Are the top three really that unbalanced?

Current Fighting Games BlazBlue
1

Hey, I started playing this game and liked v-13. However, coming on to these forums, I noticed there’s a lot of hate for the top three, (v-13, Rachel, and Arakune). My friend uses Rachel.

Are the top three really that unbalanced? Or is it somewhat embellished? Nu does seem really good, but what about Rachel and Arakune? Are they that much more powerful than every other character?

I’m thinking of taking up Noel, but I’m not so sure now that I hear how much of an advantage Rachel, Arakune, and Nu have.

2

Noel has a decent match up with Rachel and Nu I believe (at least to me). Not so much against Arakune.

But on a realistic note, there is a gap between the top three and the middle 6/7 (if you want to throw Bang there as well.) but its not a major one and on a high level, these matches could go either way really.

The true issues lies with the bottom 2/3 vs. the top 3. The gap is pretty large and a steep uphill battle.

Plus, most of the people who complain are the ones who have trouble with the match ups the most.

3

i main tager and have trouble against nu but not really the other 2 of the top 3. i think it just tends to be different from player to player

4

All of nu’s matchups are in her favor

that means she has to work less in all of em if you know what your doing.

5

Not Carl or Jin. They’re even with her. It’s all about skill for those matchups

6

Plus a good Noel can be a bitch for Nu to deal with.

7

I’ve got a friend who picked up Tager when it came out on console and another friend that mains Ragna. Just for the record, is Tager really overpowered, or is it just that my friend who plays Ragna is sore because he’s not winning all the time?

8

The top 3 are the top because they have great zoning/spacing and deal huge damage for it. Makes it especially hard for some characters to get in. Typically, one mistake leads to easy 5k combos on you if the other guy knows what he’s doing.

Plus, they’ve got their own gimmicks. Nu is very hard to catch and both her zone and close games are strong, Ara has effin’ curse and is hard to catch, Rachel zones with poles and pumpkin, get in and you’re up against one of the strongest mix-up games in BB, as well as Guard Break shenanigans.

Yeah, top 3 are top for a reason.

Tager can be hard to manage if you don’t know the match-up. A good Tager can very easily destroy you if he knows what he’s doing.

9

Isnt Rachel significantly harder to use than the other 2 though?

10

Pretty sure Arakune is number three because he has an okay matchup with Rachel/Nu but a good (5-5 or better) matchup with the rest of the cast. Just one reason why he’s awesome: (when cursed) (3A 3A 3A 6A) x N 5D cheese.

11

That pretty much sums it all up, all the good rushdown tatics in the world won’t help you if you can’t get in they’re face :looney:

12
  1. Not really
  2. Even if it was, it doesn’t factor into tourny play because most players have to end up abusing their most efficient tactics anyways.

Playing against Rachel is like a rape-fest going back and forth, with Rachel usually always having a better part in mix-ups/pressure/oki game.

Playing against Nu/Arakune is just figuring how to get in, which is almost impossible against good Nu/Arakune.

13

I’d venture your Ragna friend is throwing out to many moves that are throw punishable.

14

i personally don’t feel like nu is that overpowered anymore. I main noel and v-13 is normally just a stomp into the ground for me. Her character is getting too predictable. Maybe i haven’t been playing extremely good nu’s recently but her mixup game isn’t really there from far away. Just block her stuff and inch your way in. Hit your combo starter and shes already down to 50%. I find in BB what makes matches hard/easy is all about matchups, and that’s the same as in nearly all fighting games.

For me tager is the most difficult matchup i can face and he’s supposed to be low tier. So i wouldn’t really worry that much about tier as you do about the matchup you are facing. some characters are always going to be an uphill battle

15

It’s not too bad. In general, the top 3 rape the bottom of the cast and go even or slightly better against everyone else.

Ragna v. Tager is even to slight advantage for Ragna. If the Ragna player mindlessly pressures, Tager will wreck him with backdash -> 360/760.

16

The top 3 all have something ridiculous about them, but they are not unbeatable, and their dominance mostly comes out against the low-tiers. Nu I think just has too many tools. Arakune can lock you down too easily, and his overhead loop and do 7k damage without meter. To mention a couple things. As for Rachel …

I main Rachel, and can talk on her some.

She’s more difficult than anyone else I picked up in this game (which is nearly everyone except Carl), or in any fighter I’ve played in a long time. Could have just been me, but I really had trouble getting the hang of her for the first couple months. She’s very punishable if you make mistakes, she’s slow until you really get used to her, and she can be pressured relentlessly. She’s trash when it comes to a defensive game, and has no great reversals (though 6a is ridiculous on certain characters … like Arakune). Her fireball zoning can be annoying, but most characters have definite ways of making you pay for abusing fireballs.

So she’s kind of an all or nothing character. Nuts on offense, crap on defense. Most matches I have against good players result in me barely getting in at all, or killing them pretty fast. Personally, I think her biggest issue is her damage, and her guard break. I think she’d be fine if both were scaled back. The nerf she appears to be getting in CS is hard enough that I really don’t see the point in picking up a character that’s so difficult to get really solid with. But who knows if all of that will stick.

To people having trouble against her, rush her down. Stay in her face, do everything you can to keep her from starting her pressure game, and do not early burst. I don’t play online much, but when I do, I’m amazed at how much people early burst against her. Once you do that, if she has meter, one counter-fork and you are fucked.

Anyway, I can see why she’s top tier, because in the right hands she is relentless and insanely strong. But it isn’t always easy to do, and I don’t see lots of people who can really do it well. Her top slot mostly becomes apparent in high level tournaments.

17

Hey bear, good job dude. I think you summed it up pretty well.

The end.