User:Mavi/Spirits Primer

Introduction

This page is intended to help newer players understand how to choose Spirits for different characters. It is a rough guide and mainly represents the opinions of one player. Listed character+Spirit pairings also do not mean those are the only or clear best choice of Spirit for a character, only that the character works relatively well with that Spirit. Choices may vary by matchup or playstyle. Additional notes with looser opinions and elaboration are placed at the end of each Spirit section. The headers for each Spirit link to their respective Spirits wiki entry. This page does not cover the console-only Spirits.

A few characters have special considerations that further influence their choice of Spirit beyond the core concepts below. For example:

• Basara's 421S clones don't pulse red during Rage, while Basara does except in VI Spirit. This makes V and VI particularly appealing, though he might still consider II if willing to contend with this limitation.
• Iroha has a command grab WFT, 9 second Rage timer, and high Rate retention. She can guarantee landing WFT if she lands a pursuit. Should she cycle Rage as quickly as possible with IV Spirit, build Rage more slowly but hold it indefinitely in VI for guaranteed reward, or forego WFT altogether and focus on her strong State of Nothingness game with V?
• Mizuki has an unusually late cancel window on her forward roll, making rolls much less important for her than other characters with command grabs.
• Rera can't use any system mechanics at all while riding Shikuru, aside from her supers. Her WFT is also much slower when not riding Shikuru, and her Secret Move is only available while mounted.
• Shizumaru can cancel hops into his j8A float, giving him fast access to mixups without backdashing away from the opponent.

There are currently no plans for full charts of character-Spirit synergies across the entire cast. That represents a significant undertaking and could easily change with new information. Check the character pages, consider the information here, take both with a grain of salt, and use your best judgement to pick Spirits as suits you, your character, and any matchups you encounter.

I Spirit (怒 Rage)

Important

• Good Hyper Slash: damage, range, startup

Helpful

• Good Rage duration/retention
• Not reliant on supers
• Not reliant on other Spirit mechanics for movement/defense

Example Characters

Charlotte, Sieger, Zankuro

Commentary

Hyper Slash is game changing, both to use and to play around. Very high risk, especially given I's lack of defensive mechanics, but also high reward. Entering Rage cranks your offensive threat to 11 with a massive Rage bonus (roughly 50%), though its baseline bonus for max Weapon Gauge is slightly lower than other Spirits.

Characters who like this Spirit tend to also work well in other Spirits, so it functions well as a matchup-specific choice against certain characters or players. In fact, every character listed above is also strong in at least one other Spirit. IV and V are also common choices for Charlotte, IV is great for Sieger, and Zankuro plays well with VI.

Look carefully at a character's Hyper Slash properties and overall gameplan when considering this Spirit. Sieger and Zankuro both have large, damaging Hyper Slashes, making them effective recoil cancel options and sometimes even punish tools. Sieger also notably struggles to confirm into or punish with his WFT. Charlotte's Hyper Slash damage is slightly below average, but its startup is unusually fast. On the other hand, the damage and range of Kusaregedo's Hyper Slash are offset by startup so slow that opponents can often break the armor with a second hit or simply recover to block in time. I also deprives him of much-needed rolls, weakening his command grab mixups. Mina is a particularly poor fit for I, with a short, low damage Hyper Slash, short Rage duration, poor Rage retention, and a good WFT.

II Spirit (真 True)

Important

• Good WFT
• Benefits from roll mobility

Helpful

• Good Rage duration/retention
• Benefits from one time use of Secret Move
• Good specials for canceling out of Toy Transformation

Example Characters

Gaira, Yoshitora

Commentary

A jack of all trades Spirit with some special quirks. One of only two Spirits with access to Secret Moves, though II can only use them once per game. Toy Transformation adds some unique spice with startup invulnerability and ability to immediately special cancel, though the aforementioned inputs limit use cases and the neutral frame on wakeup prevents use against meaty setups. WFTs breaking the opponent's weapon instead of disarming them is also quite useful, especially against opponents with poor disarmed options. Character specific, often convoluted inputs for both Secret Move and Toy Transformation can be awkward to deal with.

Yoshitora is a great fit for II: a command grab and varied other specials to roll cancel into, an early confirm into his Secret Move unlocks Yuuchouka for the rest of the round, comboable WFT with decent Rage duration, and multiple good options out of Toy Transformation. He also doesn't strongly benefit from a lot of other Spirits unique mechanics, so their upsides aren't as appealing for him as other characters. Gaira loves having access to rolls, has a solid WFT and Secret Move, can catch overcommitting opponents out of II's invulnerable Rage activation, and Toy Transformation gives him yet another setup into Heart Slicer. Weapon break also makes him even more terrifying for disarmed opponents.

III Spirit (斬 Behead)

Important

• Good Rage retention
• Good WFT
• Active air game

Helpful

• Good Rage duration
• High defense
• Not setup heavy on knockdowns

Example Characters

Enja, Kyoshiro, Ocha-Maro

Commentary

Emphasis on manual Rage build and resetting Rage between rounds makes good Rage retention extremely important when playing III Spirit. Good duration and WFT certainly help as well. Air parry is very situational and leaves you wide open on whiff, including some forced landing recovery, but offers a fast way to beat anti-air and air-to-air attacks on a good read.

III is one of Enja's better ways to capitalize on his fast Rage gain, and charging Rage can motivate opponents to engage with him rather than running away if he's not fighting a zoner. Kyoshiro is often the one zoning, but he can sneak in some Rage build in between pokes or on knockdowns rather than trying to chase opponents with his limited mobility. Air parry also helps with his floaty jump, as it does for Ocha-Maro's air game. Ocha-Maro also appreciates more chances to use a strong WFT. All 3 characters also have good defense modifiers.

Frail characters with proactive playstyles and poor Rage retention are particularly poor fits, especially if they struggle to use their WFT. Hanzo, Nakoruru, and Nicotine for example are ill suited to III spirit.

IV Spirit (天 Heaven)

Important

• Beneficial Continuous Slash

Helpful

• Gains improved oki with circle step

Example Characters

Galford, Kazuki, Sieger, Ukyo

Commentary

IV leans into consistent and rewarding punishes with a well-rounded suite of system mechanics. Don't take the thin list above as IV being weak: dodge and circle step are solid defensive options, and there's no real downside to Rage Explosion here unlike in V. Circle step also gives some characters stronger oki, either by moving behind the opponent for backhit frame advantage on hit or using a delayed projectile to threaten a crossup.

Continuous Slash is IV's signature mechanic, and it's just that good for some characters:

• You can buffer CS, unlike your normals, making it more consistent for links and tight punishes
• Full CS4 builds Rage based on your Rage retention. Enja and Sugoroku instantly enter Rage after CS4; characters like Charlotte, Iroha, and Kazuki will fill 3/4ths or more of their bar in one combo
• CS2 and/or partial CS4 may open up confirm options not otherwise possible, and for some characters is the only way to confirm into WFT without counterhit
• CS routing may do meaningfully higher damage than standard options
• You can CS from dash, opening up much more threatening punishes outside close range for characters lacking a dash normal confirm

Galford gains WFT confirms from CS2 and has good Rage build from CS4, along with Replica Dog crossups via circle step. Sieger and Ukyo are among the characters who can special cancel their CS4 chain, opening up highly damaging punishes for both characters, and Ukyo's is his only combo starter from dash. Ukyo also gets a hard knockdown from 214B this way, which sets up backhit mixups or free damage from a guaranteed pursuit. Kazuki has a fast, long range CS starter and usually prefers CS2 for easy confirms into 623S/WFT, but can opt for CS4 to build nearly a full bar of Rage instantly. Meanwhile Nakoruru can't even combo into WFT with CS2, has subpar Rage gain with CS4, and loses roll cancels into command grab, so IV is a poor fit for her.

V Spirit (零 Null)

Important

• Not reliant on supers
• Can find plenty of opportunities to meditate without sacrificing gameplan

Helpful

• Benefits from roll mobility
• Launcher for unburstable State of Nothingness combos
• Plus on hit attacks to confirm into State of Nothingness
• Projectile that hits after the character recovers
• Overhead that doesn't knock down for State of Nothingness mixups

Example Characters

Nakoruru, Sogetsu, Yumeji

Commentary

V Spirit trades the power of Rage and some initiative in neutral for immense third-round threat with State of Nothingness. Combos into Issen can do extremely high damage and are often game-ending. However, this makes the first two rounds a more uphill battle and sometimes it's necessary to use Rage Explosion to stay alive at the expense of State of Nothingness and Issen. V is also one of two Spirits with rolls, making it appealing for many characters with command grabs.

Certain attack properties compliment State of Nothingness to more readily close games. Comboable launchers lock opponents using IV and V Spirit out of Rage Explosion, ensuring good albeit usually suboptimal damage. Some attacks have enough advantage on hit to confirm into SoN. Slow projectiles can take advantage of the projectile damage glitch to effectively hit twice or more with Issen for greater damage. Mixup options that don't knock down can give characters a safe chance or two at opening characters up before meter depletes.

VI Spirit (剣 Sword)

Important

• Good WFT

Helpful

• Good Secret Move
• Multihit attacks to build meter quickly

Example Characters

Amakusa, Mizuki, Nicotine, Rasetsumaru

Commentary