GGST/Elphelt Valentine/Strategy

General Strategies

Round Start Options

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Neutral

Mid Range / Footsies

Long Range / Closing Space

Air-To-Air

Jump-In

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Defense

Defensive System Mechanics

Faultless Defense (FD), Psych Burst and Yellow Roman Cancel (YRC) are cornerstones of defense in Guilty Gear, as they are quite handy for breaking out of pressure. They all cost a resource though, so think about how you use them.

Faultless Defense

Powerful defensive option, but drains Tension as you use it!

Hold any two buttons except

(or the FD Button if one was set) while blocking to perform Faultless Defense (FD). As long as the direction and buttons are held down (and the Tension Gauge isn't empty), you will continue to perform Faultless Defense.

A unique type of guard that gradually depletes Tension when used. Faultless Defense augments your block by giving it several special properties. Firstly, it increases pushback on block, making it useful to make space between you and the opponent. By using Faultless Defense early in the opponent's blockstring, the opponent will be pushed back enough that later attacks will miss, allowing you to punish the opponent's whiffed attack or disengage. When in use, Faultless Defense also prevents the R.I.S.C Level from increasing and nullifies chip damage. This is essential for survival in situations where chip damage runs the risk of finishing you off.

Keep in mind that you don't have to hold two buttons for a long time in order to use Faultless Defense effectively. It's also possible to press the buttons briefly - slightly longer than a tap - just before the opponent's hit connects. By doing this, you can let go of Faultless Defense in between the hits of an opponent's blockstring, allowing you to save some Tension. This requires some precision though, so it will require practice.

Yellow Roman Cancel

Turn the tables with this powerful defensive option!

Press any three attack buttons (except

) simultaneously while in blockstun to perform a Yellow Roman Cancel (YRC). Costs 50% Tension.

Yellow Roman Cancels can be used when blocking at the cost of 50% Tension, for the purpose of stopping an attacking opponent and resetting the momentum of the match. Yellow Roman Cancels can not be performed when your character is in a Guard Crush state. Upon activation, your character creates a shockwave that forces the opponent into a Guard Crush state, granting your character massive frame advantage. Yellow Roman Cancel is a useful tool for challenging an opponent’s pressure, especially for characters that are lacking in character-specific tools.

However, Yellow Roman Cancel is -16 on block and leaves your character in Counter Hit state during its recovery frames. Sharp opponents can block it on prediction and punish it heavily. Make sure to vary when you go for a Yellow Roman Cancel to avoid becoming predictable. In addition, the hefty 50% Tension cost must always be taken into consideration. Said Tension could be used for Overdrives or extending combos or blockstrings with other types of Roman Cancels. Practice utilizing all of your defensive options so as to not end up over relying on Yellow Roman Cancel and burning Tension too quickly.

Psych Burst

Press

+ any other attack button to perform a Psych Burst. Costs a full Burst Gauge.

A powerful defensive option that can be used in a variety of situations at the cost of a full Burst Gauge. Upon activation, your character releases an invincible shockwave that knocks opponents away. If the opponent is in a completely invulnerable state, the shockwave can still hit the opponent's collision box instead of their hurtbox and ignore any type of shield or armor, which results in some invulnerable skills, such as Overdrives, still being hit during their invincibility frames. Bursts can be used at almost any point in the match, including when you’re in blockstun or hitstun. This allows Bursts to function as both a combo breaker and as a way to challenge the opponent’s pressure. The Burst Gauge refills very slowly over time, so it can be a good idea to use it early in a match to break out of a powerful combo, such as a Counter Hit combo. This will allow you to spend the rest of the round recharging it, making it more likely to have another opportunity to use it again later in the match.

While Bursts are very powerful, they are far from infallible. The activation shockwave is not instant, so sharp players can predict incoming Bursts and punish them heavily. A common method of doing so is canceling attacks with jump cancels or Roman Cancels, then blocking the Burst and punishing the recovery. Because of the risk associated with it, you should vary the timing of when you go for Burst to avoid becoming predictable. Lastly, keep in mind that Burst cannot be performed while your character is stuck to the wall, being thrown, or being hit by an Overdrive.

Counter Pokes

Counter poking is the act of attacking preemptively for the purpose of interrupting the opponent’s actions. By placing hitboxes in front of your character, the opponent runs the risk of being hit out of their forward movement or being counter hit out of their attacks. Counter pokes are key for playing a preventive playstyle, which is useful against aggression. The best counter pokes are typically long-ranged, highly active, quick to recover, protected by invulnerability of some kind, or a combination of these traits.

Anti-Airs

Abare

Reversals

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Offense

Standard Blockstrings

Elphelt's access to pressure is fairly limited from blocked normals. Most of the time the value she gets is tied heavily to how close she is. This pressure can be set up from any basic meaty c.S on knockdowns, or 2S if nessecary.

Close-Range Blockstring

Elphelt's basic close-range blockstring. Be careful of gaps the opponet can punish!

Your primary pressure string at close-range is c.S > 2S > (5H or 2H) > 214S~P/K~H. This gives a lot of opportunities for frametraps, and ends with Chain Lollipop for huge corner carry, meter gain, and an easy mixup.

One of the most important choices is between 5H and 2H. Using 5H will always lose to a 6P attack, but covers huge range as a frametrap. Additionally if you're still within range this allows Here I Go! (214S)GuardAllStartup20Recovery16Advantage-2 to be a frametrap for easy pressure. By contrast, 2H is Throwable, and even after Fautless Defense will enable you to threaten Here I Go! at the cost of no longer being a true frametrap and losing to 6P abare. Consider that while both options can lose to abare, the opponent must allow the other to be a Counter Hit, netting huge reward even midscreen. Below is a quick reference table for comparison:

5H	2H
Punished by 6P	Punished by Throw
Frametraps into 214S	6P can interrupt 214S
Pushed out very far by Faultless Defense	Barely affected by Faultless Defense
-11 at far range	-4 at close range
Big midscreen Counter Hit	Big midscreen Counter Hit

Here I Go! is an important pressure ender and reliant on staying close. If the opponent is pushing you out with Faultless Defense, using 2H will keep you in range, while cancelling from 2S can surprise an unsuspecting opponent with c.S > 2S > 214S~P/K~H at the risk of 6P and other strong punishes.

Despite the seemingly poor on-block frame data, Elphelt is built around Stagger Pressure. The opponent has to deal with a large number of potential frametraps, most often with 6P, and sometimes 5P and Throw. Staggering your offense allows easy whiff punishes on these while potentially closing the gap against Faultless Defense. This is easiest from c.S thanks to its advantage on block, but can occasionally be done from 2S/f.S and rarely even 5H.

K Normals Blockstring

Elphelt's K normals blockstring. The 2D is much riskier!

A much weaker string for K normals, usually taking the form of (5K or 2K) > 2D > 214S~P/K~H. While 2D can frametrap for very good reward especially on Counter Hit, its on-block stuation is much worse than its 2H sibling. 2D can usually threaten Here I Go! (214S)GuardAllStartup20Recovery16Advantage-2 for safe pressure ending. However, it has so little blockstun and bad recovery it can be challenging to make this safe.

Usually punishable on block by 2K attacks unless Elphelt is spaced out.
214S opens a 7F gap, able to be punished for a full combo with 5P, instead of 6P.
Only tight frametrap available is an extremely risky 214K.
Most 6P attacks will also frametrap you from staggering pressure unless very spaced out.

Spacing is crucial. Staggering pressure from 2K is good not just to vary timings but also to give Elphelt more opportunity to get out of an unsafe spacing. Additionally, even if you are too close it can be useful to use Bomb-Bomb ChocolatGuardAllStartup29Recovery0Advantage+14 (mid air) or an intentionally delayed Here I Go! to get over and punish moves like 2K. Notably, you don't have any low-risk, high-value Counter Hits like you normally would with 5H and 2H, making this a safer opportunity for the opponent.

Despite the numerous issues, it isn't bad offense and there is potential to open up and call out the opponent thanks to alternative tools including Bomb-Bomb Chocolat and Roman Cancels. However, it's virtually never worth prioritising this type of blockstring over c.S and 2S if the choice is available.

Chain Lollipop Pressure

They're in for it now. Let's see how far we can push this!

Elphelt's signature Chain Lollipop series, featuring Here I Go! (S)GuardAllStartup20Recovery16Advantage-2 to start and reset the offense, Down Low! (K)GuardLowStartup14Recovery24Advantage-10 and Up High! (P)GuardHighStartup14Recovery24Advantage-10 for mixups, and Nailed It! (H)GuardAllStartup13Recovery21Advantage-5 to end the pressure. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a simple 50:50 mixup, and there is a great deal of value to enforcing new options and altering timings.

Entering Chain Lollipop

One of the most important parts of Elphelt's blockstrings is her constant threat of Chain Lollipop, leading into huge tension gain for safe-on-block mixups. However, this is usually interruptable and opponents will try to punish Elphelt using Here I Go!. From almost any move the opponent can 6P the Here I Go!, however doing so leaves them vulnerable to either a 2H frametrap, a whiff punish, or a punish with Bomb-Bomb Chocolat.

While it is usually safe to cancel into from 5H by making it gapless using c.S > 5H > 214S, doing so loses the opportunity to RPS or frametrap the opponent, where much of Elphelt's damage potential comes from. This is instead best reserved if you already have the resources to force round-winning mixups regardless.

Below is a table showing the gaps and potential counterplay present when cancelling into Here I Go! (214S)GuardAllStartup20Recovery16Advantage-2.

Canceled from	Normals	Frame gap	Notes
Attack Level 2	6P, f.S, 2S, 2D	7F	Can be fully comboed by AA CH 5P or 2P. Counter Hit by 6P. Trades into 2K.
Attack Level 3	c.S, 2H	4F	Frametraps jumps and most fast abare such as 2P. Punished by 6P. Trades with 4F abare ( May Millia Rage Giovanna Baiken) and countered by 3F abare. ( Sol Badguy Chipp Zanuff)
Attack Level 4	5H, 5HH, 6H	2F	Frametraps all 6P attacks and fast abare. May still be interrupted by invulnerable reversals. If not delayed, it can be autotimed backdashed by 5F and 6F invuln backdashes.

The Mixup

When an opponent blocks Here I Go!, you have several core options:

Up High! (P) for an overhead.
Down Low! (K) for a low.
Tick Throw.
Pressure reset.

If the opponent is crouching, Up High! whiffs the first 2 frames, making it functionally a frametrap, even against Throw. This weakens the mixup, as it can now be fuzzy blocked or option selected with an invulnerable reversal, requiring to both delay the low to match the timing, and call out reversals with a bait. If for some reason the opponent is standing, both Up High! and Down Low! autotime for a gapless, unfuzziable, unreactable mixup, making it a completely true 50:50. However, it becomes hard to frametrap Throws, weakening other options.

Throw is short range, it can easily whiff on Faultless Defense, however from Here I Go! it auto-times for a Tick Throw, punishing opponents with a very short 6F gap. This is especially useful for opponents afraid of delayed mixups and catches DPs trying to OS the high-low mixup. However this still loses to 5F abare which is also a common callout to pressure resets.

Any attack resets into Here I Go! for a very small 6F gap, and cannot be stopped on reaction. Doing so gives more corner carry and Tension. There is also the much riskier 214S > S sequence for a 9F gap with a very good pressure reset. However, despite relatively narrow windows for the opponent, it's very difficult to threaten an opponent from challenging with a 5F abare, as there is no high-value counter hits of any kind. This is where delayed Down Low! and delayed Up High! are often used.

Hitconfirming

When Elphelt uses the High/Low mixup, it is invaluable to confirm the attack, reacting to the situation accordingly.

When the attack is blocked, you should always prefer H over P or K when below 50% Tension. This is because the reward on hit is very poor, while being punished on a Finisher variant is extremely bad. The risk-reward is almost never justified. If there is 50% Tension, and a combo will result in a Wallbreak with Hard Knockdown, it is usually worth confirming on-block into the mixup, as there is almost no downside to between K and H when Roman Cancelled. Be aware, however, that it is not always possible to get a strong combo, making it inefficient if done every time.

When the attack hits, it may confirm into any of the options based on your preferred okizeme. For reference, Down Low! Finisher midscreen gives the easiest okizeme with a dash 2D, and Nailed It! is always the best okizeme in the corner. You can also use H into RRC for a metered combo.

Alternatively, confirming on crouching hit at midscreen can reset into Here I Go!. Doing so will place the opponent back into the same mixup immediately. This is great for corner carry and Tension gain, since the offense is not much worse than the okizeme you'd otherwise receive. This can even be looped if the opponent keeps incorrectly guessing the mixup. Be especially mindful that if they get hit standing this opens an unsafe gap against characters with a 3F above-knees invuln 6P as there is virtually no threat outside the marginal threat of a frametrap Nailed It which could have already been comboed into. This does not apply on crouching hit as the opponent will be in hitstun for an additional frame. In addition, invulnerable reversals are still a threat and require you to bait them entirely.

3F Above-Knees Invuln 6P
Sol Chipp Millia Leo I-No Goldlewis Baiken Bedman? Elphelt

Whiff Cancel OS

All Chain Lollipop moves except Nailed It! can whiff cancel at a later timing than regular on-block/on-hit cancels. Additionally buffered cancels are overriden by the most recent input, this means you can input one response to occur if, and only if, the move whiffs. You can then make a second response you either buffer slightly later to auto-confirm on hit or block, or react manually to hitconfirm.

In addition, unique to Bomb-bombnniereGuardGround ThrowStartup7+0Recovery50 (32 OH)Advantage-, it is treated as a bufferable cancel, not a kara cancel, meaning it can also be used to Option Select.

This has several applications:

Bomb-bombnniere punishes almost any backdash.
Here I Go! can punish Backdash Throw punishes, especially when backdashing Up High! during the mixup.
Nailed It! is your fastest meterless cancel and covers a lot of distance, good for more safely catching opponents after IBFD or Deflect Shield causes a whiff.
Here I Go! can also be used to perform an intentional whiff to close the distance and reset offsense, if the opponent is waiting for a more obvious whiff punish opportunity.

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Okizeme

Okizeme Setups

OTG Bomb-Bomb Chocolat

OTGs automatically set up Bomb-Bomb Chocolat, meaty enough to even be reversal-safe.

Among Elphelt's strongest okizemes.

On Hard Knockdowns caused by 2DGuardLowStartup12Recovery18Advantage-8 and ThrowGuardGround ThrowStartup2Recovery38Advantage-, an OTG The act of hitting the opponent when they are knocked down. Short for "off the ground" or "on the ground." can be performed with 2H or Dash c.S. This deals additional damage while setting up Bomb-Bomb ChocolatGuardAllStartup29Recovery0Advantage+14 (mid air) to hit extremely meaty, leaving Elphelt +7~8 on landing, and recover in time to bait invulnerable reversals from the air. This allows a gapless 2K, j.D, or even Air Backdash j.H, making it a great opportunity to enforce high-low mixup threats.

In addition, Elphelt can do an ambiguous cross-up. By OTGing with c.S, you can do a tiny delay to be technically sameside when the explosion hits. Note that while 2H may change sides if done close, it won't be able to hit cross-up unlike c.S.

There are a couple downsides to the okizeme. Firstly, DPs are extremely annoying, as you will air block, usually netting a much worse 5H or 2D punish on block. This is especially true for Sin who will jail you into the second hit, and be much much safer. This can be improved by Air Instant Blocking to land faster, netting a real punish on any DP, which can be freely attempted right before landing into a grounded option like a gapless 2K.

The other problem is the bomb can be backdashed by any character. Doing so will leave them at best ( Millia Rage May) +1 on your landing, however the backdash will always be punishable by j.S or j.H for a full combo. With more advanced play, this weakness can be exploited with a Backdash BRC to evade the bomb and Air Throw Elphelt out of most follow-up actions, behaving as a universal reversal option.

The frame data of the OTG is slightly affected by the combo leading into it. While the vast majority of cases are either +7 or +8 on landing, this can slightly alter the timing and gaps of certain follow-up offense. Below is a chart showing how plus Elphelt is functionally after recovery and upon landing, depending on the combo leading into it.

Combo Decay	Knockdown examples	On-block (Airborne)	On-block (Landing)	Wakeup active frames
10-15	2D 5K > 2D c.S > 2D 2K > 2D	+22	+8	2
20-25	Throw Counter Hit 6P j.H > 2K > 2D 236D > c.S > 2D	+21	+7	3
30-40		+20	+6	4
Note: If hitting the OTG very early, such as Throw > c.S OTG in the corner, you may get a slightly higher OTG for +1 frame advantage.

Microdash Out of Repair

Tricky to input but one of the only okizeme options from so far away.

A usable okizeme Out of RepairGuardAllStartup14Recovery10Advantage-8~+3 from the furthest launches of Air ThrowGuardAir ThrowStartup2Recovery38 or Until Landing+10Advantage- and Nailed It!GuardAllStartup13Recovery21Advantage-5, to be +3 on block and continue offense.

Out of most Air Throw and Nailed It! knockdowns midscreen, simply using Out of Repair will whiff at the spacing. However, doing a simple dash first will usually fail to frametrap the opponent or even leave you minus. You require an extremely small amount of distance with a very narrow window to perform it. Small enough to require some unique precision, there are two main input methods to do this.

Notation	Visual representation	Description
`2145~Dash~K`		A buffered 214 motion allows you to plink Dash into K extremely quickly. To avoid a backdash, you must return to the 5 position before pressing Dash.
`[Dash]~214K`	(Held)	A buffered Dash input can be performed and held as you perform the standard motion. You must input 214K fast. Make sure you to get the K input as you press the 4 direction.

While tricky to perform, being only slightly off can still be plus, which can often be enough to keep pressure. If it hits an opponent in the corner, it can lead into a full combo with c.S due to the incredibly short recovery. While +3 on block is not substantial, you're able to frametrap most actions with 2K or 5K and threaten Tick Throws among other things. In addition, while it can always be backdashed, the recovery is so low they may even be punishable if they attempt to backdash the attack. This can also lead to additional mixups, such as by intentionally using fPRC Throw to interrupt the okizeme.

Unfortunately, the 25F startup makes it vulnerable to reaction invulnerable reversals. At best, you can either do a buffered 214K, and rely on their reaction not seeing the lack of microdash performed, or Roman Cancel before you reach the opponent to bait out their wakeup.

Furthermore, depending on how far you were or the advantage of the knockdown, your okizeme might require slightly more dash to reach, meaning it might not actually be able to frametrap actions like Jump or 6P, creating a lot more counterplay depending on the situation.

Misc.

Elphelt's goal when she knocks an opponent down is to set up Bomb Bomb Chocolat (214H)GuardAllStartup29Recovery0Advantage+14 (mid air) whenever possible. If she doesn't have enough advantage, then meaty c.S or f.S will allow her to keep pressure if she's close enough after gatlings to route her blockstring into 214S. Elphelt can also be too far from her opponent to set up 214H, as the bomb can whiff based on distance.

Bridal Knockdowns

Early Bridal

Close P or K hits into Bridal do not have enough advantage to set up a meaty 214H. In most cases she will have to use c.S.

Late/Air Hit Bridal

Later hits of Bridal Express and higher air hits give Elphelt enough time to set up 214H.

OTG Setups (2D, Throw)

Any Hard Knockdown Elphelt gets can set up a meaty 214H with either an OTG 2H or c.S.

Rekka Knockdowns

Nailed It! Okizeme

Nailed It! corner Bomb-Bomb Chocolat Okizeme

On Nailed It! knockdowns in the corner, linking into Bomb-Bomb Chocolat sets up a meaty for stronger okizeme to reset the pressure. Even if you wish to go into Chain Lollipop again, it is usually stronger to perform 214H > j.H > c.S > 5H to reset it, giving more opportunities for mixups, while generating resources.

However, keep in mind that for longer combos this will not hit meaty, and it can never be safe to fast reversals, but on characters without these it can be much stronger.

Combo Decay	Knockdown strings	On-block (Airborne)	On-block (Landing)	Wakeup active frames	Unsafe against
5~10	~H 214S~H	+15	+1	1-9	All 9F reversals
15	~P/K~H 214S~P/K~H	+14	+0	2-11	Goldlewis
20	2H > 214S~K~H	+14	+0	3-12	Axl Johnny
20	5H > 214S~P/K~H 2H > 214S~P/S~H	+14	+0	4-13	Bedman?
25	c.S > 5H > 214S~P/K~H c.S > 2H > 214S~P/K~H	+14	+0	5-14	Asuka ( Aquila Metron)
25	c.S > 2H > 214S~S~H	+14	+0	6-15	Testament
Note: The okizeme is always safe against Potemkin, Faust, Zato, Jack-O', and Chaos