P4U2R/Chie Satonaka/Strategy

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Revision as of 05:45, 22 May 2022 by Elite Soba (talk | contribs) (Added a little big picture view about meter usage)
File:P4U2.5 Chie Satonaka Icon.png Chie Satonaka




Overview

Note: the above video is for 1.1. Chie's base gameplan hasn't changed too much in the patch, but her combo routing is vastly different.

Chie's basic plan is to just do what you can to work your way in and stay in your opponent's face where your fast buttons and high damage can win the day. Unlike most characters, she doesn't really have a mechanic that she plays behind, or big buttons to bully people with, so you just have to force your way in, or force them to whiff something to let you in and just try and keep them pressured.

Normal vs Shadow

Normal Chie
Pros Cons
  • 5AAA autocombo acts as a launcher for plenty of corner carry in midscreen combos
  • 5AA is one of Chie's best moves for pressure, confirming, and stabilizing combos
  • Chie is the second best char in the game at forcing Awakening thanks to her quick DP
  • Awakening Chie can afford to Blue Burst and still get massive damage without it
  • OMB stabilizes weird hits and confirms
  • Time in Awakening can be short or nonexistent based on opponents' combos (the latter case being particularly true against Shadow characters)
  • Making your gameplan be to lose 65% health to become better than S Chie is not a very stable idea
Shadow Chie
Pros Cons
  • 5AAAAA is a stable combo route in the corner, which allows S Chie to get the meter and burst bonus
  • Shadow Frenzy yields high unburstable damage routes off any hit
  • Permanent access to Agneyastra means better metered damage than reg Chie most of the time, even considering the 10% damage penalty. Also allows for Agneyastra > 2C > 5DD corner oki ender
  • Still have to learn all of reg Chie's combo routes for when Shadow Frenzy isn't available/necessary
  • Lots of combo routes to learn for different Shadow Frenzy confirms
  • Shadow Frenzy routes are much harder executionally than the usual routes

Using Meter

One of Chie's biggest strengths is her ability to efficiently use resources to convert any hit into huge damage. Due to this, a fairly common strategy is to stockpile meter and blow it all on one game-ending confirm. That said, Chie's non-combo-centric metered tools are very good as well. Thus, another flavor of playstyle is to use 214C+D, 214A+B, and Agneyastra to force her way through neutral and, alongside 236A+B, establish safe continuous pressure. By consuming meter so readily, this style can take a handful more clean hits to finish a round, but generally has an easier time securing said hits. Lastly, Chie can have a rough time on defense, so using meter for Guard Cancel options is an important option to consider. It can feel painful to give up thousands of damage from a possible future confirm, but it definitely feels worse to lose a round with all that meter left unused.

Neutral

Chie's main tool in neutral is her speed. She doesn't have many oppressive hitboxes to throw out so your best bet is to be tricky enough with your movement that your opponent whiffs a big move, gets too intimidated to try to stuff your approach, or just simply doesn't react. Despite having very high speed and kill potential, Chie for some reason is in the high-average health tier (9,500) which gives her flexibility to make a few mistakes while approaching.

Jumping in with run momentum is a fairly common option here. While it's tempting to airdash, it's valuable to hold your air options to bail out of the approach or react to the opponent's reaction, and by not airdashing it allows you to approach while airblocking. What makes this option scary is that Chie's j.C and j.D stall her air momentum and allow her to dodge or even beat many 2Bs and other antiairs.
That said, airdash approaches are still a valuable part of her toolkit. Instant Airdashes (IADs) are really good for two things: jumping over and whiff punishing attacks, and running into antiairs. Use them sparingly. Airdashing higher in Chie's jump arc or airdashing from a super jump allow Chie to dodge many antiairs and still hit standing opponents with j.C.

Chie's grounded approach game is necessary to complement her aerial approach game to not be too predictable. Chie has one of the best run speeds in the game and her 2A and 5C combine well with this to form fairly strong approach tools. 2A has fast startup, low recovery, and low profiles many pokes such as Narukami's 5B or Mitsuru's 5A. 5C is more committal, but it's still moderately fast and has pretty good reach. 2A+B is also worth mentioning here due to its Chest attribute invulnerability, allowing it to beat some low reaching pokes that 2A can't low profile. It's a bit unfortunate that she doesn't really get much off of a Sweep hit but getting in and knockdown is good enough. It's tempting to try to use 5A here, but Chie has T. rex arms so it's very difficult to actually hit the opponent this way without running into a hitbox first.
Evasive Actions (more commonly referred to as Rolls in the EN community and Quick Escapes/QEs in JP) are also valuable for helping Chie get in. Some moves, like Elizabeth's 5C, can be rolled through for a full punish, or at least an advantageous position. That said, due to the kinda long duration, you'll sometimes end up being disadvantageous and still being forced to block. Additionally, a lot of options end up being autotimed to beat rolls, like Yukiko's j.B fans.

2C received a lot of buffs in the 2.0 patch and has been upgraded from being purely a combo tool to also having utility in neutral. While 2C has fairly slow startup at 19f, it has a large hitbox that stuffs grounded and aerial approaches, and is very difficult for some characters to meaningfully whiff punish. It's also generally safe on block/dash cancel, and leads to fairly good damage+knockdown on dash cancel hitconfirm.

Chie has a bit of a rough time handling aerial approaches. Her most intuitive option, 2B, has a very weird hitbox due to its sliding forward animation. It still works as an antiair, but requires experience to get familiar with. Other options include rising j.A, j.C, j.D, or airthrow to preempt the jumpin; 5A in certain situations; and, surprisingly, 2A. 2A actually ends up low profiling a lot of aerial moves, causing the opponent to land on the hitbox and get punished.
214C is another notable option here. It's awkward to punish for airborne opponents and has a very large hitbox that can surprise most opponents trying to float outside of 2B/5C range. The unfortunate part is that it requires meter to convert off anything except CH in the corner. That said, it's still decent damage on its own and the Fatal Counter might intimidate opponents. Also Shadow Chie gets about 10k off a Shadow Frenzy FC combo midscreen so that's probably a pretty good deterrent. In a similar vein, 214C+D is a very strong option (see Metered Options section).

Metered Options

Chie actually has solid SB specials to force her way through neutral, particularly through 214C+D and 214A+B.
214C+D has a fairly large hitbox, armor frames from frame 9 through to the end of active frames, is +5 on block (+0 on dash cancel), is a Fatal Starter, has 0 P1 meaning it's her best CH starter, and wallbounces for a full combo on counterhit (even midscreen). If Chie's wasn't so efficient at using meter in combos this move would be the number one priority.
214A+B is a lunge that covers 3/4 of the screen, is projectile invulnerable from frame 7 through to the end of active frames, and is +3 on block. Outside of the corner, it doesn't really lead to combos like 214C+D does, but it's an option to get in that must be considered (although not necessarily respected) by most zoners.

Agneyastra is also a very strong neutral-winner, although it's not the winning-est winning move. Many characters have full screen options that can punish Agneyastra activation, and the duration and pushback will occasionally require a second Agneyastra to properly cover your approach. This is just to say it's a neutral-winner, not a game-winner. Your opponents will be very unhappy to have to deal with this move.

Defense

Chie's defensive options are very lamentable. Her strongest unique option is her stubby 5f 5A, and other than that she mostly has to rely on system mechanics. Her DP is a counter with short range, few catch frames, and tons of unique counterplay because caught attacks count as being blocked. The main saving grace is that it has a very short total duration so it can be tricky to punish.

5A, 2A, and 5C are probably Chie's best options to try to wrestle back her turn, depending on how far the opponent is. While her 5A is incredibly short range, it's a pretty good option to hit Personas which can end some pressure strings. 2B is a somewhat inconsistent tool at times due to the weird sliding making it hard to hit opponents directly above her. 2C is an interesting option because it has very far reach and maintains Chie's crouching hurtbox, so it can be used to answer certain scenarios.

Chie does have some cheeky tools that let her try to escape the corner. Airdash j.2D allows Tomoe to intercept anyone coming up to try to catch her escape, and j.236C+D launches Chie pretty far fairly quickly and still retain air options. These are not strong, reliable options, but they are options nonetheless.

214C+D does have armor frames, so it's not the worst option. The armor starts kinda late so you can't mash it out of blockstun, but it does work as an answer to some situations. Since it uses a C+D input, it can also be used as a Throw tech Option Select.

Offense

Chie's most stable offensive options come from frame traps and strike/throw pressure. She doesn't really have strong overhead/crossup options (although they do exist and are valuable to represent) so most of her blockstrings focus on threatening throws and leaving gaps for people who are antsy and try to get out. That said, Chie's pressure strings are very flexible and her ability to convert resources into big damage off any hit means that being on the receiving end of Chie's offense is very scary.

Basic

The cornerstones of Chie's pressure game are 5A, 2A, and Throw. 5A and 2A can be used a combined 3 times in a string (input 4A to avoid getting autocombo) and are only slightly minus on block (-1 and -3 respectively), so using 1-3 of these moves and then microdashing and repeating the process can be very tough to challenge for a lot of characters, especially when adding slight gaps between them. 4A can be particularly threatening for chars with 12f or slower reversals because 5A/2A > dl. 4A can be timed to recover in time to block the reversal. Adding throws to the mix makes it so opponents can't just crouchblock all day. 5A/2A have low recovery and blockstun, so 5A/2A > Throw works great as a tick throw.

A typical string could look something like 5A > dl. 4A > 66 > 5A > dl. 2A > dl. 5A > 66 > 5A > 66 2A > dl. 5A > 66 Throw, etc.

It's important to mention that another "invisible" part of Chie's kit here is just waiting. Either just crouchblocking or backdashing occasionally can bait reversals and help get a feel for what the opponent likes to do on defense. One DP punish combo is worth about as much as three throws/midscreen combos or two corner combos.

Fancier stuff

Maybe your opponent has godlike reactions and can tech throws when they're looking for them and you need to overload their mental stack. Maybe they know throw tech option selects. Maybe you're just getting bored pressing only pressing the A button for minutes at a time. If any of these describe you then this section is for you. This list is by no means exhaustive but should hopefully illustrate some of the many options Chie has at her disposal.

  • 5A > 2B/5C - 5A has 9f blockstun, 2B is 10f startup, and 5C is 12f startup. Easily-timed way to catch people trying to mash after 5A (especially for the third A normal in a string)
    • 2A doesn't work as well here because it's 10f blockstun and doesn't combo into 5C on hit. Slightly more manual timing with 5A/2A > 5AA/5B/2B is perfectly fine though
  • 5AA > Throw/66 5A - Normal Chie only. Normal Chie 5AA is a really good pressure tool because it's only -2 and pulls the opponent toward you slightly
  • ... > dl. j.C - Instant j.C is a strong bait against standing throw techs and some mashes. Leads to combo on CH with j.2B > 5B > ...
    • 5C > j.C is frametight so there's a lot of flexibility with how to use instant j.C
    • On block, j.C > j.B/j.2B is a valid option to reset pressure. It's an 8/9f gap that's fairly easily antiaired, but often times people won't recognize the gap and will respect it
    • Any time one of these sequences leads to j.B/j.2B, it generally opens up empty 2A and airdash j.BB as well
  • 5A/5B/2B/5C/2A+B > jump > dl. j.B/j.2B - Somewhat lazy pressure reset option that takes advantage of how many of Chie's moves are jump cancelable on block. Susceptible to antiairs
    • Midscreen, can opt to jump forward and airturn j.B/j.2B to turn the lazy pressure reset into a lazy crossup as well
  • ... > hop j.B/j.2B - Using hop as a reset tool is a bit less telegraphed than a normal jump cancel at times. A bit more committal due to limited air options, though
  • ... > j.2D - j.D never hits crouching opponents but many people will stand in reaction to the jump, so instant j.2D can be used to get some plus frames
  • 5B/2B > 44 > 66 2B - 2B preserves dash momentum which can make this a somewhat unexpected pressure reset tool
    • 66 5C is another option here but leaves Chie farther out
  • 5C/2C > dash cancel 5A - Dash canceling C moves leaves Chie only at -3, making this an acceptable pressure reset tool
  • ... > 2DD - Using 2DD in pressure is a bit risky because of the startup, but can let Chie jump at the opponent and get a basic high/low
    • 5DD is even harder to pull off but gives way more plus frames
  • ... > 236A+B - Metered pressure reset tool. Costs 25 meter but is +6 and leaves Chie next to the opponent
    • Important to note that 2A+B > 236A+B lets the opponent air tech out so it can be iffy if the opponent gets hit by the sweep
    • It's multihitting and fairly active, which can give opponents a window to Guard Cancel out fairly safely
  • ... > 214C+D - Similar to 236A+B, it costs 25 meter and is +5. Doesn't bring Chie closer though but yields about 5k on CH in exchange
  • ... > 236236A - A Power Charge is pretty much another OMC for Chie, but without the tricky instant mixup stuff. Instead you just get to hit people harder if you do open them up
  • 236A > OMC > j.B - Very fast overhead option

Midscreen only

  • 5A/2A/5B/2B > jump back > air turn > air backdash > j.B/j.A - Crosses up and allows for pressure reset on block. Can also cause antiairs to whiff very occasionally
  • 5A > 5B > 5C > IAD j.C > (OMB) - j.C crossup that can be a bit hard to confirm off. If you time it right, the followup OMB can uncrossup again
  • Run up > hop > air turn > j.B - Crossup that only works midscreen on crouching opponents with dash momentum. The requirements seem rather specific but it's a situation that arises quite frequently

Corner only

  • 5AA > 5B > jump > air turn > air backdash > j.B/j.A - Normal Chie only. Takes advantage of the pullback to get a crossup in the corner (link)
  • 5C > dl. 5B/2B - 5C has a lot of blockstun and a long cancel window, so this frametraps people reacting to Chie not doing anything for a while after 5C and trying to mash
  • 5C > Instant air backdash > (j.C) > 5C - Fairly hard to challenge sequence that leaves Chie well spaced but Tomoe in front of the opponent
    • Ending in 5C > 2DD gives plenty of plus frames to go back in and reestablish pressure
    • Ending in 5C > (2C) > 214D gives a D Black Spot that's really hard to punish because Tomoe is invulnerable until active frames. Leads to full combo on CH and is 0 on block on dash cancel
  • 5C > jump back j.C > j.C > 5C - A fairly awkward string to punish and loops back into itself
    • The punish is generally to hit Tomoe with a fast attack and then cancel into a slower, longer range attack while Chie is still in recovery
  • 236A~236A/B or 236A > (OMC) > 2A/Throw - Technically, Skull Cracker works anywhere, but is only particularly noteworthy in the corner
    • The Skull Cracker/2A high/low isn't really a mixup unless you use OMC to adjust the timing. Mostly just to take advantage of people being overly respectful of Skull Cracker after Rampage
    • 236A > Block is also valuable here because some people will mash DP after 236A to avoid Skull Cracker "mixups"
  • 236B - B Rampage is +2 but the middle hits whiff on crouching, so it can get DP/2B/etc punished
    • Largely a knowledge check that provides free pressure resets if the opponent isn't aware
  • ... > j.B/j.2B > j.236A+B (whiff)~236B - j.B/j.2B pressure resets can be scary because they open up instant Skull Cracker
  • ... > 214A+B - Kinda like 236A+B but it's only +3. Mainly a corner option due to poor midscreen conversion options
    • The single hit can make it harder to Guard Cancel out of though
  • 236236C+D > OMC > 5A > 2A+B - 125 meter unblockable. Not very good but can close out rounds (S Chie can get okay damage off it with Shadow Frenzy link)

Questionable Ideas

  • AoA - AoA isn't a reliable mixup tool, but it does work sometimes. The airborne and armor frames make it beat standing throw techs and some mashes a lot though, which honestly can be more useful than the overhead aspect
  • 236A~236A > 214A > 214C/D > (dash cancel) - None of these specials are safe on block on their own but the threat of the subsequent ones can let you get away with them. More than anything, this string just represents panic options after a blocked 236A
  • Run up DP > DP - DP has a total duration of 24f which means the unexpected initial DP can be hard to react to and punish, and the second DP will subsequently catch the failed punish attempt. Deals more mental damage than actual in-game damage

Combos

See the combos page for actual combos. This section will mostly focus on things like meter usage and okizeme.

Basics

The general idea is to end each combo in a knockdown that lets Chie advantageously restart pressure until she has enough resources to secure a kill. This means that autocomboing is ill-advised except in very certain situations because her autocombos generally don't knock down. The same is true for Dragon Kick ender (except D Dragon Kick in the corner sometimes).

Corner Carry/Positioning

Chie is arguably much scarier in the corner than midscreen, due to more pressure tools and combo routes opening up. The exact degree of this increased scariness is largely up to personal preference. This mainly comes into play for grounded confirms and throws, where Chie can opt to spend meter for effectively full screen corner carry. A capable Shadow Chie player might even opt for normal Chie just because of the corner carry from the autocombo extension route.

Airborne confirms generally don't need to spend resources to unlock their corner carry potential.

Arguments against forcing corner carry include maintaining crossup potential and the fact that Chie can still deal ridiculous damage midscreen.

Notable Corner Carry Routes

Combo Damage Meter Requirement Notes
5AA > 5C > 236A~236B > 214B 1482 - Crouching only. 2/3 corner carry
5AAA > 236B~236B > 66 5C > 2C(1) > dc > 5B > 5C > 2B > 2A+B 1965 - Normal Chie only. 3/4 corner carry
5AAAA~236A+B > 214B 1379 5 Shadow Chie only. 2/3 corner carry. Notable for the autocombo meter
5AA > 5C > 236A+B~236B > 214B 1602 18 2/3 corner carry
5B > 2B > 2A+B > 214A > 21D > 236236A > 66 5C > IAD j.2B > j.236B~236B > 66 5C > 2C(1) > dc > 5B > 5C > 2A+B 4004 36 Full corner carry. Possible off A starters but much tighter
Throw > 236236A > 5C > 236B~236B > 66 5C > 2C(1) > dc > 5B > 2A+B 2729 45 1/2 corner carry

Okizeme

After getting a knockdown, Chie has three main options to get her pressure started again: Meaty 5A, safejumps, and D move Persona oki

Meaty 5A

Of the three options listed here, this one is probably the weakest, but can be done on virtually any knockdown and any wakeup timing. 5A has 8f recovery, so frame perfectly having the opponent wake up on the last active frame means Chie should recover and be able to block any reversals that are 9f or slower. This means everyone's DPs except Chie, Naoto, Rise, Teddie, Yosuke (coincidentally, all the counter DPs), and Kanji (whose DP is also kind of a counter DP). In practice, all the other DPs are 10f at fastest, so you have a 2f window for meaty 5A to be DP safe.

Meaty 5A is most notable after throws because they're just about the only knockdown Chie gets that doesn't result in a safejump. It's also valuable if the opponent delays their tech to mess up safejump timing, although getting precise meaty timings from there can be tricky.

Safejumps

Chie gets safejumps off of just about every knockdown she gets. Some of her knockdowns are also flexible enough to allow her to side swap with her safejump if desired. The general idea is to jump or IAD immediately when the opponent hits the floor, but there are some more advanced options too.

Combo Ender Setup Position Other notes
214A Hold up forward Any Works both on grounded hit and after sweep. More prorated combos can allow air teching though
2A+B Jump forward when the opponent hits the ground Any Sweep knocks down much more reliably than 214A, so this is a valuable setup to learn even though the timing is manual
2A+B Immediate neutral super jump > air turn > air backdash when the opponent hits the ground Any Fairly reliable side swap safejump setup, but the timing takes some practice
214B Run forward and forward jump when the opponent hits the ground Any 214B ender gives a lot of corner carry and still provides a safejump
j.8D Jump forward when the opponent hits the ground Any j.8D ender generally opens up 5DD/2DD oki, but a normal safejump is sometimes possible too
AoA~D Instant air backdash > jump forward when the opponent hits the ground Corner AoA~D ender generally prefers going into 5DD oki, but a normal safejump is possible too
236B~236B > (214B) > 236D Hold up forward (technically up back because it side swaps) Corner Stable safejump off 236D ender, but loses corner position
236B~236B > (214B) > 236D Hold up forward > air turn > air backdash Corner Harder safejump but regains corner positioning

Generally j.2B is the best option for safejumps due to it having the highest blockstun (without affecting her air momentum like j.C). The timing for the actual aerial isn't too precise, but if desired can be set up by doing an instant j.B as a framekill for the forward jump safejump options.

Special Reversal Options
  • Kanji's DP - Beats j.B/j.2B safejumps because coming in contact with him with a non-Persona move shocks you. Safejump with j.C (requires slightly different timing) or choose a different okizeme option
  • Kanji's Command Grabs - 214D and 214C+D don't have strike invul on frame 1 but can lead to sad times if you mistime your attack. 214214C, 214214D, and 214214C+D do have full invul
  • Yosuke's DP - Counter with a frame 1 counterattack. Needs to be safejumped frame-perfectly, or choose a different okizeme option
  • Elizabeth and Margaret's DPs - These are invulnerable throws. Since you won't be in counterhit state when landing from your safejump, you can tech these throws, but there are better options to properly beat these. Inputting a backdash or an AoA during the expected hitstop of the safejump will allow you to avoid and punish these
  • Elizabeth's Ghastly Wail - Elizabeth has a frame 1 invul command grab super which is her only kinda decent reversal option. It's at best 4 after flash, so you can deal with this roughly the same way you deal with her DP
  • Elizabeth's Debilitate - This is a counter but the catch isn't active on frame 1, so it'll only catch you if you mistime your attack
  • Adachi's DP - This is an overhead, so if you block safejumped reversals by crouchblocking, you'll need to standblock to account for it. It's also really slow, so you can play around that
  • Chie's DP - The first hit of the counterattack is a low, so if you block safejumped reversals by standblocking, you'll need to crouchblock to account for it
  • Naoto's DP~Safety - Naoto's DP is a counter that has a backdash followup. Not amazingly strong, but should be aware of as an option
  • Minazuki's 214214C+D - This is just a counter that you can't safejump at all. Hitting him at all causes the counter to immediately trigger and hit you
  • Aigis's Orgia Backdash - This is the only invincible backdash allowed on wakeup
  • This list probably isn't complete

D Normals

Chie's 5DD, 2DD, and j.D are fairly solid oki tools that allow Chie to outspace most reversal options. This is generally Chie's best oki tool, but is the hardest to reliably secure. Note that since these take advantage of spacing and not raw frame windows, some setups that work midscreen might not work in the corner.

Common setups:

  • ... > j.8D > 5DD
  • ... > AoA~D > Instant air backdash > 5DD - Corner only
  • ... > 2A+B > 214A > 66 5DD - Midscreen only, and char specific. Different starting combos will change which chars this works on. Most stable against Akihiko, Elizabeth, Kanji, Ken, Labrys, Margaret, Teddie, and Yukiko
  • ... > 236D > j.214214C > [backdash > walk back slightly] > 2C(1) > 5DD - Corner only. Can replace the part with brackets with 2x backdash or instant air backdash

j.D (generally j.8D) is mostly used to cover air techs for some messed-up irregular combo routes (such as 2C(1) > Air hit AoA).

Resets/Gimmicks

  • ... > 236A~236B - Overhead reset on standing opponents. Best in the corner where conversions are easiest
    • Beaten by blocking high or mashing DP out of hitstun
  • ... > j.BB > j.AA > dl. 2B - When chasing an air tech, this string generally brings the opponent to the ground and gets an air unblockable 2B. Midscreen, this can also give a crossup on the 2B
    • A common example string will be after a j.8D from air hit AoA ender
    • Another straightforward sequence is ... > 236B~236B > 5C > 2DD in the corner, where the 2DD will cover all but neutral/no air tech
    • Beaten by changing airtech timing, air DP, double jump, air backdash, and miscellaneous char-specific anti-anti-air options
  • Airthrow/2B for various combos that allow for airtechs
    • Not particularly unique to Chie
    • Generally beaten by changing airtech timing, air DP, double jump, air backdash, and miscellaneous char-specific anti-anti-air options

Vs Chie

TODO

Neutral

don't get hit

Defense

Fuzzy jump her strike/throw. also don't get hit

Tips and Tricks


Navigation

File:P4U2.5 Chie Satonaka Icon.png Chie Satonaka