VF5FS Vanessa Strategy

Introduction(top)

Vanessa's unique feature is her two styles. Contrary to most characters stances, she can indefinetly remain in her styles, even after blocking, moving or recovering from a fall. Having two distinct styles means that she can change strategy in the middle of the round, similar to switching characters. Thus she doesn't have a "bad match up" and deserves to be near the top of the tier list because she can efficiently deal with the whole cast.

But that's not all: Vanessa has the biggest command list (making defending against her a nightmare), the most plus-on-guard moves out of all the cast (further complicating defense), a unique techroll option ( intercept position) and some very destructive combos.

However, being two characters in one also means having to learn two characters. So, as a Vanessa player, you will need more practice than other characters. Additionally, since Vanessa is two characters in one, all strategy must be split in two parts, one for each style. So get comfortable, this is going to be a long read!

THE DEFENSIVE STYLE(top)

The defensive style (DS) has its strengths: low throws, a safe mid full-circular, three sabaki, an evasive lie-down stance and various other moves with interesting properties. Despite its name, it also has the fastest high move in the game (10f) which is good against frame traps, and one of the fastest mids in the game (13f) which yields a stagger on counter hit.

The style's main weaknesses is poor punishment (no launcher until +17 - and even then a crouching opponent will take roughly half the damage), a lack of multi-hit strings and no low attacks that knockdown.

All in all, DS thrives in small disadvantage situations by disturbing the opponent's strategies with safe moves.

DS Nitaku(top)

First the bad news: DS Vanessa's CH floaters are either not mid or too slow to use in "nitaku situations".

Then the... not so bad news: has a 30 dmg hit-throw that works on NH. It should be your main nitaku tool along with throws if you want max damage. Be forewarned: the hit-throw will not work if the opponent decides to abare with a jumping or back-turning move. It can also fail to work if the opponent is far away (for example after DS CH).

If you are willing to sacrifice guaranteed damage, you can nitaku with which combos into on CH and leaves the opponent sideturned. The followup is semicircular and delayable, so you won't be punished heavily if the opponent decides to evade instead.

If you think your opponent might abare with a move designed to beat or (both are midkicks), you can always try DS vane's CH floaters, and . The first option is safe if blocked but high, so it loses to low or tech-crouch abare and Aoi's Tenchi. The second option is low, so only loses to Sarah/DS vane 10f jabs at -6 and jumping attacks. Just be sure to hitcheck for the CH - the opponent can use a low attack to interrupt the followup (or, even worse, duck and launch you). If you're feeling really confident that your opponent will abare with an anti-midkick move you can even try (being 21f it will however lose to pretty much everything else).

If you are confident that your opponent will evade, Vanessa has semicirculars to both directions. Towards her back there's which combos into or on CH for minor damage. It's 16f mid, and thus a safe bet to use in nitaku, if you're willing to sacrifice both damage and frame advantage (both followups leave her at minor disadvantage). Towards her stomach there's for a float. Unfortunately the move is high and has very short reach. If you don't want to choose a side there's (however, similarly to , it's rather slow so it will lose to pretty much everything else).

Besides blocking an opponent's attack that leaves them at -6 or worse, here's a list of DS moves that grant Vanessa nitaku on hit:

NH +6 (float on CH)
NH +7 (+9 on CH; rarely happens since the string combos on any hit)

CH +6
CH +7
CH +8

Some other moves that might appear to have nitaku frames in the command list but are not really used to obtain nitaku:

CH is +6 but you should probably finish the string for the guaranteed damage (contrary to her jab string, where forfeiting guaranteed damage at least yields +8)
CH is also +6 on CH but you should definitely be doing the hit-throw for the guaranteed damage.
is +7, CH is +7 and CH +8 but all three push the opponent outside of throw range, so nitaku is NOT applicable. If the opponent is pushed against the wall you'll get a wall stagger instead.
is +6 and CH is +8 but they also sideturn the opponent, which is far more advantageous (see below for specific options).

DS Sabaki(top)

Counterbalancing its lack of strong nitaku options, DS possesses a unique set of moves designed around disrupting the opponent's nitaku options. A basic writeup about her DS sabaki or other evasive moves can be found in Kaibutsu's guide.

DS Side Turned(top)

DS Side Turned setups(top)

This time let's start with the good news first: your opponent will find themselves sideturned. A lot. Here's a list of DS moves that will sideturn an opponent:

*

Hand Hold Reversal
Successfully evading an attack
Using Offensive move
Escaping some throws (depends on character and throw direction)

*DS combos into on CH, recovery hit and side hit. Add to that evading and throw breaks, and suddenly a good portion of DS vane's gameplan revolves around sideturned situations.

DS Side Turned payoffs(top)

More good news: > will wreck your opponent until they learn to respect it:

DS is a mid CH floater (something DS normally lacks ) attack. It's 16f so it will counterhit 12f attacks such as low punches from +4 and 11f jabs from +5. Remember ? It grants sideturn & +5 This means that, during the most frequent sideturned situation, DS will sidecrumple any move that's not Sarah/DS vane 10f punch, sidekick sabaki or mid reversal. As a bonus it will back dash stagger and yields +11 if it normal side-hits crouching opponents.

Against E(C)DTG there's sidethrows, which, if broken leave Vanessa at an advantage. Against opponents who consistently escape sidethrows you can try delaying the throw.

Against side fuzzy there's low throws.

As mentioned in the nitaku section, if you want to mitigate the risk an opponent might evade your you can always use vane's semicirculars, and or just poke with .

At higher disadvantages and become interesting alternatives because they start beating abare while at the same time retaining positive frames if blocked.

Finally, against abare designed to beat DS there's always vane's CH floaters, and . will also beat standing guard leaving Vanessa at -3 on NH (useful against opponents who are confident they can escape sidethrows and just lazy TEG without evading!). might be high but on the other hand it's +1 when sideblocked. Here's a complete list of vane's moves that become positive when sideblocked btw.

DS Side Turned flowchart(top)

All of the above should translate to the following flowchart:

1. Frames
   Sideturned Situation
   Options
2. +/- 0
   It's highly unlikely to end up in this situation but consider it an opportunity to list some basic options
   side throw; side low throw; fast poke; fast high poke; evadable CH float ; mid poke with circular followup; tracks front and tracks back
3. +1
   side blocked or OS side blocked or side NH
   While Standing beats 12f attacks
4. +2
   side blocked or side NH
   beats 12f jabs* (goto +1 row if blocked)
5. +3
   side blocked or side NH
   beats 12f attacks
6. +4
   side blocked
   or or beat 12f attacks
7. +5
   NH or side NH
   or beat 12f attacks
8. +6
   NH or reversal or throw escape sideturn or and side NH
   throws beat fuzzy, no need to use low throws anymore
9. +7
   and side NH
   beats 12f attacks (cannot be sabakied and +1 if blocked)
10. +8
    side CH
    beats 12f attacks and evades
11. +9
    side CH or CH or side NH
    and can't be blocked (goto +6/+7 row respectively; if the opponent low punches then will lose out but will score a CH, resetting the situation); beats 12f moves
12. +10
    side CH
    Guaranteed (goto +6) or side-throw attempt
13. +11
    side crouching NH
    "Guaranteed" (goto +6 if it connects) or side-throw attempt (both may whiff)

* against characters with jabs faster than 12 frames refer to the options from the previous row(s). So, for example, after DS vs Pai read the +4 line instead of the +5 one.

DS Combos(top)

If you already mastered DS Basic Combos, Vanessa's combo list, available at https://virtuafighter.com/combos/list?ver=5fsa&chara=vanessa is more than complete. Taka- and Shun-specific combos have been added for every combo starter.

Some slam combos (notably DS ) require a delayed ; using will solve that problem.

Some combos with (notably DS ) require a delayed ; no tricks here, you just have to learn the timing.

DS Staggers(top)

Staggers fall somewhere between combos and nitaku; each time the opponent is staggered DS Vanessa can either follow up with an attack that will launch the opponent or dash and throw them. Extensive talk about staggers can be found at http://virtuafighter.com/threads/looking-for-the-best-moves-off-stagger.16648/.

DS Wakeup Strategies(top)

DS Okizeme(top)

Baiting and punishing whiffed rising attacks:

A staple okizeme strategy, ever since Vanessa was first introduced, is DS . Despite the fact that the move has a built in backdash, depending on the distance and the opponent (some have longer legs than others), you might want to input it as in order to be sure that Vanessa will avoid the opponent's rising attack.

Jump back > is a newer alternative. It only yields a stagger but jump back > DS is slower, meaning that opponent might actually be able to block or, even worse, evade ; besides switches to OS, which is definitely a plus in VF5FS. Other alternatives after jumping back include , which will also beat evade, and which will deceptively leave Vanessa at positive frames if blocked from jump back distance.

FInally don't forget that DS can sabaki mid rising kicks executed when the opponent is FUHT for decent damage. The most frequent way of knocking down an opponent FUHT is with or by doing an OM after a combo ending with DS . Also remember that ALL of akira's rising mid kicks are also sabakiable.

Guaranteed punishment after blocking certain rising attacks:

Rising attacks performed after the opponent rolls away from Vanessa are -15 on block. Unfortunately Vanessa's -15 punishment is weak (see punishment) so your options are either or throw.

Crushing rising attacks:

The DS moves best suited for crushing both mid and low rising attacks are (21f), (22f) and (24f). Out of the three is the most rewarding vs light & middleweights, yielding combo for 64 + 11 = 75 damage; will combo into vane's shoulder ram, dealing 66 damage and leaving the opponent staggered for potentially even more damage; while will only cause a knockdown, resetting the okizeme game (unless the prone opponent lies against the wall; then it will cause a wall splat, outdamaging the previous two options).

The above moves are all mid and have 4 active frames and should be considered the most efficient. The following two moves only have 3 active frames but possess some evasive properties that can compensate: : jumps over low rising attacks, recovering in IP, before the opponent, which puts them in a dangerous situation; if it crushes a mid rising attack it will deal 52 damage; if your timing is off Vanessa will be knocked away from the opponent, avoiding further retaliation (unless your back is against the wall/edge of the ring). . will only yield a knockdown (unless the opponent lies prone against the wall; then it will cause a wall splat outdamaging ALL the previous options) but, due to the nature of its hitbox, it can sometimes avoid rising low attacks if performed from a distance; if you fail to crush the opponent's rising attack at said distance you should still be safe from retaliation.

DS Ukemizeme (top)

The archetypal DS anti-techroll attack since Vanessa was first introduced in VF4 is DS . It can't be evaded or sabakied so the opponent must either block it or get knocked down again.

However VF5FS has introduced the concept of meaty attacks ie. attacks that can't be blocked if they land inside the time-widnow when a techrolling opponent can't block. Vanessa's best meaty attack from DS has to be , since it's her only mid attack with range that floats on normal hit. Alternatives include DS which does not yield a guaranteed followup on NH (but is actually positive on block) and which is faster but has a shorter range and is substantially less damaging.

Finally, some combos guarantee a low throw attempt if the opponent techrolls. Despite being escapable, low throws are damaging enough that the risk is worth it - besides, most of the time the opponent will be too surprised to TE.

DS Ring Position(top)

DS Wall Pressure (top)

DS Wall Staggers(top)

The most reliable way to provoke a wall stagger is to land DS when the opponent has their back against the wall. In fact, its long range and pushback on CH can yield a wall stagger even when the opponent thinks they are clear of the wall. DS shares similar attributes, is better on block and has good pushback even on NH - with the disadvantage of being 5f slower (21f vs 16f).

After a wall stagger, a hassle-free followup is DS head crumple > wall splat > bound > wall slump > .

Another option after a wall stagger, is DS which is 1f faster, mid, and causes a wall splat on its own. Subsequent combos is identical and, due to scaling, do comparable damage. Note however that this option is less reliable off-axis (the first hit might not wall splat or the combo might drop).

The fastest DS followup that knocks down is WS (14f, best case scenario). Followup with > (needs confirmation).

Finally, DS will stagger the opponent when Vanessa's back is to the wall. In addition to the above followups, DS will back crumple the opponent ( combos will work; but > OS > followup of your choice should do even more damage).

DS Wall Side Staggers(top)

back side facing wall Closed Stance + > IP+

It's possible to followup with + from IP instead of +, but it's a bit harder due to the angle.
If you do hit + from IP, you can followup with , ending up in a stomach to the wall situation, in which you force a nitaku situation since you can do either + or +.

back facing wall Closed Stance + > +

Hits with the tip

stomach facing wall Closed Stance + > dash +

In the second situation, + hits after a dash. Unlike the first situation where you have to hitconfirm after +, the second one with + is easier. Also, when in the vicinity of the wall, try to hit in order to do Pekora's death combo: P+K,P,(wall hit that puts opponent side turned) 4P, KK (backturns opponent), P (wall stagger), 3+P+K, 2P+K,4P+K, 6P3K, 66PP

stomach facing wall Closed Stance + > > Side Crumple. Followup with switch > OS bound > wall slump > .

+ after the wall hit will put the opponent in a sideways staggered situation. Therefore it's standard procedure to induce a side crumple combo with . For those opponents who manage to recover from the stagger quickly enough, you can use + to force a nitaku situation.

Note: All information about wall side staggers in this sub-section is copied verbatim from @Ribx's translation of @acebreaker's notes, available at the following thread: https://virtuafighter.com/threads/acebreaker-combo-notes-translated.16273/ except for Pekora's death combo, as translated by @Chibitox.

DS Ring Out (top)

Ideal ways to ring out over half fences:

Knock down an opponent over a half fence with , , or .

Land a combo starter against an opponent near a half fence and float with , , , , or (in addition to the above moves).

Ideal combos that carry good distance (for ring out):

Combo variety is not DS Vanessa's specialty; anything that includes or carries a fair bit. Everything else... start thinking about oki instead of ringing out your opponent with this float.

DS special stance: Intercept Position(top)

Moves that transition to IP:

DS
DS
DS when knocked down FUFT
OS when knocked down FUFT!

Pros: the stance's hitbox is VERY low, meaning that all high moves will whiff against it - and even some mid attacks.This means that transitioning to the stance when knocked down FUFT might cause the opponent's okizeme to whiff, leaving them wide open for retaliation. Punish a recovering opponent with the DS IP > hit throw for 68 damage. Don't go for the DS IP catch throw because it's slower (20 vs 27 frames execution) and the opponent might have time to react to it.

Cons: the stance's mobility is limited and available moves are slow (20f or more). This means that the advantage granted by landing DS (+4) or having the opponent block DS (+5) is deceptive. Even worse, all of Vanessa's options can be beat by ECDTEG-ing to vane's stomach, even if DS (+4) counterhits. Additionally if the opponent jumps back, all of vane's options will whiff, leaving her wide open for punishment (provided the opponent doesn't have his back against the wall).

Note: Using OS when knocked down FUFT switches to DS. And - unless you are realy far behind and need to gamble your way back in the game - normally you don't want that.

All in all, IP shines when DS Vanessa can recover FUFT from a combo/knockdown. It provides a third option, outside of the normal techroll vs stay on the ground dilema. Even better, the threat of IP can make an opponent hesitate, giving you a free pass on otherwise guaranteed damage.

THE OFFENSIVE STYLE(top)

Similar to DS, the offensive style (OS) has its strengths and weaknesses. You can assimilate the OS playstyle to the Bryants' playstyles. It has destructive combos against the whole cast, good launchers, good punishing moves, a catch throw to a special position called "takedown", hit throws and some good strings. She's got some good special high moves to use against fans of low moves.

The style's weaknesses are that you don't have a fast full circular move so you will have to read the opponent habits to punish his evades with half circulars. Her selection of low attacks is also poor (even more so than DS).

OS Nitaku(top)

First things first: OS nitaku is much stronger than DS nitaku.

If you think your opponent will abare, OS vane's strongest CH launcher is ; it's special high and 16f exe so it should beat most abare from +6 for a damaging combo. Unfortunately since is special high, it can be ducked and will lose to some specific crouching moves. It also has short reach so an opponent might be able to backdash out of it, particularly if they choose to crouch backdash. Also, if not inputted perfectly, it might lose to 10f or even slower attacks. Finally, it's obviously vulnerable to high reversals and kick sabaki.

OS is a mid CH floater, has an easier input and longer reach. It does significantly less damage than but will beat crouch guard, backdash, tech-crouching mids & high reversal. Unfortunately it can still lose to tech-crouching lows & most kick sabakis also work on knees.

If you think your opponent will E(C)DTEG, OS will track to vane's stomach for big damage. can be slightly delayed, meaning that Vanessa should not be heavily punished by an opponent that evades . Still, if you guess your opponent will evade towards vane's back, OS tracks to that direction, combos into for a knockdown on CH, but is unfortunetely a high move, thus susceptible to low abare.

If you feel confident your opponent will evade but you don't want to guess which direction, you can either throw your opponent or can use the OS catch throw to transition into mount. The advantage of the catch throw is that it can't be escaped and that it will also beat backdash (something both AND are vulnerable to); the disadvantage is that it's 21f so if the opponent chooses to TEG instead of E(C)DTEG, they can react to it.

If you feel confident your opponent will backdash OR if your opponent has their back against the wall (or if your opponent is sideturned), you can use to knock them down or wall splat them (or sidecrumple them). However, since the move is 18f, it requires greater advantage to beat typical low punch/jab abare.

Finally some other moves to consider (or not) during nitaku, ordered by execution speed:

• OS is a 16f mid punch that yields small combo on CH. It's a decent choice if you think your opponent will try a kick-and-knee sabaki. It's linear and has poor reach.
• OS is a 16f sidekick. This is the only OS move that will consistently beat tech-crouching lows from characters such as Shun or Lion AND typical abare. It will also provoke a backdash stagger but only if your opponent is adjacent to Vanessa since its reach is so poor. It combos into or on NH for negligible damage. If the opponent evades, each followup tracks to a different direction.
• OS is a 16f mid punch with decent reach. It combos to on any hit for a knockdown, becoming a low risk-high reward move near walls and fences. The followup doesn't knockdown but is VERY delayable, making an excellent poke, to be used in frame ambiguous situations rather than typical nitaku.
• OS is a 17f sidekick with a 40 dmg hit-throw. Technically you can use it in nitaku situations but the damage on CH is subpar compared to moves mentioned previously AND it's linear with poor reach.
• OS , a 18f knee with a 25 dmg hit-throw on CH that transitions into mount. Linear, poor reach, low payoff.
• OS is a 19f mid punch that combos into on NH for a small combo. The followup can be slightly delayed, just in case the opponent sidesteps; however it is -10 on block. The payoff on CH is even lower than , which itself is lower than , which is even lower than ... so, yeah, this move tends to be overlooked.

OS Side Turned(top)

OS Side Turned setups(top)

Vanessa's OS moves that can sideturn an opponent are:

*
*
Successfully evading an attack
Using Offensive move
Escaping some throws (depends on character and throw direction)

*If you ever land those two moves on NH, you should know that yields a crumple on side CH. However, given that (i) floats on CH (so you'll be doing a combo, not applying side pressure), and (ii) OS is 37f execution and has an audio cue (making it very hard to land) AND that on CH it guarantees (which knocks down, so you can't apply sidepressure anymore either), this means that OS Vanessa will not be sideturning the opponent as frequently as DS Vanessa.

OS Side Turned payoffs(top)

That said, it's still useful to study her sideturned options in case of a successful evade.

Her strongest option is . It will sidecrumple on any hit for half the opponent's lifebar. It's also just -1 when sideblocked, and has a massive pushback.

Given that is kinda slow (18f), it might be useful to study her other, faster alternatives:

The OS jab is much better than the DS one. It combos into on any side hit for repectable damage and a knockdown. On block, the threat of OS will frequently deter an opponent from counterattacking. A scared opponent might even freeze enough to side block OS which grants +3 on block. Apparently the entire string jails, so if they block the first jab and try to interrupt the string with a low they will be knocked down by the special high string ender.

The OS low punch is identical to the DS version.

OS has an "elbow class" move, in the form of . It's her fastest OS mid and combos into on any hit for a knockdown. If you are feeling lucky, on side CH it grants +10 so you can try to throw your opponent. Remember however that a competent opponent will always escape side throws (since, contrary to normal throws, there is no guessing involved).

Speaking of side throw escapes: if you guess that your opponent will side guard instead of attacking, you can try to use Vane's OS catch throw. Remember however that the catch throw is slower than normal throws and that opponents with good reflexes might counterhit Vanessa.

Finally, if you think you can predict with greater accuracy the direction of your opponents evade, OS semicircular moves still work: & track to vane's stomach and & track to her back. Remember, OS's unique circular move is so slow that you'll have to rely a lot on throwing and using these semicircular moves to beat your opponent's evades.

Slower moves, like (same properties as the DS version) and (guarantees on CH) are available but their damage output is overshadowed by . They are somewhat safer on block (+1, 0 and -1 respectively) but the difference is negligeable - negated by 's pushback.

All in all, your most frequent attack against a sideturned opponent come in the form of evade > . The motion of will cancel a failed evade, making this sequence all the more efficient. Given how it overshadows every other option, there's no point in creating a detailed per-frame flowchart breakdown, similar to the one in the DS section.

OS Combos(top)

Once you have mastered OS Basic Combos, you can graduate to the the Vanessa combo list, available at https://virtuafighter.com/combos/list?ver=5fsa&chara=vanessa .

Some combos (notably and are distance dependent); learn to recognize when the max damage followup will fail and switch to more dependable combo - some damage is better then no damage.

OS Staggers(top)

Staggers fall somewhere between combos and nitaku; each time the opponent is staggered OS Vanessa can either follow up with an attack that will launch the opponent or use her catch throw. As mentioned earlier, extensive talk about staggers can be found at http://virtuafighter.com/threads/looking-for-the-best-moves-off-stagger.16648/

OS Wakeup Strategies(top)

OS Okizeme (top)

Baiting and punishing whiffed rising attacks:

As mentioned in the DS section the typical bait-and-whiff-punish Vanessa attack is . Remember to use an additional as needed (e.g. after flooring the opponent via a throw).

The new VF5FS (descending from a backwards jump ) is a viable alternative, particularly vs low rising attacks, yielding a stagger. It will only lose to buffered mid rising attacks ; if you guess your opponent will try to mash to knock you out of you can either use (as mentioned earlier) or try to crush them with a well-timed for even more damage.

Jump back > is also available if, for some reason, you'd wish to switch back to DS. Please note that OS has a shorter reach than the DS version so it will not work after OS Vanessa jumps back.

Guaranteed punishment after blocking certain rising attacks:

Blocking mid rising attacks after the opponent rolls away from Vanessa guarantees combos (or > vs Taka). Blocking low rising attacks in that scenario guarantees punishment (or if the opponent's back is near the edge of the ring).

Crushing rising attacks:

1. Attack
   Speed/Active Frames
   Damage on CH
   Comment
2. 
   17/4
   79+
   Jumping mid. Randomly whiffs against low rising attacks.
3. 
   24/4
   59+
   Mid.
4. 
   37/4
   92
   Jumping special high. Very slow. Also randomly whiffs/loses to rising low attacks.
5. 
   26/3
   73+
   Jumping mid. RCH combo vs low rising kicks for 65+ DMG. Combos are distance dependant (so dash forward if necessary).
6. 
   18/3
   37
   Mid. Wall splat vs opponents prone against the wall for 91 damage.
7. 
   15/3
   34
   Mid. Wall stagger vs opponents prone against the wall.
8. 
   14+/3
   46
   Special high. Easy to time (second part of a delayable string). Evasive from a distance (RCH combo deals 41 damage). Perpendicular wall splat vs opponents prone against the wall for ?? damage.
9. 
   21/2
   48+
   Transitions to takedown (for 0/35/45/50 additional damage). Evasive from a distance (deals 26 damage on RCH & Vanessa is left at -3).

OS Ukemizeme (top)

OS anti-techroll pressure revolves around OS which will side crumple if it lands as meaty (and will knock down on NH if your timing is off, effectively resetting the wakeup guessing game), and OS catch-throw.

An alternative mixup can be IS mid crumple punch and IS catch throw. Although not as damaging these are harder to react to since both have the same starting animation.

If the opponent refrains from techrolling after...
...combos ending with OS then will connect for additional damage.
...combos ending with OS then will connect for additional damage.

OS Ring Position(top)

OS Wall Pressure (top)

Substituting regular combo enders with (wall slump) > will typically yield more damage near walls. You can attempt more damaging enders like or or but sometimes their second hit whiffs, depending on your axis and distance from the wall.

OS Wall Staggers(top)

When in OS, the only move worth using to provoke a wall stagger is . That's because slower moves yield guaranteed damage. For example at 16f wall slump > is available; or, even better, at 18f wall splat > high wall slump > bound > > .

These attacks still work after wall staggers, making them the recommended followup. OS will crumple on stagger hit but does not necessarily yield more damage than a regular due to scaling.

The only faster alternative for wall staggers is > float. Due to the wall, you might be able to do some additional damage but it depends on the distance and axis angle.

OS Wall Side Staggers(top)

Again, as with the DS section, the following section is copied verbatim from the Vanessa subforum and should be credited to @acebreaker for the initial post and @Ribx for the translation, available here: http://virtuafighter.com/threads/acebreaker-combo-notes-translated.16273/#post-333967/.

Back side facing wall, Closed Stance >wall stagger>+

with Vanessa's back side facing the wall, hitting with NH will net a wall stagger, which followed by a + will cause a side crumple, offering a combo opportunity.
The normal combo in this situation is followed by + > (wall splat)> +, which works up to Jeffry
There's the chance that will be a CH, and the opponent will be able to quickly recover from the stagger. In which case you should use + instead of +, like the crumple (below).

Back side facing wall, Closed Stance >wall stagger>+

OS Ring Out (top)

Ideal ways to ring out over half fences:

Knockdown the opponent over a half fence with (and similar strings), (and similar strings), HCF , or .

Float the opponent near a half fence with , , CH or .

Land a combo starter against an opponent near a half fence and float with , , , , , or (in addition to all of the above moves EXCEPT which slams on air hit and which bounds (but you can probably still RO the opponent with a afterwards)).

Ideal combos that carry good distance (for ring out):

No walls: finish bound combos with .

Half walls: replace and bound combos with .

OS special stance: Intruder Step(top)

Moves that transition to IS:

OS
OS
OS
OS
OS cancel
OS cancel
OS cancel

Pros: all three followups are awesome. The catch throw is fast (only 16f exe!), and the two followups are not slow either (19f exe). The mid punch crumples on any hit for considerable damage; the MDK on the other hand only provides a stagger on hit. Nevertheless, as a tradeoff, it is impervious to sabakis and reversals, jumps over low punches (and even ducks under highs during some frames of the animation) and is CD fuzzy safe on block.

Cons: the step is easily recogniseable. This means that opponents can counterhit Vanessa out of IS with an elbow - or worse - if she tries to enter it from disadvantage. Looking at the command list one can observe that only OS yields advantage enough advantage on NH (+3). Every other attack that grants more than +2 frames requires a CH, meaning that Vanessa will have to forgo guaranteed damage in order to try an intruder step mixup. For a detailed breakdown of OS options see here.

Besides poking with OS , Intruder Step is efficient in situations where the opponent cannot react to the animation itself, only its followups. This happens (i) when you surprise an opponent (not likely against experienced opponents); (ii) when you intimidate an opponent enough that he freezes up in pace (again, not likely against experienced opponents); and (iii) everytime Vanessa knocks an opponent down.

All in all Intruder Step is an interesting choice for okizeme but of limited use otherwise.