Normals:
Legend/Key:
1= Light Attack
2 = Medium Attack
3 = Hard Attack
4 = Character Trait
MB = Meter Burn
j = jump
b = back
f= forward
d = down
u = up
db = down to back (quarter circle back in SF inputs/Alt Controls)
df = down to forward (quarter circle forward in alt)
bf = back to forward (half circle forward in alt)
fb = forward to back (half circle back in alt)
xx = special cancel
~ = Trait Cancel
High = High attack, hits standing, whiffs on crouchers.
Mid = Mid attack, hits both standing and crouching opponents
Low = Low attack, Hits Standing and crouching, must be blocked low.
Overhead/OH = Overhead Attack, hits standing and crouching, must be blocked standing
Bound = Ground Bounce
Escrima Stance:
1: High, 6 Frame attack: Nightwing’s straight Escrima jab. This is his quickest ground normal in Escrima, and tied with his Staff d1 as the overall quickest. This is your punish options for those moves or strings you know f2 won’t reach in time. Be wary, as a high attack it whiffs on crouchers AND characters in a low profile. This normal won’t see a ton of use outside of quick punishes and coming down from j2.
2: Mid, 12 Frame Attack: Nightwing swings with both his Escrima sticks toward the opponent. Not a ton of use for this move. f2 is better for speed and strings, his 3 and b1 are better for range. May use it in the odd juggle but for the most part leave it be.
3: Mid, 14 Frame Attack: Nightwing cross his arms and slashes his Escrima sticks horizontally in front of him. One of his longest normals in Escrima stance. The most use will be in following up after a successful b2 for a juggle, so you’ll definitely use it at least once or twice a match.
b1: Mid, 14 Frame Attack: Similar animation to his stand 3. The range isn’t as far as his 3, but it serves a bit more use in footsies and neutral thanks to the b112 string which is +2 on block. Must be cautious against possible jump ins though. If it whiffs when that happens, it won’t be pretty afterwards. It’s also one of his better punish starters.
b2: Overhead, 15 Frame Attack: One of the better overhead attacks in the game. Nightwing slams his fist and Escrima stick down on an opponent’s head. The range is damn good, especially for this stance. And you get a free visual confirm for a juggle starter. And it’s safe on block to everything but Superman’s Kryptonian Crush (his Super). This move alone can open up his entire offense. Never go a match without using this at least once.
b3: Mid, 29 Frame Attack (universal Wall Bounce Attack): The typical b3 attack. Dick rears back and slams his Escrima sticks forward sending the opponent flying. The range is a little deceptive, and not in the good way. It tends to be just a pixel or hair away from hitting consistently. Still solid, useful for MB juggles with MB Escrima Fury if you want to go that route. More consistent as a MB move than f3 since it doesn’t have the potential of whiffing opponents in front of him. Also remember that this and f3 have advantage on block.
f2: Mid, 10 Frame Attack: Nightwing does a quick gut jab with his Escrima stick. One of his better starters and your most likely punish starter. Most consistent opener and leads to some of his best damage, decent on juggles too. You’ll use this a good bit.
f3: Overhead, 29 Frame Attack (universal Ground Bounce): Nightwing leaps up and slams down with force. Uh, solid move. Since his b3 whiffs in meterless juggles midscreen, f3 will be your main filler in midscreen juggles. Be very cautious when using this in neutral. At a somewhat generous range it can completely fly over a ducking opponent and whiff entirely. To make up for it, it’s +15 on block at least. I’d still avoid using this in neutral. If you need an overhead, Flip Kick and b2 are the way to go. Save this for your juggles.
u3: Overhead, 25 frames: Uh…well, it’s an overhead…a safe one. Doesn’t whiff much. It knocks down on hit… Yeah, avoid this, not much too it unless you just want the potential frame advantage for getting it blocked.
u3d3: Low, 25 frames: Technically not a string as you’re canceling the u3 before it’s active to this move. Pretty much a fake of the OH to this move. Yeah, I’d also avoid this unless you’re feeling yourself.
d1: Mid, 9 Frames: Typical d1, he crouches and jabs you with his stick. This is his fastest mid attack, but by only one frame. So for punishing purposes it’s rare that you’d pass up f2 for this, and in cases where you would, 1 is even quicker to make things easier. Its use lies in the neutral. Solid move, but the d12 string is ridiculous, making this move better by default. I’ll cover it more when we get to strings.
d2: Mid, 12 frames: It’s an NRS Uppercut, standard. Unfortunately his…is not very good. Pretty slow, hitbox isn’t very good so it’s not a solid AA. Not much use in combos. You really won’t find much if any use for this normal at the moment.
d3: Low, 13 Frames: Typical sweep attack. Not a ton of use, ESPECIALLY because it’s -12…ouch. You can use it once every so often just to threaten at least ONE low, but don’t make a point of using it a ton.
j1: Overhead, 6 frames: Not much to say on this normal. Main thing to note is that it can function as an instant overhead, pretty helpful since he also has an air projectile he can cancel it into . But he has other overheads and this can leave you a sitting duck if you’re not careful. But it should still be noted.
j2: Overhead, 11 Frames: Nightwing jumps in the air and strikes down between his legs with his two Escrima Sticks. Eh…it has issues. But I’ll name the main pro, it can crossup. Now to get to the bad points. Hitstun is…pretty low. You’ll have a tough time actually linking a normal on the way down that isn’t 1, and you have to do it so fast it’s tough to confirm (thankfully, it jails on hit and on block…they’d have to stand anyway). The hitbox is also not great, a bit small. And it’s his slowest jumping normal period. Use it to switch pace a bit, but avoid doing it too much, you’ll lose the Air-to-Air game hard. Still used for juggles at least.
EDIT: j2 is a bit better after understanding the game’s jump in mechanics more. Just have to treat it like the first hit of a Dial-a-Combo chain so you’ll get hit confirmation with f213. Still use it sparingly however.
j3: Overhead, 7 frames: One of the best j3’s in the game. Nightwing just dropkicks you. The hitbox of the move is GENEROUS. Can hit higher than you think, crosses up a lot better than you’d think. It beats out a TON of crap in the air. I’d only put maybe the Joker’s and Green Arrow’s j3 as higher. With Wing Dings, you can do a solid amount of damage beating out jumps alone. Use it, damn near abuse it while in Escrima.
Staff Stance:
1: Mid, 11 Frames: Just a quick jab with the staff. Solid move due to the range. Your main range punisher, while d1 handles the speed punishes. Also a good check. Nothing fancy or special, just a good 1.
2: Overhead, 22 Frames: Nightwing bring the staff around over the opponent’s head. Slow but LONG. It’s an interesting one. Bounds on hit as well so you’ll get followups but it depends on range. Max range gets you a ground blast, the closer and closer you hit it, the more damage you’ll get from it. Try not doing it at point blank though unless you know the opponent won’t press buttons. 22 frames is a long time to hope you don’t get nicked by something. But it’s a very solid normal, good for mindgames especially since…well, Nightwing actually has lows in Staff.
3: Mid, 22 Frames: I’ll make this quick. Only use this for juggles…that’s it. Do not use this in neutral unless you like dying. Great in juggles, don’t bother anywhere else.
b1: High, 14 Frames: Probably his second longest poke (I think 2 beats it). It’s a great check at mid range. KD’s on hit, angled so it can stuff jump attempts early (and with how Staff works, they will like to jump at that range). Be wary though, it is a high. Avoid doing this from too close so you don’t get whiff punished.
b3: Mid, 28 Frames (universal WB): He plants his staff on the ground and he goes to kick you across the stage. It’s…interesting to say the least. Probably won’t have that much use for it in the neutral, solid for juggles but you must be cautious with it. The way he moves can cause your juggles to hit differently or whiff if done too early or late. Solid though.
f3: Overhead, 33 frames (universal GB): He plants his staff, this time to flip himself over and plant a kick over the head of the opponent. For Overheads, 2 is better. You won’t see this much in juggles either. It’s slower than most of the f3’s in the game. At most use it as a MB normal to avoid being put into the corner or avoid transitions.
j1: OH, 7 Frames: Ever play KOFXIII? Ever play Billy Kane? This normal (and the hop arc) will make you feel at home. This thing is a nuisance. The only bad thing is that good luck actually getting a combo afterwards but that’s not important. Just a way to get in and just pester your opponent even more than usual. A deceptively good vertical hitbox as well helps win air-to-air battles he wasn’t expecting.
EDIT: Like the Escrima j2, this is better for comboing when the jump in mechanics of this game are understood more. HOWEVER…it can still be a pain since you’ll definitely have to commit to MB Ground Blast or MB Staff Spin (in corner) to confirm a combo. The hop arc also means you have less time to register the chain.
j2: OH, 8 Frames: Main use is for juggles. j1 and j3 are better in the neutral for the most part. Nothing special. Can win some air-to-air battles though, most importantly against characters that are over you in the air.
j3: OH, 9 Frames: Your main air-to-air button. Pretty solid. Not on the level of his Escrima j3 of course but it does what it’s supposed to do. Solid a2a normal.
Character Trait: Stance Switch
Well if you haven’t figured it out by now, Nightwing’s character trait is his two stances. The Trait Button, 4, allows him to switch between them at his leisure. It isn’t instant though like some other character traits. It takes 31 Frames for the switch to occur, a long time. However, Nightwing has some depth to this trait. First off, you can cancel into the switch from a lot of his normals, par for the course with character traits. And secondly…you can special cancel out of it half way through with proper timing. This makes it possible to do stance switch combos and allows for safer neutral switches. Another thing to take note of is special to his special move Staff Spin. When you press trait at the right time during it (or just mash it) he automatically goes to Escrima immediately after the move. Also remains safe doing so. Proper mastery of Nightwing will be to utilize all of the above.
Attack Strings:
*A Notice, all data listed will be referring to the last attack of the string listed. Also, only notable strings will be listed.
Escrima Stance:
112: Mid, +21 on Block, Knockdown on hit: A +21 attack on block, what could go wrong? Well remember, the first 1 is a high so it could whiff duckers, and if it hits you don’t get anything off of it. Solid string though to deal with people staying standing. Feel free to use it every so often. It’s also a solid string for corner juggles.
113: Mid, unknown block advantage, 2 hits, floats on second: The unknown block advantage is due to the in-game frame data being messed up when it comes to multiple hits within one move (in this case, the last 3). So ignore that for now. Anyway, this is the main string you’ll use for your 6 frame/stand 1 punishes. Remember though, you have to cancel the FIRST HIT of 3 to do so properly. Do it too late and you’ll be sad as they’ll be floated and it will screw with your juggle.
b11: Mid, -1 on Block: This will be your string for your range punishes into specials. The other two b1 strings both knockdown on the last hit. Nothing special otherwise.
b112: Mid, +2 on block, knockdown on hit: This will be one of your better footsie strings. + on block with solid range. Just watch out for whiffing it.
b13: Low, -3 on Block, knockdown on hit: Another way to get people to respect some lows in Escrima, only this time it’s without risking being -12 on block.
f213: Mid, unknown on block, 2 hits, knockdown on 2nd hit: This is your main punish string and it’s solid in the neutral too. Unknown how safe it is for sure thanks to the bug in game but you’ll be canceling it almost every time anyway. But I’ll be even more adamant than I was for 113. YOU HAVE TO CANCEL THE FIRST HIT OF THE 3. At least with 113 you’ll get SOMETHING if you mess up, just won’t be as good as normal. If you mess up here you get nothing. This is for standing opponents though. During the juggle or on block, feel free to actually cancel the second hit at times for mind games or different combos.
EDIT: This is actually more hit-confirmable than I initially thought. You just can’t cancel to Escrima Fury too late (for the reasons I stated above) but once you get used to how hitsparks/blockstun looks, you can definitely use it as a hit-confirm string
33: Mid, -2 on block: A rare string, but has some uses in juggles. Nothing major to note.
333: OH, -4 on block, knockdown on hit: Just an Overhead string, but has some uses as a combo ender for a hard KD when you can’t land Flip Kick.
d12: Mid, +8 on block: The money. + 8 on block says it all. You can special cancel it, which is a big deal since most d1 cancels are tighter than they were in MK9. You can just harass your opponents with this. If they MB B3 they’re blown up. Depending on the MB F3 you could get hurt though, depends if it allows a dodge from them or not. But yeah, abuse this string if you decide to stay in Escrima up close.
Staff Stance:
1b1: High, Even on Block: Not much to take from this string. It’s actually more of a target combo than anything since b1 actually keeps its properties within the string. Treat it pretty much the same as you would b1, only with less of an ability to check.
1f1: Low, +2 on Block: Your go to punish string. Hits low as a nice bonus. Being plus on block is another bonus. You can abuse this if you want, but remember that your initial 1 is 11 frames. But it feels nice to have lows.
1d3: Low, -11 on Block, knockdown on hit: Why is this getting mentioned when we have a low string already? This goes further. But really, use this sparingly.
1f2: OH, -3, Knockdown on hit: A string to mix up your other strings. Keeps your opponent in check. Safer than a straight 2 as well since it starts with a faster normal beforehand.
Special Moves:
Escrima Stance:
Air Wing Ding/DB1/QCB1: OH, -36 on Block (MB: -6, KD on hit), Startup 9 Frames, AIR ONLY: Nightwing’s version of the Batarangs. You jump up and he tosses 3 projectiles at an angle. The Meter Burn will throw out a 4th that knocksdown. A very good projectile. Halts his air momentum which can screw up anti air timing. Strikes at a good angle. Can be canceled into from jump normals adding damage. Be careful for doing this too close to the opponent. If you’re blocked at a close range…it’s gonna hurt. Overall good move.
Ground Spark/DB2/QCB2: Low, -4 on Block (MB: +11 on Block, KD on hit), Startup 31 Frames, CAN BE DASH CANCELED, CAN BE HELD: The ground projectile in Escrima mode. He slams his sticks together then when the button’s released (if it wasn’t already) he sends a shock along the ground. A solid projectile. The act of sending the spark actually causes a low profile thus allowing Nightwing to avoid some projectiles, helpful in a projectile war. As it was stated, you can hold it for a while. The extra time doesn’t change the properties of the move though. You can also dash cancel the charge making it useful for pressure, either to keep it or get out of it. Overall a key move.
Escrima Fury/DF2/QCF2: Mid, -24 on Block, Startup 14 Frames, Floats on Hit (MB Version Floats higher, more damage): This is your combo starter. Well, the string into Escrima Fury, but you get the point. Make sure you know it will hit. If it’s blocked…you’ll die. This move starts your juggles or continues them. Nothing more to say, a necessary move.
Flip Kick/DB3/QCB3: OH, -8 on Block (MB: -12), Startup 20 Frames, KD on Hit (MB Bounds on hit): This is the move you’re going to have to use to get good offense going with Escrima stance for one reason. When close enough (and that’s a generous close) it CROSSES UP. Ever see Hwoarang use EX Dynamite Heel in Street Fighter x Tekken? Same deal. The normal will just Hard Knockdown for 10%. The MB version will bound, allowing a huge combo. This move is the basis for a vortex that Nightwing has. Learn to love this move. But a note, characters with great AA uppercuts (Grundy, Aquaman) can potentially blow it up. It isn’t free.
EDIT: A note, there are certain characters that you cannot crossup with MB Flip Kick while they’re standing. Some change depending on blockstrings. Thank AssassiN from TYM for this information. The strings listed are the ones that will allow you to crossup on block (on hit it obviously wouldn’t matter).
Bane
B2, F2(random, mostly cross-overs), F213(first and second hit), B1, B11, 3, 33, STAFF 1,F1~4
With Bane sometimes it looks like you cross-overed but you didn’t.
Black Adam
There are none, it’s very random and most of the time it won’t cross-over.
There is no way of telling if it will.
(Saitsu’s note: This could possibly be used to our advantage)
Doomsday
B2, F213(only the first hit), B11, 1(random, mostly cross-overs), 11(same), 3, 33, STAFF 1,F1~4
Sinestro
2, F2, F21, F213(only the first hit), 3, 33
Solomon Grundy
Absolutely none, nothing random either.
Scatter Bomb/DB1/QCB1: Mid, -4 on Block (MB: +11), Startup 31 Frames, KD on hit (MB floats higher): Yeah…I’ll get back to you when I find a use for this move. Way too slow to be any sort of AA, and the hitbox doesn’t even allow it to be a good one if it is out in time. Doesn’t help as much in juggle combos as other moves…it’s by far the most useless special move Dick has.
Staff Stance:
Staff Spin/DB3/QCB3: Mid, Unknown on Block (MB, +18 on Block for sure), Startup 12 Frames, KD on hit (MB knocks away), CAN CANCEL RECOVERY INTO ESCRIMA STANCE: A solid move. He spins his staff. The MB version adds a homerun swing afterwards that makes him safer on block. As it is now, the Staff Spin is actually pretty safe contrary to the in-game frame data. Especially when canceling to Escrima. Now the Staff Spin Cancel to Escrima does not allow a Special Cancel like in the normal Stance Switch so keep that in mind. But it serves as a good juggle ender. Also, it’s a decent reversal option for opponents who are staying in front of you. If they jump though…you’re going to die.
EDIT: MB Staff Spin is a LOT better than I initially gave credit for. Of course we have the Blockstun infinite which I will post on the video portion of the thread but even without that it’s a solid move. +18 allows you to do anything you want on block even midscreen and if it hits, provides full screen spacing. And you can combo after it in the corner. Be wary though as there are 4 characters that can duck the homerun swing.
Ares
Killer Frost
Grundy
Catwoman
Ground Blast/DB2/QCB2: Low, +9 on Block (MB: +18 on Block), Startup 21 Frames, (MB Version Floats on hit): The most key special in the Staff Stance arsenal. This makes him a true threat at full screen. It has a deceptive hitbox as it hits a bit off the ground. It’s + on block, the MB even more so. And when the MB version makes contact on a grounded opponent, you get a free Ground Blast afterwards (either for a juggle combo or another hit on block). But full screen isn’t the only good thing. Up close it can be a nightmare due to the advantage. And if it hits…you get a free 35-40% juggle for your trouble, hurray. Use it, abuse it (unless the opponent lives in the air essentially).
Flying Grayson/BF3/HCF3: High, -3 on Block, 17 Frames on Startup, Knocksdown on Hit: A great advancing move and a very solid midscreen anti-air. Also great for juggle combos. Also, due to how the active frames work you can whiff over someone…but if they stand up they could end up eating a crossup. It’s rare but something to keep in mind.
EDIT: Also a very good wakeup attack to get the hell out of dodge. Nightwing has trouble dealing with pressure, especially in Staff Stance as he doesn’t have the mobility to get out of strings and setups. This move will help get your spacing back if you’re on the ropes.
