Tormentor is a very well-rounded character who's greatest strength is his combo versatility and his ability to constantly pressure his opponents with attacks. He has a 4f jab, very good ranged mid attacks to both start combos and send his opponents flying to the corner, plus on hit moves to stagger with, Spinning Sweep Kick has extremely good range and has a great combo string attached to it, and he has amazing damage in the corner against most of the cast with his Charged Punch wall-splat extensions.
While Tormentor may seem dominant in the hands of someone skilled, nothing about him is particularly broken. He relies on mixing up his combos and pressure to win, and using his 4f jab to stagger opponents attempting to use slower moves against him.
Chain Heater allows you to heat up your chain and give your chain attacks a damage bonus, which is a great tool if you're able to create space. However, heat really only makes a significant difference when it's maxed, and usually by then your opponent is hurt enough that a combo without any heat would win the round regardless.
At a glance:
Pros
Cons
Disjointed Attacks:Charged Punch and Spinning Sweep Kick both have long range.
Crouch Killer: His main kick strings are all mids and lows, which means they can pressure crouching opponents excellently.
Keep Them Guessing: A plethora of combo strings to branch into force your opponents to guess whether to counter high, counter low, or keep blocking.
Amazing Corner Damage: Tormentor can convert lots of damage thanks to Medium Kick being able to hit opponents in the corner after a Charged Punch.
Dash Attacks:Running Shoulder's invulnerability can charge right through your opponent's attacks, and Running Knee can convert into a juggle combo from range.
Tall hitbox: Some characters can do Tormentor-specific wall juggle strings for more damage.
Bad Matchups: Oddball, Cleetus, and Judas are small enough for Medium Kick to not connect after a Charged Punch in the corner, making you lose out on a ton of extra damage,
Tormentor
Hitbox Diameter
4.6u⌀ (Medium)
Movement Speed
5.6u/s (6th fastest)
Dash Distance
9.5u (5th worst)
Move List
Front Punch
Straight Jab
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
4f
2f
8f
-3 / +3
3
2.7u
-
-
One of the best high jabs in the game, featuring good range paired with fast startup and recovery. It’s only rivaled by the startup of Imp’s Tiny Jab.
Cancels: - Elbow Smash
Elbow Smash
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
8f
1f
17f
-11 / +3
3
3.0u
-
Switch
Smash’s poor startup and recovery compared to Straight Jab doesn’t really make this move worth using as a combo starter.
Cancels: - Snap Kick
Gut Punch
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
9f
8f
9f
-9 / +46 (+3)
5
1.7u
-
Poor range, but good startup as far as stuns go with a crazy amount of active frames. Opponents can mash out of the stun quite fast, so it’s recommended you continue to string into Medium Knee or grab them.
Cancels: - Medium Knee
Charged Punch
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
11f
2f
10f
-5 / +35
7
7.3u
Switch
One of Tormentor’s best moves. It has amazing range, recovery frames, hits mid, and has lots of ways to safely string into it.
Charged Uppercut
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
18f
2f
30f
-25 / +20
10
5.0u
Switch
The only DP input in the game. While it's too slow to be used by itself, Charged Uppercut will do 20 damage if you string into it making it easily your best combo finisher.
Low Jab From Crouch
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
5f
1f
10f
-4 / +3
4
1.8u
-
-
Terrible range, and it doesn’t seem to string into anything. Avoid using.
Back Punch
Chain Slash
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
9f
2f
12f
-7 / +2
4(12)
6.3u
-
-
Tormentor’s farthest reaching high normal. Though it sometimes has a finicky hurtbox, it strings into both Charged Punch and Spin Kick, making it not a terrible option to punish your opponent from range and keep held down to gain some quick chain heat.
Cancels: - Charged Punch - Spin Kick - Snap Kick
Chain Heater [] ... ][
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
-
-
-
26f
-
-
-
Attack Buff
-
Character defining move. Hold for at least 32 frames, then release to heat your chain. For attacks affected by heat, the maximum possible damage added is denoted with in parenthesis next to its base value. Visit the Chain Heater section below for more in-depth information.
Spinning Chain Slash
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
11f
4f
11f
-8 / +5
5(15)
5.3u
-
-
More active frames and damage than its non-spinning cousin, but less range. Since this strings into Guilty Lashes, it’s one of the best heated chain payouts in terms of pure damage if you're able to land it.
Cancels: - Guilty Lashes - Medium Knee
Back And Forth Snap
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
31f
4f
13f
-29 / 0
9(27)
8.0u
Switch
A full second of startup for mediocre damage compared to his other tools. Avoid using.
Guilty Lashes
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
9f
6f
16f
-9 / +1
6(18)
8.3u
-
-
The weed whacker. Amazing range and active frames, and good OTG string starter. Makes a good heated chain payout if strung into from a Spinning Chain Slash.
Cancels: - Charged Uppercut
Chain Twirl Throw
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
On Grab
14f
-
58f
-15 / +2
30
7.2u-10.5fu
-
On Hit
14f
5f
17f
-15 / -10
5(15)
9.3u
-
Switch
This command grab is blockable, only grabs at the tip of its hitbox, is slow to start up, and doesn’t snag crouching players. At least it does lots of damage if you’re able to embarrass someone with it.
Lasso Threat
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
8f
27f
31f
-25 / +11
21(73)
3.6u
-
A free-for-all favourite. Ending a corner juggle with this move can result in some stupidly high damage if you’re able to land every hit, though the spacing can sometimes be weird even if you’re right up against the wall.
Nut Cracker
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
On Grab
14f
-
44f
-10 / -12
13
3.4u
-
On Hit
14f
5f
12f
-10 / -5
5(15)
8.5u
-
Switch
Even more useless than Chain Twirl Throw. Only grabs standing opponents right in front of you (it does grab a high blocking opponent - rare for a command grab in this game), and it's so minus on hit that pretty much the whole cast can get a free wake-up attack against you. Can be canceled into after his combo filler hook.
Chain Punch From Crouch
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
6f
5f
15f
-13 / -2
4
4.1u
-
-
Great startup, active frames, and allegedly okay range. The chain itself is the hurtbox, and can sometimes whiff at longer distances. Despite this, its active frames make it an appealing choice in certain situations.
Running Shoulder /
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
11f
6f
14f
-13 / 0
12
10.8u
-
Fairly stubby as far as dash attacks go, but it has plenty of active frames and good damage.
Front Kick
Medium Kick
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
6f
1f
19f
-13 / -2
3
5.0u
-
Switch
Contrary to its terrible looking advantage, this is one of Tormentor’s best buttons. Good startup, hits mid, and strings into a plethora of combos.
Cancels: - Spin Kick
Medium Knee
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
7f
3f
16f
-11 / +24
4
3.2u
Switch
With very mediocre range, damage, and lift, this move is best strung into from a Gut Punch, or used as a juggle extender.
Cancels: - Gut Punch - Back And Forth Snap - Ax Kick
Spin Kick or
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
13f
1f
19f
-13 / +14
7
3.3u
-
Charged Punch's sister move. While it has much worse frame data on its own, it’s useful as a juggle ender due to it having better startup when strung into and hitting lower while offering the same damage payout. However, this highs High instead of Mid, so arguably Charged Punch is still the better move.
Straight Leg From Crouch
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
9f
1f
9f
-3 / +4
3
2.3u
-
-
Much less range than it appears to have, and doesn't string true into anything. Avoid using.
Cancels: - Charged Uppercut
Back Kick
Side Straight Kick
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
7f
1f
18f
-12 / -1
3
5.1u
-
-
There’s no reason to use this kick over Medium Kick on its own, unless the extra 0.1u of range is worth sacrificing combo versatility for.
Snap Kick
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
11f
1f
14f
-8 / +3
4
4.4u
-
Switch
A combo filler move, for the most part.
Spinning Sweep Kick
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
10f
2f
20f
-15 / -10
3
6.8u
-
-
Your best low starter. This sweep sports amazing range and can string into either a powerful Charged Uppercut or an OTG string to add a bit of seasoning after a juggle.
Ax Kick
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
21f
1f
15f
-9 / -1
8
3.7u
Switch
A slow, low-damage knockdown move. There’s no way to truly string into it like Violet can with her mechanically similar Cherry Picker, so avoid using it.
Sweep From Crouch
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
8f
2f
12f
-7 / +2
4
4.5u
-
-
Another good low move. Great range, and can strings into Charged Punch.
Running Knee /
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
12f
3f
16f
-12 / +21
9
8.9u
-
Running Knee can sometimes begin juggling combos, which is quite unique for a dash attack in Thrill Kill. However, sometimes you have much more recovery time and cannot start a juggle. More research is needed as to why this happens.
Grabs / Misc Moves
Tormentor has 16f of recovery when he misses a grapple attempt.
Neck Slice
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
0f
-
47f
/ +75 (+17)
11
0.8u
-
A side-switching grab. Opponents can quickly mash out of the stun, so you don’t have as much time as it looks to follow it up with a hit. It’s recommended that you dash-in Medium Knee for a juggle.
Punishment
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
0f
-
44f
- / -2
18
0.8u
-
A very fast, straightforward grab.
Rear Grapple
Hit
Startup
Active
Recovery
Adv. (Block / Hit)
Damage
Range
Property
Stance
0f
-
46f
- / +1
24
0.8u
Switch
A rear version of Punishment', with more damage for your trouble.
By holding down for at least 32 frames and releasing it, Tormentor heats up his chain. It does not matter how long you hold the button down for - the amount of heat gain is based on your current heat total. Here's is how the heat mechanic works in detail:
You begin the round with 0 heat.
1 unit of heat is slowly lost every 63 frames (~2.1 seconds).
12 heat appears to be the maximum, giving a 150% damage bonus.
If you have 0 heat, Chain Heater will add 8 heat (which drops to 7.999 on the first frame you return to your idle animation).
If you have more than 0 heat, Chain Heater will do one of the following:
Sets your current heat to 8, or fails to add any heat at all. Likely to happen at more than 6 heat.
Adds 8 heat, up to a maximum of 12. More likely when you're below 6 heat.