Part 2 of Sakari P’s (Producer, Phantom Breaker: Omnia) breakdown of the changes made to each of the characters in the Spicy Edition patch. In this article he covers Sophia. Cocoa, Mikoto, Maestra, and Shiro-Mikoto.
Sophia
Among other standard, mid-range characters, Sophia’s neutral game is top-of-the-class. However, her less handy Overdrive and Phantom Break left her Quick and Hard Styles little to offer. We also enhanced attacks that previously had unclear usages.
- (ALL STYLES) Air Throw – The move’s recovery is now SP cancelable.
Compared to the air throws of other characters, Sophia’s was the only one that could not chain to a combo, even when consuming Burst Gauge. We made the recovery frames SP cancelable so that you can chain it into Klinok Buri and Overdrive for combo damage. - (ALL STYLES) Zemlya Obledeneniya (light) – All hitboxes are now standing and air unblockable.
This attack was meant to be a combo starter that leaves little vulnerability, even when blocked. However, due to its difficulty to land in the first place, this attack left players with very little reason to use it. Now that it is standing and air-unblockable, it should be much a stronger option for close-range situations. - (ALL STYLES) Zemlya Obledeneniya (medium) -・All hitboxes are now standing and air unblockable. ・Extended the hitbox upward
Though this move has a high-damage output, not only is it difficult to land, but it also leaves you open, giving players little reason to use this attack outside of the safety of the guard point provided in Hard Style. Now that it is standing and air-unblockable (low), this move should now come handy as a surprise attack during mid-range combat. Additionally, we extended the hitbox so that it is easier to use in a combo and knock down an opponent facing up. - (QUICK STYLE) Zemletryaseniye – Greatly increased damage
We enhanced the damage of this attack to better suit its intended use: powerful but difficult to land in close-quarters, while in mid-ranged situations, a handy anti-air with smaller damage output. - (HARD STYLE) Molniya – Increased damage
We adjusted the damage to better suit the class of attacks that are difficult to land but output great damage. As an attack designed for mid-ranged characters, we intend for this attack to be slightly weaker than similar attacks belonging to close-ranged characters.
Cocoa
Among other standard, mid-range characters, Sophia’s neutral game is top-of-the-class. However, her less handy Overdrive and Phantom Break left her Quick and Hard Cocoa is a strong character under Quick and Hard Styles but didn’t have much appeal under Omnia Style. Additionally, her air throw loop in the corner was excessively powerful. Hence, we have made this a little harder to do. On the other hand, we have buffed attacks that previously had limited usage. We placed a stronger emphasis on Cocoa’s distinct playstyle: using a big claw to grab the opponent and slam them around.
- (ALL STYLES) Air Throw – ・Increased recovery ・The recovery frames are now jump cancelable.
This change addresses the corner air throw loop. Because it is air jump cancelable, you can still perform a similar throw loop under Quick and Omnia Styles, albeit a reduced amount of times. - (ALL STYLES) Kurzes Messer – The move is now SP cancelable after the 3rd hit
Especially under Hard Style, this move put Cocoa at a disadvantageous state after hit as well as being uncancelable, hence we made it SP cancelable. - (ALL STYLES) Barbarischer Nagel – Extended the hitbox downward
This attack proved powerful if you managed to land it on a knocked-down opponent, but the attack didn’t land on certain characters. The extended hitbox should fix this inconsistency. We intend for this attack to be a great asset under Omnia Style. - (ALL STYLES) Barbarischer Nagel (EX) – Extended the hitbox downward.
This attack proved powerful if you managed to land it on a knocked-down opponent, but the attack didn’t land on certain characters. The extended hitbox should fix this inconsistency. We intend for this attack to be a great asset under Omnia Style. - (ALL STYLES) Stumpfer Flugel (light, medium) – All hits are now jump cancelable.
Since this attack saw limited usage, we made it easier to incorporate into combos, yielding greater returns for hitting the opponent. We intend for this change to benefit Omnia and Hard Styles the most.Since this attack saw limited usage, we made it easier to incorporate into combos, yielding greater returns for hitting the opponent. We intend for this change to benefit Omnia and Hard Styles the most. - (ALL STYLES) Stumpfer Flugel (EX) – The 11th hit will now force a wall bounce.
Since this attack saw limited usage, we made it easier to incorporate into combos, yielding greater returns for hitting the opponent. We intend for this change to benefit Omnia and Hard Styles the most.Since this attack saw limited usage, we made it easier to incorporate into combos, yielding greater returns for hitting the opponent. We intend for this change to benefit Omnia and Hard Styles the most.
Mikoto
Among other standard, mid-Mikoto stands out among the standard mid-ranged characters for her great range and firepower but demanded high execution skills, making her suited for advanced players. Her kit was also complicated in that it was hard to know which attacks are supposed to be used in each situation. By buffing her Burst Gauge consumption attacks, we made it easier to distinguish their usages. Additionally, compared to Maestra, Mikoto’s changes focus on “clarity” and making Gestrichen the hallmark of her gameplay.
- (ALL STYLES) Jump↑+M – ・Increased damage
Mikoto, Shiro-Mikoto, and Maestra all received this adjustment. Since Jump+M had a stronger hitbox, damage, and activation speed, there was little reason to use Jump ↑+M. We increased the damage to make it easier to incorporate into combos. - (ALL STYLES) Geschwind (medium) – ・Extended the hitbox of the 3rd hit forward ・The 3rd hit now causes face-down knockdown.
For Mikoto, Shiro-Mikoto, and Maestra, the third hit of this attack occasionally missed. We fixed it so that the third hit will hit consistently on ground hit. Additionally, since Mikoto has a ↓input stand unblockable follow-up, the normal version of this attack has been changed to knock down the opponent face-down to yield more merits as a crouch unblockable attack. This allows you to incorporate it into an air combo and knock down the opponent face down, as well as make it easier to chain to EX specials. - (ALL STYLES) Air Geschwind Tobend – ・Extended the hitbox of the 1st hit both upward and downward ・The 2nd hit now forces wall bounces.
This attack proved powerful if you managed to land it on a knocked-down opponent, but the attack didn’t land on certain characters. The extended hitbox should Since the first hit occasionally missed, Mikoto, Shiro-Mikoto, and Maestra all received the hitbox extension. Furthermore, for Mikoto, the second hit now forces a wall bounce, yielding greater returns than before. This is particularly useful canceled into from Gestrichen. - (ALL STYLES) Geschwind Tobend- Increased damage
The damage was increased because the damage was lower compared to similar attacks of other opponents. - (ALL STYLES) Scharf Gestrichen – Greatly increased damage
The damage was increased because the damage was lower compared to similar attacks of other opponents. The damage buff is large to distinguish the merits of this attack from Maestra’s. - (QUICK STYLES) Schaurig – ・Increased damage ・Increased the speed of the attack animation after the cutscene
We sped up the activation of this attack because it was unintentionally slow. However, as an attack that instantly reaches full screen, the activation time after the cutscene is still relatively slower than other characters’ Phantom Breaks. The damage buff is meant to better suit such a high-stakes attack.
Maestra
Maestra was a character that was difficult to distinguish from Mikoto. By making significant changes to Geschwind, we made Maestra speedy and technical, as well as defined Geschwind as the hallmark of her gameplay. For added effect, we have also added unique movement cancel routes specific to Maestra. This should make Maestra’s button choices and movement feel much more distinct from Mikoto while maintaining an identical appearance.
- (ALL STYLES) Jump↑+M – ・Increased damage
Mikoto, Shiro-Mikoto, and Maestra all received this adjustment. Since Jump+M had a stronger hitbox, damage, and activation speed, there was little reason to use Jump ↑+M. We increased the damage to make it easier to incorporate into combos. - (ALL STYLES) Geschwind (medium) – ・The 1st and 2nd hits are now SP cancelable. ・Extended the hitbox of the 3rd hit forward ・The 3rd hit is now jump cancelable. ・Under Quick Style and Omnia Style, the move is now jump cancelable before the 3rd attack hits. ・Under Hard Style, the move is now ground dash, backstep, and high jump cancelable just before the 3rd attack.
Maestra can now jump and dash cancel at certain points, allowing her to employ technical movement patterns. - (ALL STYLES) Air Geschwind (light, Medium) ・The attack animation is now jump cancelable. ・The move is now ground dash, backstep, and high jump cancelable from immediately before the startup to its recovery.
This attack proved powerful if you managed to land it on a knocked-down opponent, but the attack didn’t land on certain characters. The extended hitbox should Since the first hit occasionally missed, Mikoto, Shiro-Mikoto, and Maestra all received the hitbox extension. Furthermore, for Mikoto, the second hit now forces a wall bounce, yielding greater returns than before. This is particularly useful canceled into from Gestrichen. - (ALL STYLES) Air Geschwind Tobend – ・Extended the hitbox of the first half of the 1st hit both upward and downward ・Both the 1st and 2nd hits are now jump cancelable from the ground if they hit.
This attack was harder to land compared to similar attacks of other characters and dealt low damage. We significantly increased the damage to highlight the pros of using Maestra versus Mikoto. - (ALL STYLES) Scharf Gestrichen – Increased damage
This attack output had lower damage compared to similar attacks of other characters. - (ALL STYLES) Geschwind Tobend – Greatly increased damage
This attack was harder to land compared to similar attacks of other characters and dealt low damage. We significantly increased the damage to highlight the pros of using Maestra versus Mikoto. - (QUICK STYLE) Schaurig – ・Increased damage ・Increased the speed of the attack animation after the cutscene
We sped up the activation of this attack because it was unintentionally slow. However, as an attack that instantly reaches full screen, the activation time after the cutscene is still relatively slower than other characters’ Phantom Breaks. The damage buff is meant to better suit such a high-stakes attack. - (HARD STYLE) Grandios – Greatly increased damage
Choosing Hard Style for Maestra may have made up for her lack of firepower and low health but still left very little to offer. And because this round of enhancements mainly involved elements surrounding her air jump, Hard Style did not receive much benefit. Thus, we significantly increased the damage of Grandios to give Hard Style a strong advantage over other styles. - (ALL STYLES) Emergency – Fixed an issue where a hitbox does not exist upon activation.
- (ALL STYLES) Backward walk animation – Fixed an issue where certain motions lack a hurtbox.
Shiro-MIkoto
Shiro-Mikoto does have attributes that make her stand out from the rest, but considering her low health and difficulty charging Burst Gauge, her EX special moves had low effectiveness, leading players to spend their gauge on Emergency Mode and Counter Burst Cancels. We buffed her Burst Gauge consumption attacks to make her feel like a “powerhouse” compared to Mikoto.
- (HARD STYLE) Jump↑+M – ・Increased damage
Mikoto, Shiro-Mikoto, and Maestra all received this adjustment. Since Jump+M had a stronger hitbox, damage, and activation speed, there was little reason to use Jump ↑+M. We increased the damage to make it easier to incorporate into combos. - (HARD STYLE) Geschwind (medium) – ・Extended the hitbox of the 3rd hit forward ・Greatly increased the damage of the 3rd hit
For Mikoto, Shiro-Mikoto and Maestra, the third hit of this attack occasionally missed. We fixed it so that the third hit will hit consistently on ground hit. Additionally for Shiro-Mikoto, we greatly increased the damage of the third hit. Incorporating this into combos can yield big damage. - (HARD STYLE) Scharf Gestrichen – The 6th hit now forces a wall bounce.
This attack now forces a wall bounce, and though you cannot follow up with more hits, incorporating this attack into combos can yield big damage. - (HARD STYLE) Feurig Schneidend – Increased damage
Due in part to the damage proration present in Hard Style, this attack turned out to be weaker than expected, leading us to increase its damage. - (HARD STYLE) Air Geschwind Tobend – ・Extended the hitbox of the first half of the 1st hit both upward and downward ・Greatly increased the damage of the 2nd hit
Since the first hit occasionally missed, Mikoto, Shiro-Mikoto, and Maestra all received the hitbox extension. Additionally for Shiro-Mikoto, we increased the damage of the second hit. Unlike Mikoto and Maestra, Shiro-Mikoto cannot follow up with additional attacks, but it should yield great damage when incorporated into combos.