Now I know that nobody really takes the giants seriously, but I can’t help but notice that a lot of people seem to be making the same mistakes repeatedly while trying to play PTX-40A.
The giants have to be played very carefully and cannot afford to make many mistakes. You’d think that being a huge, powerful character with constant super armour would allow for reckless play, but it’s absolutely not the case. Keep in mind that while they do take less damage, the giants are much more fragile than the opponent, since there is only one of them and two opponents.
Now I don’t consider myself the authority on how to play PTX, but I still think it would help raise Giant Awareness by making a list of things you should try to do and try not to do while playing PTX-40A.
Anyway, let’s start with the don’ts.
DO NOT:
Use the grab. This may seem odd, since the grab does do a lot of damage and is one way to get past guarding opponents, but this move is actually horrible. If it misses, it leaves him wide open for all sorts of hurt, and it can just be jumped over. Secondly, it is VERY EASY to mash out of this grab and punish PTX. Consider that a good opponent will always be able to escape from this awful grab. The only time you should ever use it is if you intend to surprise them with a mega crash or something when they break free.
use the level 1 barrage super when you have two machine guns. This doesn’t do much damage and doesn’t provide much cover for the missiles. It’s much better to wait until you have a rocket or a shotgun to suppliment.
Waste rockets. The rockets are very important, and you start the match with 1. They are unblockable and provide him with a way to land his damaging level 3 super, or add beef to his level 1 super. They don’t deal much damage anyway (not as much as a full machine gun fire) so they’re not that great on their own. Also, never use them when there are other projectiles on the field. They can be destroyed before they reach the target.
Use the snapback version of the riot tackle when the opponent’s health is low. It’s much better to use the other versions unless you know you can KO that opponent.
Barge through multi-hit style attacks or supers. PTX can be dizzied by these moves, and that is bad news. If you find yourself caught in a Shinkuu Hadouken or Saki blast, don’t commit to any slow attacks. Quickly slap them with your low jab or launcher and be done with it.
Try to rush down. PTX just can’t afford that. If you are going to apply the pressure, do so using baroques and only in short bursts.
Try to play keep away. The word on the street is that PTX can play a ranged game. This is not necessarily true. PTX’s guns have deadzones, are random and can only fire 3 times and then you have to wait for them to be recharged. Very nice keep away (sarcasm). PTX’s ranged attacks should be used to help him deal with people who try to run away and projectile spam at you. The machineguns are best for this (and thankfully they’re common) wheras the shotgun is close-range, but has a wider spread. (best for defensive use?) It’s much better to try to close the gap as fast as you can with a riot tackle or spinning jetpack move. The chainsaw is also fairly effective at catching people at range to a lesser extent. Or you could always just dash. PTX has much better mobility than lightan. It may be safer to scoot up to the opponent and then start harassing them with jabs instead of committing to a riot tackle and having the opponent predict it and jump over you.
DO:
Use the machine guns. These things appear commonly and they actually do hurt quite a bit. You can fire them both one after the other for more damage per burst. They aren’t too slow either. However, they do have large deadzones. Try to learn where the machine guns actually fire so you don’t end up missing all the time. The bullets cross the screen really fast so this projectile is very important against other projectile spammers.
Use baroque. It makes him so much better. Use it alot. Love it. Turn your giant robot into a pretty rainbow time machine on a regular basis. This is especially useful when using high lag moves like the chainsaw.
Block. PTX can block and use pushblock. Just because you have super armour, doesn’t mean you have to use it all the time. It’s best to block multi-hit supers like Shinkuu.
Try to use his super armor strategically. Try to predict when your opponent will attack, and then time your own move so that you can cover the slowness with your super armour. This doesn’t mean use attacks randomly and hope for the best. If you see an approach, play safe and use simple jabs to interrupt whatever the opponent is doing, then go for a heavier move once the opening presents itself.
Punish level 1 supers with your own supers. The moment you see your opponent trying to use a level 1 super when they’re in range, and you know it’s not a multi-hit super that has a chance of stunning you, immediately respond with a barrage or chainsaw. Most likely you’ll super armour through it and take minimal damage while dealing a lot back to the opponent. Level 3 supers are a different story and should be blocked where possible. A riot tackle or jet booster spin is good too.
Use his jabs. You should be using 5A and 2A a lot. If in doubt, crouch and jab. Sadly, PTX’s low jab can’t combo into itself, but you will be able to get the opponent to try and block, or also jump. His standing jab can juggle, but it doesn’t have as much range as lightan’s. Still pretty good though. Slap them a few times, then add in a launcher or baroque for even more slaps.
Use Mega Crash. Megacrash hurts you and takes up 2 meters to use, but it gives you good red life and may allow PTX to combo in ways he normally couldn’t. Having that extra red life can be especially nice if you had a lot already and so you can then destroy your opponent with a powerful baroque. If you find yourself stunned, it’s also a good time to use megacrash to avoid being juggled.
more to come I suppose. Anyone else have something to add?