Starting out with Brad

Note: This is a combination of two posts written by ChinoBrad and translated by Modelah.

1. ChinoBrad's VF5FS Beginner's Blog post
2. ChinoBrad's VF5FS Beginner's Blog post- Brad's Unique Movement

1. Starting out with Brad
Hi, I'm ChinoBrad, a Brad player from Nagoya, Japan. I started using Akira in VF4Evo and switched to Brad for good when VF Final Tuned came out.

Brad's Characteristics, Strengths and Weaknesses
Brad's combo firepower really deserves special mention here. His ability to punish easily ranks among the best of all charaters so maximising the damage you can get off punishing is vital to Brad's game. His catch throw or a mid attack from ducking (entered by or after certain moves) is great for nitaku pressure, so in general I think Brad is particularly well-suited for players who favor a strong attacking playstyle.

Another strength lies in his circular attacks. Brad has full-circular attacks on all levels; low, mid and high. His half-circular attacks cover both his stomach and back, so I guess you can say he's well-armed in that regard.

Brad isn't without his weaknesses, though. His throw damage is low, his special half-circular hits high only and damage values for attacks are not that great. He also struggles to deal with moves that have special properties like Akira's shoulder and Aoi's and .

Basic skills
Elbow class:
: This is your standard elbow mid attack, but has many uses. At advantage your basic main strategy should be or a throw for applying nitaku pressure. There is also a follow-up that will knock down on hit. Hitchecking for a counterhit and knocking down with is also a key strategy. You can enter Brad's unique movement 'Ducking' with or 'Slipping' with or opening up possibilities for even more attacking options.

: A high that launches. Used primarily to punish, using this move with precision is key for winning matches.

Combos:
, , - up to midweight characters
, - for heavyweights
, - for Taka
​

Upper class:
: Launches on counterhit for combo opportunities.

Combos:
, , - up to heavyweight characters
, , - for Taka
​

: An excellent move. A natural combo on counterhit and against a crouching opponent that can be followed with a combo.

Combos (on hit):
, , - up to midweight characters
, - for heavyweights
, - for Taka​

Knee class:
: Launches on normal hit, but only a slight float against a crouching opponent.

Combos:
, , - up to heavyweight characters
, , - for Taka
​

Circulars:
: High full-circular. : Mid full-circular. : Low full-circular.

: High half-circular. : Ex. high half-circular. and : Low half-circulars.

Throws:
Most useful throws, in order of highest damage.
: Down attack is guaranteed.



When the opponent is against a wall go for , then for the greatest throw damage.

Basic Strategy
Attacking in fuzzyable (slight disadvantage) situations:
Basically try to put you opponent in nitaku with and a throw. Your opponent will most likely be able to fuzzy guard this so delay the throw, go for a low attack or look for nitaku out of ducking.

Attacking in non-fuzzyable (large disadvantage) situations:
As above but mix with and circular attacks, particularly his ex. high half-circular which leads to combos on counterhit.

Combo:
CH, ,
​

2. Brad's Unique Movement
Brad has 3 unique 'movements';
Ducking- entered with or after certain moves,
Slipping- entered with / or / after certain moves, and
Sway Back- entered with or after ducking/slipping.

When transitioning into ducking, slipping or sway back from certain moves you'll notice frame advantages, which attacks form strings, effects on counterhit etc. vary widely so I'll omit some details here to prevent confusion.

Also, note that sway back can't be entered from an attack, only from normal stance or with after ducking or slipping.

Ducking
An attacking movement, from ducking you have a fast , and mid combo launchers, and a catch throw for defeating guarding opponents.

ducking (H, H, M, Ex.H)- Not very damaging but executes very quickly. If the first hits is a natural combo, and from you can choose to enter ducking again, go to slipping, or finish the string. Use this to attack an opponent who is slow to retaliate. Most of the 'shoo shoo' sounds you hear from Brad are probably from this move, lol. Very versatile with a CH as the entire string will connect against Taka.

Combo:
CH, ducking- for Taka.​

ducking (M, M)- Puts opponents in a special stun when on hit allowing you to follow up with a combo. You can combo on normal hit if you're fast enough, and also on counterhit or against a crouching opponent if you can hitcheck it. If the second hit is blocked, you'll be at a -13 frame disadvantage.

Combos:
ducking/slipping to opponent's back, - Everyone up to Jeffry's weight
ducking/slipping to either side, - up to Akira's weight
ducking, - for Taka
​

ducking or (M, H)- The second will put opponents into a side turned state. On hit the can't be evaded or blocked. The direction for the opponent to evade the second hit depends on if you use or .

ducking (M)- A jumping knee launcher that will crush certain low attacks. Leaves you at -10 on block, meaning the opponent can attept to throw you.

Combos:
ducking, dash, , - up to Jeffry's weight
ducking, , - for Taka
ducking, , , - for lightweights
​

ducking (M)- Long reach, small disadvantage on block.

ducking- A catch throw. The 3 follow-up throws can be escaped, but the disadvantage is less compared to standard throws when escaped. From you can choose between:

- the lowest damage option.
- With a follow-up combo is the most damaging throw. Hit on opponents who don't techroll. Go for a wall combo when you're near one.
- Throws opponents to your back Following with will work on everyone except Aoi.
​

Slipping
A movement with launchers and attacks that give advantage on block. Slipping lacks moves to break a standing guard, so use with caution against defensive players. In specific situations strings can be highly damaging.

slipping (H)- Slipping's fastest high. Causes a head cumple on hit allowing for follow up combos. Great to use after a side turned CH for big damage.

Combos:
slipping, , , BT, - up to Jeffry's weight
slipping, , , ducking- for Taka
​

slipping(hit or guard) (M, H, M, M)- A string useful in combos. The 4th hit won't come by simply mashing away, look carefully for when the 3rd hit connects before attempting. This one takes a lot of practice.

slipping (M, H, L)- A string with a low for mixing things up a little. Leaves you at -15 if blocked and wide open for punishment.

slipping (M)- A knee attack. Crumples opponents giving you a combo opportunity.

Combos:
slipping, , - up to Jeffry's weight
slipping, - for Taka
​

slipping (M)- A half-circular. Gives frame advantage on block (but pushes opponents back), and enough advantage on counterhit to allow a follow-up .

Sway Back
The animation causes some short range moves and high attacks to whiff.

sway(hit or guard) (H, H, M, M)- If the first hit connects, the follow-ups will also connect. Look to use the sway to make opponents whiff and then go for the string. The 4th hit requires the same execution as the slipping version.

sway (H, H, L)- Similar to the slipping version.

sway (H)- A guard break. Slow, good players will be able to react to it if they see it coming, but if it breaks a guard you'll be at +15 frames giving you a guaranteed .

sway (M)- Has the same properties as slipping. Can't follow up with attacks after a side hit with this.

sway (L)- A slight disadvantage on normal hit, knocks down on counterhit. Has a peculiar animation on counterhit. Leaves open to punishment at -15 on block. Potentially damaging, hitting this on opponents who have their back to a wall will give a wall stagger.

From the author
It can be hard to win when you're just starting out, and I think at times it's easy to get disheartened but it's a road everyone must travel. Don't give up, and with practice I think you'll find this to be a very fun game indeed! Watching videos of strong players is a way to improve your game quickly. Thankfully there's no shortage of good videos on the net and studying them is very important! Good luck!

ChinoBrad

 

Well, I'll be the first - thank you for translation, great stuff.

 

Is it safe in saying that brad is difficult to grasp because of all of the options out of 3 different stances, which can be transitioned into one another, but is also really rewarding once figured out?

 

He's not an easy character for beginners for more reasons than that. In addition to those stances, you have to confirm your hits well and check foot positions. Once you can do these things, he is very rewarding to use. Now that I'm using a different character, it's harder for me to not have those stances. I'm pretty integrated with Brad's style, so all of the items I've mentioned are just natural and don't feel complicated. I think it's worth trying to get Brad's style down because he's one of the better characters in this game.

 

Alright, so what character are you using now.
It feels like im perpetually torn between two characters. Like, i am having a little more success with wolf, but I want to play brad. Im not even good enough to play one character so i dont know why i have any business trying to decide from two. I guess ill have to try both out. Who would you say is stronger? (between brad and wolf)

 

I'm still using Brad, but I'm trying to use Pai now too.

I wouldn't worry about which character is stronger because that mostly matters once you're playing the game at the highest level. Even then, the best character could be relative to the specific player you're fighting. I would just choose the character who suits you the most.

 

I figured as much. Im not good enough to where any character would be better than the other. Just learning basics would be the best. I just need to pick the character i like... Got It. Thanks Lib!

 

Alright... so, after reading through this post for the 4th or 5th time, I'm still a little confused as to what Brad's basic attacking setup starts with. ATM I understand that 6p is very useful as well as 4k, 4p, and 4p delay k (into slipping or ducking) are the basic ways to start nitaku with Brad. Is there something else that I'm missing? (maybe going straight into ducking p+k 2or8p) Any thoughts @Libertine or anyone else out there?

 

4K doesn't start nitaku, but it's still useful. P+K is strong, but I don't use it that much! It's hard for me to answer this question, because what I do is based upon instinct. I do use 6P a lot, though. 3P and 6_K are also very good tools that you should use.

 

if find p+k is nice mostly because of the 2(8)p follow up (half-cresent, sideturns on normal hit). when you've got your opponent sideturned is really when you can start using your ducking/slipping options.

honestly i think one of brad's best tools is 6p. the only snag i could see is training yourself to tap g after 6p so you don't go into ducking/slipping by accident.

3p and its follow-ups are also very good. 3pk is nice for when people start to evade all the time and it knocks down. 3pp+k is mid->mid string which has its uses.

i don't use 6_k a whole lot, but it's a very nice against opponents that like to evade at -6f. it being ex-high is really nice, too, but the best part about 6_k is that the crumple state it puts them in on major-counter leads to good damage (and it looks hilarious)

 

This is an amazing primer. So simple but so helpful. Thank you for the translation.