If Zato enough burst to use Wild Assault, he has a variety of unblockable setups for nearly guaranteed damage (only losing to invincible supers.) An example unblockable is given below which works at closer ranges without Eddie summoned.
If Eddie is already summoned, you can instead drop the {{clr|H|214H}} and dash up after {{clr|D|214[D]}} recovers. At further ranges, or against FD, you may be able to counteract some of the pushback from {{clr|D|214[D}} by whiffing a button like {{clr|P|5P}} or {{clr|K|5K}}.
Zato-1 is Guilty Gear's signature puppet character that specializes in forcing opponents to deal with oppressive mix ups and neutral situations with his shadow, Eddie. Zato alone is a very lacking character in almost every aspect, so it is important to get used to using the two characters in tandem. With low life, slower buttons, and attacks that extend his hurtbox before the hitbox, Zato suffers on the defensive side of the game and tends to require more character knowledge and patience to escape. However, once Eddie is on the screen Zato has many strong options to tackle any situation and more than makes up for his sub-par defenses.
Note that while Zato is rated the hardest character in the game by the game itself, it is more so because of complexity rather than difficult execution. Negative edging for Eddie attacks (releasing a button to trigger an attack, noted by ]X[ or -X-) is something that most other games/activities do not utilize and will take a bit of practice getting used to, but is very doable. Zato does have executionally difficult sequences, but they are not required to get a start playing the character.
Zato Specific Terminology
Some common shorthand terms for sequences and moves are defined here, be sure to keep these in mind or you may be lost when reading the more advanced stuff.
Clap Cancel
Cancelling any Eddie move into another Eddie move via 236P/K/S/H. Using a 236X special while Eddie is already summoned will cancel (or buffer a cancel) into another of Eddie's specials. This has a unique animation (with identical recovery to a normal summon) for Zato in which he claps his hands to command Eddie. One key thing to note is that Eddie moves done via this cancel (has to be while Eddie is already summoned) will consume less Eddie gauge than any other method of using Eddie moves. Check the Overview page for each Eddie move for more specific amounts. This mechanic has many usages as you will see in various locations in the Strategy and Combos pages.
Drills
Common shorthand for "That's a Lot"GuardAllStartup27→42→57→72 [31→46→61→76]RecoveryTotal 74Advantage+55, not to be confused with Drill (non-plural) which is often used to refer to Invite HellGuardAllStartup18Recovery2Advantage-7.
Release
Alternative term for a Negative Edge, often used to differentiate the ]P[/]K[/]S[/]H[ versions of Eddie moves from the 236P/K/S/H versions.
Round Start
Zato round start options are fairly average, but playing round start correctly is make or break in many of his worst (and sometimes best) matchups. Picking the right round start option is highly matchup dependent so look for specific info on this topic in the Matchups Section. However, there are options that are generally good to consider using. f.S, 2S, 2D, and 6P are all good aggressive round starts that serve different purposes.
f.S is generally fast (10f startup) for its range as a poke and can be used as a Summon RPS point on hit and block. However, it is susceptible to walk back whiff punishes and can be low profiled with moves such as 6Ps.
2S can cover several options f.S loses to. Its greater range will catch most characters walking backwards and cannot be low profiled. The downside is that it is a frame slower than f.S and has a greatly extended hurtbox during it's startup, making it susceptible to being counterpoked by fast moves. It retains the same summon RPS as f.S.
6P and 2D are both counterpoke options serving similar purposes. They will both whiff at round start if the opponent does nothing, but due to their evasion are likely to counterhit your opponent's pokes. They also have great reward on CH, leading to Zato's best oki or a full combo, respectively. They do tend to lose to defensive round starts, so tend towards these options for aggressive players.
In most matchups it is advisable to take more defensive or passive roundstarts, as Zato is better at controlling space than slugging in the midrange and his return for successful aggressive round start options is generally on the lower end of the cast. Walk back, backdash, backwards jump, downback, and even dashblock are all very solid options with less risk involved than the aggressive round starts. However, against the zoners in the cast Zato is on the backfoot in neutral so taking more aggressive round starts is generally a better idea.
Specials, especially Eddie specials, are not a great idea on round start unless you have a hard read on your opponents habits. All of Zato's specials are slow and or very limited in their range. Don't try to round start "Oppose" unless you are confident your opponent isn't going to swing as soon as they can.
Neutral
Neutral is a very complex and hard to cover topic even on characters not nearly as complex as Zato. As such this section will be broken down into covering Zato's options solo, Eddies options, and then playing the two in Tandem.
Zato's neutral and what the player should be doing at any one time is, similar to roundstarts, dependent on matchups. Sometimes he's a zoner and sometimes he is forced to play rushdown. Generally speaking he is a stronger character when he can zone and control space, and the matchups where he is unable to do this are his weaker ones.
Zato's Tools
Zato by himself is a rather limited character; he has some of the worst conversion ability in the game, terrible risk / reward on his pokes, and virtually no options to approach with speed or safety. However, thanks to some fantastic buttons and specials, he can still hold his own against many characters to buy time for an empty Eddie gauge to refill (which is much faster in this game than previous entries.)
Blockstrings and Pressure
The primary idea behind most of Zato's blockstrings and pressure is to summon Eddie safely and with frame advantage if he is available. If Eddie is not available, Zato's strongest option is generally to stall in his pressure long enough for the Eddie gauge to refill. Due to his nature as a puppet character Zato can enable himself to be relatively safe in his offense in a way that most characters cannot. As such, it is important to consider when to take risks on offense. For instance, the risk / reward of going for a throw or command throw when Eddie is not summoned is relatively bad; solo Zato has weak staggers by himself and lacks high damage strikes to dissuade the opponent from evading and punishing your throw. When Eddie is summoned, or even just available, the risk / reward becomes much more favorable.
5H
5H is the cornerstone of Zato pressure. It can be a deadly frametrap after c.S or 2S when Eddie is available and is where the first layer of Eddie Summon RPS begins.
The three most common options after 5H are:
236P: Can't be interrupted before the first hit in most circumstances, small frame advantage.
236K: Massive frame advantage if blocked but can be jumped and mashed on.
236S: Catches opponents attempting to jump, resulting in frame advantage or a hit. Generally, must be AA'd on reaction which can be difficult.
From these, the set of options available to Zato is massive and very effective.
236P "Pierce" RPS
The situation after an opponent blocks the first hit of "Pierce" is complicated and nuanced, but also very favorable for Zato. Keep in mind that the option set you will use is different midscreen vs in the corner. Also note that we are strictly speaking about 236P and not ]P[, as the frame advantage on the latter is much higher allowing for more freedom in pressuring with it.
First we will go over Zato's RPS options midscreen. The primary options to think about are:
Let 236P finish.
236P(1) > 214S
236P(1) > 236K
236P(1) > 236S
236P(1) > 236H
Notice that all of these options revolve around cancelling (or not) Eddie's action. This is due to 236P(1) only being +4 on block, making covering the gap in between the two hits with Zato more or less impossible midscreen. Each option has strengths and weaknesses, and can be used to target different defensive options your opponent might pick.
236P (both hits)"They don't know."
... > 236P, dash, ...
The default option, but also generally the easiest to counter-play. There is a 6f gap in between the two hits of "Pierce" meaning that any <6f button that hits sufficiently low to the ground (doesn't have to be particularly low)> can hit Eddie and kill him before the second hit is able to connect. After killing Eddie the opponent is able to gatling or special cancel to attempt to hit Zato. Zato can block these, but if you've gone for a normal assuming they blocked both hits of
"Pierce" you may end up getting hit. Additionally, jumping out of the gap is a strong option and characters with powerful air tools such as Baiken's j.SGuardHighStartup8Recovery19Advantage+1 (IAD) or Faust's j.2KGuardAllStartup10Recovery9 after LandingAdvantage- can pose a real threat afterwards.
This option is strong in that it is relatively low committal while being very high reward if the opponent respects the gap. If your opponent is new to fighting Zato or too scared to challenge the gap this is the least costly way to gain plus frames.
If both hits are blocked this results in around 30 frames of advantage for Zato, enough time to dash forward and true string a 2S or 5H to allow time for Eddie to recover and setup the next action.
236P(1) > 214SMaking a sandwich
... > 236P(1) > 214S, ]P[/]K[/]S[
Cancel the first hit of "Pierce" to send Eddie past the opponent, sandwiching them between a Spaniard and Shadow. A common but relatively easy to counterplay option. The strength of this option is that it will allow Eddie to invul through a mashed poke that would otherwise kill him in the "Pierce" gap, while putting him behind the opponent in a position that is hard to attack. The downside is that there is a significant gap in your pressure between when "Pierce" is cancelled and when he can next attack. Drunkard Shade has lower total recovery than a cancel into another Eddie move, but Eddie is not covering any space with attacks so there is a large amount of time for the opponent to react to the Drunkard Shade cancel and punish Zato or escape pressure.
Defensive options like jumping or dashblocking are very strong against this RPS option and are hard to counterplay. Additionally, there is a simple defensive OS to deal with both this and the previous Full "Pierce" option. <6f poke, backdash> will kill Eddie if "Pierce" is not cancelled and backdash and will backdash through Eddie if 214S > ]P[ is chosen. You can counterplay this by using ]K[ after 214S but it leaves a very large gap.
Mix this in if your opponent hasn't shown a willingness to dashblock or jump in the "Pierce" gap, if their Eddie killing poke is beating other cancel options, or if you see they are not able to react to Drunkard Shade.
The resulting sandwich pressure is strong, if a little hard to make tight. Remember that the longer you delay ]P[ the larger the gap they have to act in, but the more frame advantage you have as Zato is recovering from Drunkard Shade.
236P(1) > 236K
... > 236P(1) > 236K, dash, ...
Clap cancel the first hit of "Pierce" into Drills. The primary usage for this sequence is to beat attempts to mash the "Pierce" gap. During the startup of Drills, Eddie's hurtbox is shifted backwards which can cause most characters P and K normals to whiff. The consistency of this depends on how spaced out the first hit of "Pierce" was when it connected and the size of the normal the opponent mashed with; the further Eddie was and the smaller the opponents normal is the more likely it is that this option works. Often Drills will punish their mashed button and you can pick up with 2S for a combo.
Unblockable Setups
If Zato enough burst to use Wild Assault, he has a variety of unblockable setups for nearly guaranteed damage (only losing to invincible supers.) An example unblockable is given below which works at closer ranges without Eddie summoned.
214[D] > 214H > dash > dl ]S[ > 623S
If Eddie is already summoned, you can instead drop the 214H and dash up after 214[D] recovers. At further ranges, or against FD, you may be able to counteract some of the pushback from 214[D by whiffing a button like 5P or 5K.
Utilizing Negative Edge
Negative edge is an extremely powerful tool which allows Eddie and Zato to launch long, uninterruptible offensive sequences and play a much safer game in neutral. Eddie can be used to make almost any of Zato's attacks safe (even on whiff) while still maintaining the offensive. On offense or in neutral, negative edge can be used to attack with Eddie while blocking with Zato, allowing him to attack while remaining safe from attacks, YRC, burst, and reversals.
However, managing negative edge can quickly become overwhelming and extremely technical. Releasing the wrong button at the wrong time can be devastating, getting Eddie killed and leaving Zato wide open for a punish. In addition, Zato has to work around system mechanics mapped to pressing or holding multiple buttons at once.
Given how much it allows him to do, knowing how to properly use negative edge without unintended side effects makes Zato a far more intimidating character.
When to start holding buttons
When you should start holding or pressing a button will depend on the blockstring/combo you're trying to do. Some strings may already involve Zato using the same button Eddie will use to attack, in which case you can simply release that button when needed. Other strings may not use the button that Eddie will use but may have long recovery moves at the end of Zato's string during which the button can simply be pressed: an example is j.S > j.D > ]P[. Others may need you to hold the button pre-emptively or before you've hit the opponent in order to avoid getting a gatling, as in c.S > ]H[.
Ideally you want to start holding a button as close to when you need it as possible, although holding the button far in advance can make some strings easier.
Common Moves to Mask Button Presses
Almost any button can be used to mask another button press, but below are a few notable examples. Masking a button press is generally easier on moves with long total duration and few gatling options. As a result, any special move, D normal, or H normal is a good point to start preparing Eddie's next attack.
214H Useful in neutral or on knockdown, since it doesn't commit Eddie and Zato recovers faster.
j.D Common second or surprise overhead in mix-ups.
2D On CH, can on-reaction ]P[ for a full combo.
22H ]S[ or ]K[ are common followups to combo or maintain pressure respectively.
214S If Eddie is reflected, also allows you to "reset" and release other buttons.
214H has a long total duration where Zato is inactionable, making it easy to pre-emptively press and hold a button. Immediately having Eddie attack out of 214H is slower than directly summoning Eddie in using 236X, but this point is often irrelevant on hard knockdown or when the opponent is fullscreen, especially if you want to wait to see what the opponent does before committing Eddie to an attack. In neutral, holding a button in neutral for a move like ]H[ or ]P[ can allow you to quickly react to what the opponent is doing and release when necessary. On knockdown you have the initiative, so if you plan on doing a string which doesn't use the button for Eddie's attack you can hold it down ahead of time to make the string easier. You can also prepare a ]K[ to meaty the opponent with, easily making yourself safe to all kinds of reversals, YRCs, parries, etc.
j.D is often used in mix-ups but is almost always unsafe without Eddie, flight, or meter. ]P[ or ]S[ are common follow-up options which can be slightly delayed to create a gapless blockstring, or they can be further delayed to catch opponents trying to escape pressure. Both of these buttons also allow you to combo with the correct positioning, so you can wait slightly to see whether the opponent has been hit and evaluate which button you want to press.
2D is useful when pushing the opponent to the corner after a button like 2K or 5K. It not only serves as a second low, but gives Eddie more time to recover or move forward and provides a little extra corner carry. By preparing a ]P[ (or if close enough on hit, ,) you can get a full combo or keep pressure. It also sees frequent use in sandwich pressure after c.S, with ]P[ looping into another sandwich mix-up. If you want to follow with a special from Zato, you can prepare a button beforehand in case they escape or predict what you want to do.
22H is amazing for covering Eddie from further away or keeping the opponent locked down long enough for Eddie to approach. ]S[ is a common option to continue combos if Eddie can get close enough, although ]P[ also works very well for this purpose from further away. If the opponent blocks it in neutral or while Zato is further away, ]K[ is usually used just before the opponent recovers to keep them in blockstun while Zato approaches from further away. The huge duration and it being a special gives you plenty of time to see if the opponent has blocked and evaluate what you want Eddie to do.
214S not only has the obvious uses of crossing up the opponent or sending Eddie at the opponent from fullscreen, but it is also an Eddie cancel tool. Eddie cannot attack for the first part of his travel animation, so you can use this time to release extra buttons you're holding and also decide a subsequent Eddie move for him to perform..
Negative Edge while Zato is actionable
In general, if you want Eddie to do something, it's preferable to hold down a button while Zato is doing other actions already so that simply releasing the button afterwards will cause Eddie to attack. However, in some circumstances (such as in neutral,) committing yourself to holding a button far ahead of time may not be desirable since it will limit what Zato can do in the meantime.
In these cases where Zato is in a neutral state and you just want to have Eddie do something, there are a few common options, each with their own side effects.
Use Faultless Defense to mask the button press.
This is almost always the best option if you have even a little meter. It allows you to block while holding down the button, recover almost immediately, and only hold the button you need. There are some subtle downsides, however: first, if you're dashing towards the opponent, using FD will cause you to stop, and if you're using Flight, it will cancel it early. It also uses meter, even if only a tiny amount, and it can be difficult to input depending on your control scheme. If you don't have Faultless Defense bound you'll also have to hold down at least one other button, which risks inputting the wrong move or getting counterhit if the opponent hits you before FD comes out.
Whiff or throw out a move.
This is by far the easiest option, especially for players newer to Zato, but using this method can give up a lot of Zato's advantage on Eddie's attacks. Depending on the button whiffed, Zato may be in recovery for too long to run meaningful mix-ups or approach the opponent. This can be slightly remedied by using a fast-recovering move like 5P and holding down the button you want while the attack is whiffing, but this still leaves Zato vulnerable and inactionable for the duration of the move. This method also requires you to hold down P in addition to the button you actually want, which risks Eddie doing the wrong move. Whiffing a button also risks inputting a long duration move like 6P or 6K if Eddie is being moved forward at the same time, leaving Zato wide open if Eddie whiffs or dies. Although not technically any faster than other methods, this method of input is far easier than the others and may allow you to react faster to the opponent's attacks or actions while also minimizing the risk of having Eddie do the wrong attack. It also allows you to continuously move Eddie forward, as other methods of masking the button press involve holding back for at least 1 frame. At close range, this method can be much safer because your "whiffed" button will likely no longer whiff and Eddie can cover for Zato.
Backdashing.
This option suffers the same issues as above in giving up frames, but gives you a few frames of invulnerability to work with as well as not requiring you to negative edge an extra button.
Although FD is the safest and quickest to recover of these options, keep in mind that these latter two methods still serve as your best places to start holding down a button if you were planning on attacking on backdashing anyways.
Freeze Frames
In certain situations, such as:
at the start of a high level Counter Hit,
during the startup of a Roman Cancel,
during a super animation,
the screen will freeze in order to give time to react. Releasing a button at these times will not cause Eddie to take an action. This can allow you to release buttons that you're holding without committing Eddie, allowing you to perform otherwise impossible combos. You can also use the opportunity to hold new buttons without committing Zato. If you want Eddie to do an action as soon as possible, you should try to time your button release to just after the freeze frames end, since otherwise it'll have no effect and you'll have to press a button again.
Working around FD
Faultless Defense is activated by blocking and holding any two attack buttons (other than Dust) at the same time. Holding two buttons at the same time is a relatively common occurrence for Zato, meaning you can regularly get FD without intending to. Although there doesn't appear to be any special tricks to avoid this besides releasing buttons, knowing that it exists and how it can affect Zato will help you work around it.
Inability to walk backwards, fly backwards, or backdash.
Blocking during flight will cancel flight.
Moves input from neutral as 1X or 4X will not come out.
Specials input from neutral ending in 4X will not come out (without a Kara cancel.)
The inability to walk backwards can be difficult to deal with in neutral, so be careful about holding about too much buttons without the intention to approach the opponent. Cancelling flight with FD can launch you quite far if done correctly, so be wary about unintentionally launching yourself into the opponent.
Note that buttons not coming out due to FD only matters if you are actionable and can block. If you manage to hit the opponent with a button or are on the offense, FD will not come out until you are back in a neutral state, so all gatlings (iuncluding specials) will still obey the normal rules. Since the most common place you'll be holding many buttons will likely be in close-range pressure, these last two points aren't as dangerous as they may initially look, although they can still be difficult to work around. Even without gatlings, 1X or 4X moves can simply be input as 2X or 5X to avoid the move coming out, although this is slightly less safe. Once Eddie is out, be conscious of which buttons you're doing from neutral (especially after safejumps, or for buttons like 2K) so you don't leave an unintended gap in your pressure. Labbing combos and strings should give you an idea of where you may need to pay more attention to your inputs.
Other Tips
Although it doesn't occur often, be aware that the order in which you press/release buttons may not match the order in which those attacks hit, since those buttons may have varying levels of startup for Zato and Eddie.
Miscellaneous
Normals that leave opponent standing on normal hit: 5P, 2P, all K normals, all S normals, 5H, 6H, and all air normals.
Specials that leave opponent standing on normal hit: 236P(1), 214S.
Kara Super Applications
Kara super is cancelling a special into a super in the first 3 frames of the specials startups. Zato has various applications as Eddie is generally affected on the first frame Zato does a move that interacts with him.
63214H~6H Unsummon kara Amorphous: Cancelling Unsummon into Amorphous results in Eddie being unsummoned during the startup of Amorphous leading to a much safer unsummon in general.
In neutral this can potential hit opponents that attempt to target your unsummon timing. In addition to being overall much safer, the plus frames from Amorphous can allow for you to more easily stall as Eddie meter comes back.
In pressure this can be used as an alternative to Sunvoid to extend Eddie pressure with meter. The benefit of this over Sunvoid is primarily that Amorphous has half the meter penalty time that Sunvoid does, so when not in positive bonus you will being building meter much sooner.
63214S~6H or Large CH > 214S > 632146H Drunkerd Shade kara Amorphous: Cancelling Drunkerd Shade into Amorphouse results in Eddie being launched forward during the startup of Amorphous. The primary application of this is as a metered combo extension for massive damage. In the slowdown of a Large Counter-hit you can input 214S > 632146H very quickly to get a kara super rather than the very difficult usual method.
j.D Fast PRC Launch Tech
j.D Launch TechFor when you're tired of neutral or being stuck in the corner.
j.D > dl 66PRC~j.X
By doing a fast Roman Cancel just after the startup of j.D, Zato can launch himself to the other side of the screen almost instantly. Superjumping just before the j.D can cross up opponents even at fullscreen, allowing you to punish whiffed buttons, go into offense, or play a close-range RPS. If Eddie is out and near you, he can be pulled towards the opponent into attack range as the screen readjusts. If you haven't used your flight and fast PRC using a low recovery move like j.K, you can also sometimes stop your momentum using flight to bait options like throw or 6P. From most heights your air move will likely lose to 6P or other anti-airs, but the PRC can be hard to react to quickly enough. If you are getting punished for trying this in neutral, try using it instead as a punish tool for long-range, long-recovery moves.
Attemping to RC too quickly will not give Zato any forwards momentum, so you should wait a short amount of time after pressing j.D to RC. The sooner you RC after this short period, the faster and farther Zato's launch will be. If you don't drift RC or get the fast PRC, you will only move forward with a slight amount of momentum, if any at all.
GuardHighStartup8Recovery19Advantage+1 (IAD) or Faust's j.2K
GuardAllStartup10Recovery9 after LandingAdvantage- can pose a real threat afterwards.
![2D On CH, can on-reaction ]P[ for a full combo.](/w/File:GGST_Zato-1_2D.png)
