK done by a competent player is still usually reactable.

If I was fearful of Option A and Option B, naturally I wouldn't press any buttons at all and use FD to push you away to a manageable range.

I would simply block and wait.

I'm asking you to throw me.

Secret Option D: Hahaha. Who blocks on wakeup?

Blocking in Your Own Offense: Dealing with Invincible Moves

If they're scared of Option A, Option B and Option C, they do have an answer: They can do something invincible and punch through all of it.

So just block and punish. If you don't want to do that, however, the following offers a more nuanced way to continue your offense without giving pressure up completely

Slightly Delayed Options: Giving them just enough rope to hang themselves

Leave a gap to block that's just long enough to bait the reversal from your opponent, then throw them.

Or;

Leave a gap to block that's just long enough to bait the reversal from your opponent, then continue pressure as normal.

Do not give them a large enough gap to react to the fact that you stopped offense. Players are always looking to do reversals sooner than later when they wakeup or leave blockstun. You only need to leave them an imperceptibly short period of time to hang themselves with their own reversal. The tiniest gap will bait Sol's Volcanic Viper.

"Fuzzy Defensive Options"

A quick explanation of how "fuzzy defense" works in GG.

In GG, you cannot be thrown immediately after wakeup. You have 9f of throw invuln to do whatever you want with, and 4f after leaving blockstun. This means you can block meaties on wakeup while jumping late to avoid a throw or poking late to challenge a throw.

Fuzzy options, on the surface, seem hard to punish. Fuzzies can be very arbitrary in their timing, and sometimes a defender can actually do a fuzzy jump too late, or too early, and you actually miss your punishment because they acted with an unreliable timing.

Why can't I just take aim at their prejump frames?

Trying to do a late button to catch someone's prejump almost always ends up being blocked, or catching the opponent just after they leave the ground, if it catches them at all. If I have 9 frames of throw invuln, and I jump early or late or even after that window is over, it's such a wide spread of timings that punishing in this way is unreliable.

Why shouldn't I just try to frame trap their normal out of startup?

With regards to Fuzzy Mash (Say a late 2P): Trying to do a late button, or a frame trap, is also very likely to be blocked if they mistime the fuzzy, or if you delay even more to catch them, you might eat an early 2P.

What if I don't want to do any of this?

Don't bother going in on their wakeup.

You don't have to, it's okay. Faust is still good. You could even argue that the above is unnecessary when compared to simply doing 2H into Item Toss on their wakeup. "Detailed gameplan" below.

Learn to Meaty 2H

Set the training dummy to reversal jump on wakeup in training mode. Knock them down. 2H their prejump frames. Cancel 2H into Item Toss. Play neutral.

6H them sometimes

It catches backdash and is hard to block. People like to backdash meaty 2H to deny the item toss cancel. This beats that.

Block reversals sometimes

It's good.

far.S catches jumps easier than 2H

It's true, you can test it. It can catch opponents jumping just after they leave the ground, whereas 2H is easier to clear. If time is of the essence, and you know they have a gap to jump if you 2H, it might be time to far.S

Mix 2H > Item Toss with 2H > 5P reverse gatling

Do this sometimes. It's almost impossible to react to the reverse gatling cleanly, and you end up at +3. Follow with a far.S to obliterate jumps, or go for another 2H if you think they'll stay sitting. Mixing this in with Item Toss creates an even crazier situation, allows you to crank guard bar, and potentially makes your opponent play into items unnecessarily (Which means items like Hammer and Dumbbell can act as round-enders)