VF3 [ print friendly ] [ command view ] From: meshe@clinic.net (CreeD)
Newsgroups: rec.games.video.arcade
Subject: VF3 throw FAQ v. 0.6 (warning> :)
Date: Sun, 09 Feb 1997 19:07:07 GMT
Organization: The Destek Group, Inc.
Lines: 1187
You FAQ writers know how it is. There's this initial burst of
inspiration and then you run out of gas. After about two bursts of
writing, what follows is the product of about two hours of typing,
maybe three. Nobody will believe that I'm sure..
anyway, it should format pretty well on most browsers, I intentionally
made narrow margins. PLEASE send comments and corrections.
There's a lot of stuff where I've just drawn a blank. There's other
stuff where nobody can confirm exactly what's going on.
Anyway, half of it is done, the other half is gonna be even longer
because I'm describing every throw in the game and what's notable
about it :) auieeegUh!
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*[Cheese!@]*[Cheese!@]*[Cheese!@]*[Cheese!@]*[Cheese!@]*[Cheese!@]*
-The Virtua Fighter 3
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X H R O W I N G
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X A Q
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*Written by CreeD!*
*With dinky ASCII art!*
*Whipped up in no time at all!*
*Big Legal disclaimer at bottom!*
-plus throw escape guide, absolutely free!-
Contents:
--------------------
I. Intro.
II. Notation.
A. Mini-Intro.
B. Controls and VF shorthand.
C. Buttons.
D. Assorted shorthand abbreviations.
III. Basics of Throwing.
A. What's a throw?
B. How do I throw?
C. The different throw types.
1. Normal throws.
2. Catch throws.
3. Multi-throws.
4. Low throws.
5. Side throws.
6. Back throws.
7. Ground throws.
8. Wall throws.
9. Back-turned throws.
10. Hit throws.
D. Technical Details.
IV. Throw Strategies
A. When should I throw?
B. What's ticking?
1. Why ticking works.
2. Who can tick, and how.
3. When to tick.
V. Big Legal Disclaimer.
VI. Assorted Thanks.
VII. Secret Message.
SECTION ONE:
The intro.
-----------------
I'll keep this brief, because to do otherwise would be pointless
and time consuming. I wrote this because I felt the hankering
to see really basic stuff like this put down on paper for all
those who are trying to learn what is, in my opinion, a difficult
aspect of an already difficult game. I also think there should
be more useful stuff along these lines posted in RGVA in the
first place, so I'm hoping my efforts will be a cue to others,
and will inspire them to put their own knowledge and ideas down
in some form that is more substantial than a handful of Usenet posts.
Really, it'd be a good idea if EVERY experienced VF3 player
who could spare the time would put down some of the stuff that is
second nature to him, and to most of the rest of us..
---but has only become so after much practice and experimentation.
SECTION TWO:
Notation.
--------------------
I assume the reader already has some sort of experience with
Virtua Fighter 3, or at least Virtua Fighter 2. This knowledge
will come in extremely handy when I discuss different points
in this FAQ. The casual reader should probably take a second
to check out some of the other excellent FAQ publications on
these games. The place to stop first and foremost for
these handy guides is The Home of Virtua Fighter, an excellently
organized web page dedicated to Virtua Fighter 2 AND 3. There
is a frame enhanced version and a no-frames version of this page,
the URL is:
www.vfhome.com
... be sure to pick either VF2 or VF3 and then look under the FAQS/
GUIDES header for more info.
Okay, to the nitty gritty.
All throws in this game, with NO exceptions, are performed by hitting
the punch and guard buttons at the same time or in a few cases hitting
punch, kick, and guard at the same, usually in conjunction with
joystick
taps or the more complex joystick roll motions. Every character in the
game has a basic, low damage throw that can be done simply by hitting
punch and guard at the same time with NO joystick movement. By adding
joystick movements to your punch-and-guard button taps, you will be
able to create more complex, interesting throws (usually) that are
harder for the opponent to break out of. A good rule of thumb to go
by is this: The more complex the joystick motion is that is associated
with a throw, the more damage that throw probably does. For example,
if Jeffry hits punch and guard with no joystick motion, he gets a
fireman's carry throw that does 60 points of damage.
If Jeffry hits back on the joystick and punch and guard, he will
get the military press throw, which does 75 points of damage but ALSO
sets up a guaranteed stomp on the opponent's skull afterwards for
extra
damage and of course more entertainment value ;) .
Neither of these throws though is as effective as the crucifix
piledriver, which looks the most painful and >IS( the most painful,
delivering 80 points of damage and ALSO giving Jeffry the opportunity
to stomp on his opponent or try for the riskier light pounce. That
throw
requires two diagonal joystick taps to do though so it's harder and
takes
a split second longer to pull off than the other two throws.
Controls and VF shorthand:
There are eight joystick directions,
most of which are used for different
throws by different characters
somewhere in the game.
Here are their abbreviations and
what they all mean:
-
f or F: Stands for, respectively, a light tap or longer continuous
(forward) press in the direction of your opponent. This applies even
in situations where your back is turned.
b or B: Stands for, respectively, a light tap or longer continuous
(back) press away from your opponent. Again, this applies even when
your back is turned.
d or D_: Stands for, respectively, a light tap down or a longer
(down) continuous press that should result in a crouch.
u or U_: Stands for, respectively, a light tap or continuous press
(up) of up on the joystick.
d/f or D/F: Stands for, respectively, a light tap or longer
(down-forward) continuous press of the diagonal between down and
forward on the joystick.
d/b or D/B: Stands for, respectively, a light tap or longer
(down-back) continuous press of the diagonal between down and
back on the joystick.
u/f or U/F: Stands for, respectively, a light tap or longer
(up-forward) continuous press of the diagonal between up and
forward on the joystick.
u/b or U/B: Not used, hell with it.
As you can see, all capitalized directional notations indicate
that you should press the appropriate joystick direction for
about a quarter of a second (approximately> in the direction
indicated.
Buttons:
There are only three we'll be dealing with
in this FAQ. Those buttons are punch,
guard, and kick.
They are abbreviated like this:
P : stands for punch.
G : stands for guard.
K : stands for kick.
+ : indicates to hit the buttons and/or joystick
motion at the same time.
, : the comma is used to indicate that you must enter
consecutive joystick motions quickly, e.g. f,b means to tap
forward and then tap back.
P+G: stands for hitting punch and guard at the same time.
You'll see it a lot. It's the most basic throw in the
game.
P+K+G: stands for hitting the three buttons punch, kick, and
guard all at the same time. You will only see this in
reference to low throws, which I define later.
Quiz time: if you've read this correctly, you
should be able to tell me what each of these means.
1. b,f,f+P+G
Time's up. This means you should tap, not hold, back on the stick,
then tap back on the stick again, then forward on the stick.. and
at the same time as you hit forward, you should hit the punch and
guard buttons too. Yes, this is an actual throw in the game.
2. D_,b+P+G
If you came up with hold down, and then hit back and punch and
guard all at the same time, go get yourself a cookie, that's correct.
You basically want to crouch and then hit back on the stick with your
usual throw buttons in order to pull this one off. Yes, this too
is an actual throw in the game, throws that must be done FC (from
crouch> are a new to the VF series.
3. d/f,D/F,P+G.
This is the equivalent of one quick diagonal tap and then a second,
extended tap in the same direction followed almost immediately by
the punch-and-guard press. This is a modification of an existing
throw that has been around since VF1, the crucifix piledriver.
4. d/f+P+K+G.
If you read this correctly, you are to tap the joystick diagonally
at the same time as you hit punch, kick, and guard. The four inputs
must be simultaneous.
Shorthand and Abbreviations:
Catch: Signifies that the throw is a catch throw, which I'll
define later.
Multi: Signifies the starting motion for a multithrow.
The rest of the multithrow will be shown below it
and indented. I will try to 'tree out' the various
multithrow options clearly and concisely. (more on
multithrows later).
Setup: This signifies that the throw sets up some kind of followup,
whether it's a combo, a single strike, or something else.
Low : Indicates that the throw only works on crouching opponents.
Note
That there is possibly an exception in the case of a sitting Shun
Di; he is so low to the ground that he is considered low
although
he is not technically crouching.
Side : Signifies that the throw is a side throw. That means it will
activate if you are basically facing your opponent's side, more
than thirty degrees off their front or back. It is possible to
do low throws from the side as well, creating a new
subcategory,
the low side throw.
Back : Signifies that this throw is a back throw and will only work
if you are basically facing the opponent's back, give or take a
few degrees.
Ground : Signifies that the throw only works on a prone opponent,
meaning an opponents who has been knocked down or otherwise
slammed or tossed onto the ground. The opponent must not be
moving or attacking for the ground throw to work.
Wall : Designates throws that change when they are done when either
you
or your opponent is near a wall. Some wall throws require you
to
have your back to the wall, others require that the *opponent*
has his back against a wall. To clarify which is needed I'll
type a short descriptive such as "your back to the wall:" or
"opponent's back to the wall:"
Hit : This is a special type of throw that I'll save for last.. it's
fairly unusual because it breaks some of the standard rules of
throwing. A "hit" throw is a throw that ONLY works for special
circumstances where the opponent has been hit by a specific
attack.
Your character will, after connecting with the attack,
automatically
grab the opponent if you input the correct motion, apparently
during the opponent's hitstun. This adds functionality to some
of the seemingly useless attacks in the game such as Jeffry's
toe
kick. It is unknown at this point whether hit throws can be
escaped
the same way normal throws can.
* : the asterisk signifies a special note about the throw
if it behaves unusually or is worthy of note in some way.
SECTION THREE:
The Basics.
------------------------
What's a throw?
I had a lengthy explanation of what exactly constitutes a throw
but I've decided to axe it in favor of something more concise and
useful.
I'm going to assume that the reader has SOME vague idea of what I mean
when I say 'throw'. Throwing the opponent is for the most part simply
grappling with them at close range with the intention of inflicting
damage.
-Here are some GENERAL rules about what constitutes a throw, and a
little on the usage.
*Throws USUALLY involve one character grabbing the other and then
either slamming them into the ground, tossing them, or bashing them
repeatedly with attacks. 90% of the throws in the game start with
one
character grappling with their opponent, but there are a few
exceptions.
Some throws look like a strike or series of strikes, but unlike most
of the strikes in the game, the throw-strikes can never be blocked.
*It is possible to escape a throw. That means almost ANY throw can,
with the proper command and timing, be escaped or otherwise avoided/
defeated by the victim of the throw. This aspect of throw strategy
is covered in another FAQ.
*The only throws that can NOT be escaped are catch throws. More on
that later.
*No throw, even the ones that look like strikes, can be blocked. They
can be escaped, avoided, and even interrupted, but never blocked.
Your first instinct may be to defend the first few times wolf rushes
at you with his running tackle throw for example (f,f+P+G) ... break
that habit.
*As a general rule, you cannot throw an opponent if the opponent is
attacking. You can throw them AFTER their attack or attack sequence
has finished, but not during an attack. There are exceptions to this
rule. Specifically, it is possible to throw a person during the first
FRAME of their attack, regardless of what attack they are attempting.
All that means is that if you throw someone at literally the EXACT
same time that they hit the button to attack you, your throw will
win, but if you tried throwing them a fraction of a second later, the
throw will whiff and their attack will win.
*Normal throws have no execution time. That means that, unlike
attacks,
they can be done INSTANTLY, and if the conditions are correct for a
throw at the moment you hit P+G, then the throw will happen
immediately.
*Normal throws DO have recovery time if the throw failed. When you
attempt a normal throw on someone (this includes low throws,
back throws, side throws, and ground throws) the conditions for the
throw have to be correct in order for it to occur. When they aren't
correct, then your character will reach out and make a grasping
motion
with their hands. The grasp motion is small but obvious and takes a
few
frames to recover. For catch throws, there is also recovery time and
in
every case catch recovery is longer.
During the grasp motion, you are vulnerable to any throw or
attack in the game, and cannot block or otherwise move. This is,
IMHO, a rather obvious and EXTREMELY beneficial change to the
gameplay
since VF2. Throw attempts no longer come out as attacks, which can
alternately be 'good' or 'bad' for specific characters.. it's "bad"
for sarah, kage, lau, jeff, and jacky that they cannot attempt a
throw that will come out as an elbow if the opponent crouches. It's
also "bad" for akira, who cannot attempt the surprise exchange over
and over and merely get a low jab. On the other hand, in the case
of throws such as jacky's trip and hammer or lion's pull-in uppercut
throw, it's much BETTER that there is now a standard whiff animation
as opposed to the big, easily punished attacks that used to result
from failing to connect these throws.
*Catch throws DO have execution time. Like attacks, they require a
certain amount of time to execute before they will be effective.
Until that time has passed, the catch throw is 'inactive'.. it won't
work, no grabbing animation or damage will occur. After the inactive
time has passed, a throw will become 'active', although it may only
remain active for a very short amount of time. As long as it's
active,
it has the potential to grab opponents, even if they are attacking
(although it's rare to grab people out of attacks.. the attack would
have to come out fairly slowly). It is not known yet if a major
counter bonus is awarded if a catch throw interrupts an attack.
Even if the conditions for a catch throw are correct at the
moment you hit P+G, the conditions might change in the short space of
time between your attempt to throw and the time the throw becomes
active. Therefore, you want to use catch throws ideally when
conditions
will not and cannot change during your throw's execution. That means
that a good situation for a throw attempt would be during the
recovery
of a move that your opponent failed to connect with. *If the recovery
of a missed attack is greater than the execution time of the catch
throw you want to try, then in effect you will be able to use a throw
on your opponent "for free"* .. Meaning that they literally cannot
do anything about the throw, since catch throws are completely
inescapable once they connect. This is not the case for normal
throws
so it can be useful to make a habit of minor countering slow recovery
moves with catch throws.
*A throw beats a dodge, regardless of the timing of the dodge or the
type of throw. Hence, when the opponent gets cute by dodging most or
all of your attacks, start throwing. It is confirmed that a throw
will even grab opponents out of dodging attacks such as the special
K+E [,G] dodge.
*There is a minor counter bonus applied to throws. While I don't have
the exact figures, according to some sources (Rich Williams on RGVA)
the minor counter bonus is much, much smaller than it was in VF2.
Therefore, when you throw opponents during the recovery of their
attacks, your throw will do more damage than usual, but apparently
the bonus is only about 5% more damage, not the impressive 25% bonus
seen in VF2. The minor counter bonus only applies to the first chunk
of damage done by a throw, so that if the throw does damage in
multiple
parts, the bonus for that throw on minor counters will be somewhat
small compared to the damage for a similarly damaging throw that
takes
off its damage all in one large piece.
Presumably, the minor counter bonus applies to any and
all throws including catch throws. It is not known what kind of
bonuses, if any, can be applied to ground throws.
*There are a few rare instances where a throw does
not even LOOK like a grappling maneuver because it appears to be
a strike, or a series of strikes that the opponent cannot defend
against. Regardless of the throw's animation, though, once the throw
is successful it will always animate the same way and always cause
the
same results on the opponent, whether the results are a loss of
energy
or merely a loss of orientation.
Q: How do I throw?
*If you want the specifics listed, skip to the next section and read
on.
If you want a general written out explanation, that follows this
little
disclaimer.
Well, the obvious answer to the question is to get really close to
your opponent and hit P+G and maybe a direction or two on the joystick
when you're really sure that your opponent isn't attacking, but that
doesn't cover much of anything. Because each character is limited to
a specific set of throws that they are able to perform, you often will
have to choose your throwing tactics more wisely in human vs. human
battles than you did in VF2, especially now that most throws can be
escaped.
If you refuse to vary your throwing strategy, you might find that
you will tend to keep eating huge attacks every time you make it
obvious
that you're trying to sneak in close for a throw. It is almost
impossible
to throw a person while they are attacking, and in most cases it's
-completely- impossible unless you're using a special type of throw
known as a catch throw. Even then, you're not likely to be able to
grab opponents predictably. If you don't vary your throwing habits
once you ARE close enough to grab, you will find that your throws will
keep being escaped by astute opponents, and you will never get to
damage
them until your strategy changes. That's why I'm also making a
complete
throw escape guide, which will cover all the throws that you should
watch
out for, and which throws you want to mix into your throwing strategy
as
well. You want to make it hard for the opponent to correctly guess
both
-when- you are going to throw them, and -which throw- you will use
when
you DO throw them. Do not assume that you can catch throw them all the
time
either, because although a catch throw is inescapable and can
interrupt
attacks, it can also easily BE interrupted. Catches can ALL actually
be
escaped by the simple act of crouching too, so if your opponent
figures
out that you're fond of a particular catch throw, they can duck to
make
it whiff over their heads, which is more dangerous for you since the
whiff
animation for catch throws is longer and more obvious than it is for
regular throws.
=The throw types.=
Every throw in the game can be classified as one of ten types,
but that statement is deceptive because it makes VF3 throws sound even
more complex than they already are. 90% of the throws in the game fall
into two categories, "regular" throws and "catch" throws. These are
the throws that most of your concentration should go to. The other
throws such as low throws and ground throws, or side throws and back
throws, don't have as many details to worry about, so try to learn
the specifics of normal throws and catch throws before you worry about
side throws, ground throws, etc.
-Regular/Normal throws-
These are the most common throws. All regular throws can be
escaped. All regular throws have no startup animation, which means
that they will execute instantly if possible, and they all have the
exact same whiff animation. Every character has at LEAST three or
four regular throws. The easiest way to test whether a throw is
a regular throw is to see if it has a small grasping whiff animation
or a more obvious whiff animation such as a lunge forward or hop.
Every character has a neutral P+G normal throw that is in most cases
one of their least effective throws, but is easy to do and harder to
escape than you'd think. If you are unsure about the throwing
abilities of your chosen character, neutral P+G is always a safe bet
that should produce mediocre results. Often I will hear throws other
than the P+G throw referred to as "command throws" but I believe that
classifying them this way, and hence separating them from other
throws,
is misleading. Where before (in VF2) neutral P+G was considered a
'bad'
throw for every character and uniquely, specifically bad because it
was always escaped, it now has a higher status and belongs on the same
level as most other throws in the game, as a useful, generic
technique.
If you insist on trying for a flashy throw, you probably want a
throw that requires special joystick motions, but if you want fast and
reliable damage that people often fail to escape properly, or if you
want to surprise the opponent with a running grab, neutral P+G's are
quite handy. The lack of joystick motions allow you to do the throw
instantly, and this is really useful in situations where a split
second
is all that separates you from throwing and from being thrown (such as
the F+E run in throw technique: if your opponent sees you run in and
you
stop in front of him for a split second while you do a b,f motion on
the joystick or a more obvious d/f, d/f motion, they might interpret
that
sudden stop correctly as your attempt to throw them, and counter a
split
second before you hit P+G with their own P+G throw).
-Catch throws-
All catch throws share some technical attributes but have unique
uses that really depend on the situation. The similarities between all
catch throws though is that they cannot be escaped, and that they have
execution time and in most cases larger than average recovery. They
all can be avoided by crouching. There are no low catch throws
in the game. If your reflexes are good, you may choose to try to knock
opponents out of catch throws with attacks, although this is difficult
in the case of all but the most obvious catch throw attempts.
Generally
you're better off avoiding catch throw attempts by anticipation
(followed by a quick crouch to make the throw attempt whiff over your
head). Once a catch throw has been missed, punish at will.
The best advice I can give for usage of catch throws is to use them
when you anticipate that your opponent will defend high. They're not
perfect for use as minor counter throws because of their slight
execution time, but they are good for a surprise when used
offensively.
For the faster catches, such as Wolf's f+P+G, you can reliably minor
counter attacks that have a fair amount of recovery. Otherwise,
mix catch throws in with midlevel attacks to bait the opponent into
blocking high and getting 'caught'. You can also try catch throws
when your opponent is likely to anticipate a normal throw attempt, and
your catch throw in this case will grab them out of their escape
attempt
for virtually guaranteed damage. Try this tactic after blocking high
rising attacks if you're determined to land certain catch throws such
as Kage's graphically nifty u/f+P+G catch throw.
Some catch throws like akira's back throw are going to be almost
impossible to land under any circumstance but don't let that stop you
from trying.
-Multi-throws-
These are like normal throws, but they have several parts. Each
part requires a separate joystick motion and P+G tap on your behalf,
and a separate escape motion on the opponent's behalf. These throws
behave exactly like normal throws for each part meaning no execution
time, etc. There is no whiff animation if you've failed the 2nd and
3rd part of a multithrow because you cannot fail these parts unless
you messed up the timing, messed up the joystick motion, or the throw
was escaped (in which case there is only a typical escape animation).
The successful completion of a multithrow usually has a high reward
in total damage, but there is inherent risk in using the multithrow
because you're gambling that the opponent will fail to input a
correct escape two or three times in a row. The odds of that
occurring
are fairly good; since there are only two options at any given
point during a multithrow attempt, your opponent has a 50/50 chance
of breaking it. Having the second or third part of a multithrow
broken
is almost worse, psychologically, than having a normal throw attempt
escaped because you will have done very little damage to the opponent
when you made them guess wrong, and you will have lost quite a bit of
damage potential as a result of their correct guess. You would have
actually been better off doing a one-part normal damaging throw during
their incorrect guess. Use multithrows as you would normal throws but
do not get too predictable with them, mix multi attempts in with
normal grabs to keep the opponent guessing.
-Low throws-
As you probably guessed, these work on ducking opponents.
Conditions and behaviour of these throws matches that of normal throws
meaning they can be escaped and have an obvious whiff animation, which
is animated slightly differently but otherwise acts in the same way.
Use these almost exclusively to punish blocked or whiffed low attacks
or rising sweeps. Basically, all sweeps in this game now recover low,
so if you block a sweep or one whiffs, always low throw. (Before, in
VF2, you might have to high OR low throw depending on the specific
sweep type attack and circumstances). Curiously, the characters who
can
do low throws (Wolf, Jeffry, Pai, Taka, Aoi) all have either three
low throws with three different escapes, or only one which is easily
escaped.
It is possible to condition opponents into being snatched up
by low throws, but it's harder to condition opponents to block low
than it is to condition them into blocking high (although VF3 does
have plentitude of handy low attacks for almost every character which
makes it easier than before). Keep in mind that the two main grapplers
in the game, Wolf and Jeffry, can low throw opponents from the side
and from behind. The usage of the low side throw is reserved to when
you have dodged an anticipated low attack. Low back throws are quite
rare, I have only seen them used in two situations, after 'ticks' and
after certain missed moves such as a ducked "thunder dragon"
(f,f+P+K+G) attack from Kage, which I believe recovers low initially
and then high. (correct me if I'm wrong>
*There is one special case of a 'canned throw combo' that works
entirely
on the principal of conditioning opponents to block low. It doesn't
work
if the attacks preceding the throw connect, even though the attacks
and
throw go together in one combo. This is wolf's PP,f+P,d/b+P+K+G throw.
It's a canned combo (two jabs and an elbow, all of which can be
avoided
by simply crouching) followed by a low throw that comes out almost
instantly after the elbow finishes execution, meaning you don't have
to
wait for PP,f+P to recover before going instantly into the low throw.
Presumably this is in there because Sega thought people would
like to experiment more with the PPf+P combo and set up traps with it.
-Side throws-
These act just like normal throws, except they cannot be escaped
and (surprise!> can only be used when your opponent is at a sideways
angle (in relation to your character's front). If the angle for a side
throw attempt is wrong (too shallow> it will turn into a frontal
throw.
There is no angle at which your opponent can NOT be thrown. If the
angle for a sidethrow is too severe, it will be a back throw. There
are no side catch throws. In general, side throws do less damage than
frontal throws, but the damage IS guaranteed at least if conditions
for
a side throw attempt have been met. Some characters have more than
one
side throw, but most characters have only one, done by P+G. Side
throws
are generally reserved for use on opponents who have just had an
attack
dodged and are in recovery. The same is true of low side throws.
There are some situations where the opponent will recover from an
attack
sideways and can therefore be minor countered with a side throw.
-Back throws-
Behave just like side throws, in that they cannot be escaped.
All back throws but one have no execution time, but all have recovery
time if missed. The one exception is Akira's back throw, which is a
slow-executing catch throw that only will come out when Akira is
behind his opponent. It also has slower than average recovery.
These throws all obviously must be done when you are facing the
opponent's back, preferably when they are in recovery and unable
to hit you with a TT (turn-towards> attack.
-Ground throws-
These are special throws that work only on opponents who are lying
prone and semi-helpless on the ground. They are used as an
alternative
to pouncing. Ground throws are generally more rewarding than a pounce,
but less likely to connect and riskier. They all share the d/f+P+G
motion, and all have both execution time (slow> and whiff recovery
(even slower>... reserve your use of these to situations where they
are
guaranteed, such as after a heavy knockdown attack, or after certain
throws or reversals that you recover quickly from and that leave the
opponent lying prone, preferably nearby. Ground throws show some
characteristics of catch throws, being inescapable and having
execution
time. Ground throws however cannot interrupt a rising attack, and if
the opponent tries to evade your throw attempt with a roll or by
kipping up, he will always be successful once he has managed to start
moving. That's why generally it is a better idea to pounce than it is
to ground throw, because if your opponent has started to roll from
under-
neath a pounce, they are still vulnerable and the pounce might still
connect. If the opponent starts to roll away from a ground throw
however,
you are the vulnerable one.
-Wall throws-
These require you or your opponent to be especially close to a
wall in order for them to be successful. They are inescapable and
work like normal throws (except for the escape part :). In fact,
they ARE normal throws, for the most part, just with changes in
the animation. Whiffed wall throw attempts are the same as whiffed
normal throw attempts. There are no catch style wall throws.
If the conditions for a regular throw are met AND you or your opponent
(whichever is appropriate for the throw attempt) is close to a wall,
the regular throw will alter to reflect the circumstances. Your
throw will have a unique animation that matches, partially, the
normal throw animation that would be reflected by your joystick
command,
but the outcome of the throw attempt will change. For example, d/b+P+G
is a special zero-damage exchange type throw for jeffry. Doing it
close to the wall will cause the same exchanging animation to occur
initially, but then there's a special followup where jeffry drags his
opponent's face across the wall and then knees him in the back.. this
followup is impossible without the wall there. Note that there are
two
types of wall in VF3, a low wall that simply prevents easy ring outs,
but can be passed over by putting the opponent high into the air,
and then there's a high wall that cannot ever be passed over. The high
wall is required for wall throws. Note that there may be a high wall
in the seemingly boundless desert stage, because something stops you
from running indefinitely in one direction, even though that something
is not visible. If it's an invisible high wall, it may be possible
to do wall throws on an opponent that appear to take place out in the
open, without a wall. This is something I want to test more for my
amusement than because it's essential knowledge :)
-Back-turned throws-
This type of throw hardly deserves its own category, as there are
only two examples of throws of this type in the entire game. One
behaves
like a normal throw, except it probably cannot be escaped (untested>
.
this is Shun Di's. The other is a catch throw basically that only
comes
out when your back is turned. Kage does that one. The conditions for
these throws are pretty much like the conditions for a normal throw,
except the throwing character (not the throwee) has his back turned
to the opponent.
-Hit throws-
A hit throw is a unique (and sometimes uniquely animated> throw
that will only activate after the opponent has been struck with a
specific
attack. There are very few hit throws in the game, but one of them,
Jeffry's "Toe Kick of Doom" (TKOD) has been around since Virtua
Fighter 1.
To connect with these throws, simply do the appropriate attack that
sets the throw up, and if you see that the attack has connected, do
the appropriate throw motion to grab your opponent WHILE they are
still in hitstun. The timing for some of these is tricky, in other
cases though it's very lax and easy to get the throw to work. I cannot
confirm one way or the other whether these throws can be escaped by
conventional throw escapes. I've heard conflicting reports. What I DO
know however is that Jeffry's TKoD has been escapable since VF1 by
simply crouching, which means it might qualify as a catch throw of
sorts that has no miss animation. It seems unlikely though that
jeffry's other hit-throw, the bull toss, can be avoided using that
method because it seems to grab the opponent much sooner during
their hitstun, before they have an opportunity to crouch. In any
case, there's never any risk in attempting the throw, as you won't
have to deal with miss animation, only the remaining recovery time of
the attack you connected with (which is cancelled usually by the
grab). Obviously, execution time is not a factor either since the
grab follows an attack immediately with no apparent reach animation
in between.
SECTION FOUR:
Throw Strategies.
-----------------------
General tips for when to use throws:
* When the opponent whiffs an attack.
By whiff, I mean when the opponent does an attack the misses you
completely. If it didn't even touch you, you should have time to
dash
in and throw the opponent while they are recovering from their
attack.
ANY AND ALL WHIFFED ATTACKS CAN BE THROWN. Keep that in mind. If an
opponent throws out an attack and it misses, even one that recovers
quickly, there is often time to dash or run in and grab him. Of
course,
it's harder to throw attacks like high jabs on reflex, but if you
anticipate a specific attack, you should ALWAYS be able to avoid it
and then counter throw. That's why it's important to learn the
technique
of making opponents whiff their attacks. In VF2 this was primarily
accomplished by back dashing or backwards crouch dashing away from
the
attack and then dashing forward again and grabbing them during their
recovery. In VF3, it's primarily accomplished by dodging the linear
attacks and then throwing them during the recovery. In this case,
your
throw may become a side throw instead of whatever frontal throw you
inputted. In a few cases, a dodge will bring you completely behind
an
opponent for a free back throw.
*After blocking moves with stop animation or really slow recovery.
This one is a no brainer. If your opponent uses this huge move like
a
kickflip and you block it, you can then minor counter throw them.
If
you're the gambling type, go for a "normal" throw that you like, or
some sort of setup throw. If you like to get guaranteed damage, you
can
try a catch throw instead, if the move's recovery is lengthy enough
to
allow the catch to connect. Otherwise, it's wise to prefix your
minor
counter throws with a f,f or f+E dash, then input your throw
command.
Also, watch for certain moves that, when blocked, have a special
'stop
animation'. Nine times out of ten, moves with stop animation can be
countered by a throw if blocked. A good example would be almost any
rising attack in the game. Sweeps also tend to have stop animation,
as do almost any crescent or spinning type of kick.
*Whenever you get a 'stagger' on the opponent.
Certain moves, when they connect under the right conditions, will
cause your opponent to stagger. You can NOT throw them while they
are
in the stagger.. but you CAN throw them the INSTANT they come out of
the stagger. Therefore, a good trick is to set up a stagger, and
then
throw the person as early as you can when they come out of the
stagger
animation. If you can time your throw perfectly, there is almost no
way
the opponent can stop the throw aside from guessing your throw
attempt
and then escaping it. Be aware though that if your opponent
struggles
out of the stagger, they can recover from it more quickly and mess
up
your timing for the throw attempt. They may even manage to recover
and
hit you before you can throw them, or they may throw you first.
Still,
despite the risk and possibility of failing the throw, setting up
the
stagger and throwing is almost always your best option when you have
the opportunity to try it. This skill becomes useful (maybe even
essential> at higher levels versus characters like Wolf who will use
the low kick "tick" on you (more on that later). You can counter his
low kick with an elbow, which should cause a stagger if it connects,
and then YOU have the opportunity to throw. A few elbow
stagger-throw
"combos" should discourage the Wolf player from abusing the low kick
technique.
*When you use a 'Tick'. See the next question and answer section for
details.
*When opponents play overly defensively.
Some opponents love to just machi up and wait for you to
attack,
and they will refuse to be baited into attacking themselves. Don't
let this tactic frustrate you, throw! Some people love to block high
all day and stay really far away poking with safe attacks. Surprise
them with run-in throws and they will be forced to stick attacks out
to prevent your throwing. You can then try dodging or interrupting
those preventative attacks for either big damage, another throw
opportunity, or a chance to do a float combo. Remember that running
in and throwing is much easier in VF3 than you're used to for two
reasons: Running by itself is an easy motion, hold forward on the
stick
and the E button.. and a less noticable detail that still helps
immensely is the ability to literally run INTO an opponent instead
of
stumbling to a stop just outside of throw range. Before, you
stopped
automatically when you ran too close to the opponent, but now you
can
keep going until you plow into them, and then immediately throw.
Making defensive opponents guess your next move by running in and
then
mixing up your strategy should work wonders. Pay attention to when
they
like to block high, and then go for the grab, and be sure to make
use
of certain catch throws as well. These catch throws often LOOK like
attacks in their opening frames of execution and can fool the
opponent
into blocking, especially the catch throws that are telegraphed by a
leap into the air, or maybe a shout of some sort. Try to be aware of
opponent's attack and defend patterns, and capitalize on common
ones.
A good example would be a jacky or sarah player who loves to harass
you with double low kicks. If you anticipate the low kicks, you can
block, elbow stagger, and then throw at the stagger's end. If you
have good reactions, you can often block the second kick on reflex
after getting hit by the first, and then try for an elbow stagger
into
throw. Finally, if you don't have the above traits and cannot FORCE
your opponent to be thrown, try to watch their habits and see if you
can throw when you THINK they will defend, for example, if the jacky
and sarah will hit you with the double low kicks a lot, they will
expect a retaliation in the form of a sidekick or elbow. Since they
know they can recover fast enough after connecting their low kicks
to block the sidekick or elbow, they will probably start blocking
high
after the double low kick hits. This is the time to run in and
throw.
Only when they start catching on to this should you counter this
move
with some sort of mid attack.
*When you 'condition' the opponent into blocking.
Some opponents don't start out playing defensively but will often
turn
defensive when you show them certain attacks. For example, if you
approach people with akira's quick, reliable dashing elbow (which
hits
mid and can *duck underneath punches*) then they will often be
forced
to either block or dodge the attack since the attack can effectively
beat
any move in their arsenal when timed correctly. If you do the
dashing
elbow a few times and it connects for a combo, they will hesitate to
stick
moves out as often for fear of eating that combo, therefore, they
will
start dodging and blocking more than they should have to.
Anticipate
this and throw them while they dodge or block. Another good
situation
to condition people into being thrown is any time they lose a lot of
'initiative' by using certain attacks. Say your opponent uses a
sidekick
and you know it's uncounterable.. what should you do? More often
than
you'd think, a throw will work, but to really ensure it, try
countering
moves like a blocked sidekick with big float tools such as wolf's
small shoulder ram or akira's super dashing elbow. They will have
to
block these attacks usually to avoid being floated, or at least they
will have to dodge, so condition them with a few elbows or shoulder
rams
and after two or three if these, they will figure out that the best
thing
they can do in their situation is block. Go for the throw.
Finally, it's possible to bait someone into blocking. Aoi for
example can come at the opponent with PPP, and then guard cancel her
[expected] sweep, causing the opponent to momentarily crouch.
Respond
to this with a surprise low throw after you guard-cancel. Even
without
guard cancels, any character should be able to fool the opponent
into
preparing for an expected mid-level attack that you aren't actually
going to do. Sarah for example has a fast elbow-knee combo, and
Sarah
players will try to be wily with it by delaying the knee. Show
opponents
the elbow-delayed knee trick a few times, and when they get used to
it,
try following your next blocked or whiffed elbow with a quick
dash-in
throw.
*hit-throw them.
Just find a way to connect the attacks that set up hit-throws
such
a taka's elbow, jeffry's toe kick, or wolf's two handed chop..once
these
have successfully hit the opponent, do the appropriate throw motion
for
your apparently-free throw. I should stress that you shouldn't
abuse
this technique or rely on it too much to get most of your throws,
mostly
because A: the followup throw might be escapable and B: the moves
that
you need to connect in order to land the hit throws in this game are
generally not of the low risk sort, although Taka's attacks are not
too
bad for execution and recovery.
*More throwing tips*
-Stumble throws
Throws that cause a stumble or staggering animation on your
opponent generally allow you to use additional attacks on them
to increase the total damage that the throw causes, as long as you
can hit them while they are still in their helpless stumble or stagger
animation. The downside though is that this additional damage is not
'free', the opponent can, by rapidly tapping buttons and moving the
stick,
recover from your stumble throw faster than usual, and hence give
himself more time to block your followups. If the opponent doesn't
struggle at all, then they are likely to be struck by slower, powerful
attacks.. but if they are fairly good at struggling, only faster,
weaker
attacks are going to be likely to connect. Still, if your opponent
consistently struggles and then guards after being 'stumbled', you
may try using the stumble to set up ANOTHER throw, instead of
attacking
right after it. This will create a mind game your opponent will have
to
deal with. .. are you going to attack or throw!? If he guessed throw
and
stuck out an attack or crouched, and you attack, he'll be eating your
attack probably. If he guessed attack and blocked, he might eat
another
throw. My advice on using the stumble throw is to watch and see what
you can get away with against a specific opponent. If the answer is
'not much' then you're probably better off doing some other guaranteed
damage throw. If they show that their struggling skills are not up to
speed, then you should go with your stumble throw and powerful
followups
to it until they start escaping. Remember that your reward for
landing
a stumble throw but no followups is really small, stumble throws do
puny
damage by themselves and really need decent followups to be
worthwhile.
-Exchange throws
I call throws that do no damage but set your opponent up for
attacks "exchange throws" .. they are generally the type of throw that
turns the opponent around so that their back is facing you, and both
you and your opponent will usually have switched ring position.
For the most part, exchange throws have very few if any 100%
guaranteed
followups, but unlike stumble throws they cannot be struggled out of
to
avoid damage entirely, because exchange throws always cause the same
amount of reel or stagger animation for the victim. The person
performing
the throw will also always recover the same way and usually at about
the same time as the opponent.
Basically, exchange throws set up the same fun guessing game that
arises versus an opponent who like to struggle out of your stumble
throws: Will you throw or will you attack? At first it would seem
that the stumble throws are better, since they set up the same
guessing game as exchange throws but also do a little damage. The
difference is that exchange throws work on everyone and force a
more 'pure' 50/50 type guessing game because there are no special
factors to deal with such as the opponent's struggle ability. The
guessing game boils down to the exact same handful of options
regardless
of circumstances and regardless of the opponent's skill level. If you
know they will dodge or attempt to run away, you can get a back throw
on them. If you know they will try to TT attack you, you can interrupt
the TT attack with your own powerful attack.
-Mixing throws up
This should be obvious, but I'll say it (again) anyway. Mix your
throws up. Do not attempt to do the same throw on somebody over and
over,
and do not attempt the same small set of two or three throws every
time
if you can help it. You should always have at least three viable
throws
in mind that you can use to keep the opponent guessing. If you don't,
and
if you insist on using only one or two throws over and over, then you
have
just drastically increased the chances that your throw will be
escaped.
Don't let that happen to you. I'll include a list of everyone's best
throw options so that you know which three (or more) you should be
ready
to use at any time, and which throws you shouldn't use as much
.unless
you're facing an opponent who is amazing at guessing what you're going
to do.
-Minor counter throwing
Don't try to minor counter something with a throw just because it
LOOKS like it has slow recovery. Look up the exact statistic and keep
in
mind what can be throw countered and what cannot. It may be tempting
in
the case of a blocked knee or dragon cannon to attempt a dash in
throw,
but even though the recovery LOOKS bad enough to allow your throw, it
isn't
and you'll be leaving yourself open to heavy attacks. Learn from
both experience and various FAQ publications and such what you can
safely
counter with throws and what cannot be countered with throws.
In a few rare cases, such as a situation where you've blocked a
knee, you MIGHT have an opportunity to throw if the conditions are
correct, because you DO have a 1/60th of a second advantage, but it's
very very hard to time something like that correctly and is probably
more risk than it's worth to attempt a throw. If you find there are
certain attacks that are not 'supposed' to be throw counterable, yet
you can throw counter them consistently despite your opponent's
efforts
to stop you, then it's possible that you have met those special
conditions
and you have the timing to throw perfectly. On the other hand, it
could
be that your opponent is incompetent. Regardless, if it works, use it,
but be aware it might not always work versus some competition.
----------------------
okay, that's it so far, I'll do the rest, don't worry.
and after this, I start work on the throw escape FAQ.
That one should be shorter and easier.
I hope.
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