Kombatants part 8

Kombatants

<a name="hsuh"> </a>

Hsu Hao is an excellent upper-tier character, combining both strength and speed. His Champion Blades move is key to his major damage combos; it takes only three button commands and leaves the opponent in the air for a juggle. Though the timing is tricky, after doing Champion Blades, switch back to his sumo stance and do another Champion Blades before your opponent hits the ground.

Easier to pull off is Champion Blades in sumo style and following it with air attacks. After finishing Champion Blades, press U + A2 three times to get Hsu Hao to do three air kicks in rapid succession, dealing about 40% damage.

Hsu Hao also has a decent selection of special moves. His Thunder Klap shoots out a vacuum of material out of his hands and then dissipates, good for mid-range situations. His Bouncing Death and Krystal Lazer are the slowest projectiles in the game, which can be worked to your advantage. If your opponent is start to get up from the ground and there's a lot of distance between you and your opponent, use Bouncing Death or Krystal Lazer. Bouncing Death bounces slowly across the screen, while Krystal Lazer shoots out a solid energy beam that stays on-screen for several seconds; as your opponent gets up, she'll have to either block instantly or take damage from these projectiles.

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Despite the martial arts outfit, you'll want to stay in Kobra's machete stance. It's not super excellent, but will get the job done. With the machete, do the standard air combo of using a simple move to launch the opponent into the air (Assault) and then using the stance's best move to mop up (King Thunder).

With the machete, you'll be covered at midrange. And at long distances, do like Liu Kang and alternate high and low projectiles (Chi-Blast and Crouching Chi-Blast) to keep your opponent dancing.

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There's a reason Taven's the guy you play as during Konquest mode: he's one of the most rounded characters in the game, making him a perfect stepping stone into this huge, sprawling game.

Taven in drakesword stance is similar to Mitsirugi in the Soul Caliburs: a bit unwieldy, but has a wide range and can inflict major damage with just a few slices. Taven also has a projectile special move, which may have been more useful if not for his Ring of Hatred. Though Ring of Hatred will leave you vulnerable both before and after (Taven jumps high into the air and slowly gets up after landing), Ring of Hatred is unblockable and will hit from virtually any location.

For a power combo, combine Dragonkin, Swing Blast, and Speed of Light. After the Dragonkin, you'll be automatically switched to Drakeword style and your opponent will be in the air. With the Swing Blast, you'll knock him even further up, which will give you time to execute Speed of Light. Taven will rush forward and pound your opponent three more times before she hits the ground, dealing 34% damage.