C-Groove is one of the six grooves in Capcom vs. SNK 2. It features a multi-level super meter, air blocking, and the ability to cancel a Level 2 super into a Level 1 super or special move to extend super combos and add additional damage. It is a groove that rewards consistent, fundemental play due to its "always on" damage potential that needs relatively little meter to cash in on. C-Groove is inspired by the Street Fighter Alpha series, specifically A-ism in Alpha 3.
C-Groove is widely accepted as a top-tier groove in CvS2. However, nowadays many consider it a half-grade behind A-Groove and K-Groove due to the slightly more difficult—and less flashy—tactics needed to be effective in C compared to A and K.
Groove Data
Main Feature: Level 2 supers cancel into Level 1 supers or special moves
Meter Type: Three-Level Super Combo System
Meter Length: 168 units (56 units × 3 levels)
Guard Bar Length: 100 units (normal)
Meter Bonuses:
- At meter Level 1: +1% damage dealt
- At meter Level 2: +2% damage dealt
- At meter Level 3: +5% damage dealt
Groove Subsystems
- Dash
- Roll
- Air Guard (Exclusive to C-Groove)
- Counter Attack
- Tactical Recovery
See Groove Subsystems for complete technical data on specific subsystems.
Meter System
The meter system in C-Groove is the most straightforward one in CvS2.
The super meter is a single bar divided into three equal sections. A filled section is equal to one level of meter. As each section fills up, the corner of the meter will visually indicate what meter level you are at: Lv.1, Lv.2, or Lv.3. Filling up all three sections—the entire meter—means you have up to a Level 3 super available.
When full, all the meter can be spent at once, but players can choose to only use part of the meter to perform lower level supers or system abilities like counter attacks. When performing a super, its power level is determined by the strength of the attack button pressed upon execution:
- For a Level 1 super, use
or 
; - For a Level 2 super, use
or 
; - For a Level 2 super, use
or 
.
If the meter is not completely full, higher button strengths will still execute the highest level super available. For example, if you only have the meter for Level 1 super but you perform a super with a medium or heavy attack button, the Level 1 super will still come out.
Any partial use of a meter will only deduct the exact amount needed for the action performed. This means that if you have 2½ levels of meter, and you do a Level 2 super, you will be left with a ½ a level of meter after the super.
C-Groove meter has a passive damage bonus applied to all player normals, specials, throws, and supers. The current power level of the meter determines the strength of this damage bonus:
- At Level 1, all attacks do 101% damage (+1%);
- At Level 2, all attacks do 102% damage (+2%);
- At Level 3, all attacks do 105% damage (+5%);
- There is no damage bonus when the meter is at less than Level 1.
The damage bonus is calculated at the moment an attack is connecting, In the case of supers, any meter remaining after the super flash determines what level of damage bonus will be applied. That is, when you start a Level 2 super with a full meter, after the super flash there will still be one level of meter filled, which means the Level 2 super will do 1% more damage than normal. (Note that if labbing for optimal combos in training mode, you will want to turn off infinite meter. Otherwise, everything you do will have a 5% damage bonus applied to it, including Level 3 supers!)
Meter is shared by the team and persists between characters and rounds. Any meter remaining after a round, win or lose, will carry over to the next round.
Unique Groove Abilities
Level 2 Supers and Super Cancels
C-Groove is the only groove in CvS2 that has Level 2 supers. They are not as strong as a full Level 3 super, but a definite step-up in damage from a Level 1 super. They do a very good amount of damage considering how relatively little meter is needed, especially compared to other grooves.
Level 2 supers are distinguishable by their blue shadow animation, versus Level 1 super's transparent shadow and a Level 3 super's red shadow.
The main feature of Level 2 supers, and in C-Groove overall, is the ability to cancel a Level 2 super into any Level 1 super or special move. This lets players extend combos and add on additional damage past what you would get from Level 2 damage alone, making them more powerful than what they would otherwise be at face value. Depending on the character and combo, it is possible to approach Level 3 damage numbers using only two-thirds of the meter; or get more damage with a Level 2 into Level 1 super than a straight Level 3 super!
In order to cancel a Level 2, the first requirement is that it actually connects with the opponent. A blocked or whiffed Level 2 super cannot be cancelled out of, still leaving you vulnerable to punishment.
If it does connect, cancelling can be done at any time after the first hit of the super. Just input a valid special move, or a Level 1 super if meter is available (you will have needed to start the Level 2 with full meter in this case) and the Level 2 will cancel into the performed action.
Just about any special or Level 1 can be used to cancel. However, it must be performed in the same place (e.g. grounded, in the air, with meter) as it would normally. Any inputs that would not successfully cancel the super will be ignored, resulting in the Level 2 super finishing as normal.
At the moment a Level 2 super is cancelled, the opponent's juggle potential is reset. This is what actually allows the move you cancel into to connect, as otherwise you would not be able to juggle with another attack after a super connects. There are circumstances where this can be exploited to create extended juggle combos, such as Kyo's upkicks after a Level 2 flame super, or whiffing Todo's command grab after a Level 2 Chou Kasane Ate (wave projectile) super to get more hits out of it than you would be able to otherwise.
Air Guard
For full technical information on Air Guard, see Groove Subsystems.
More commonly known as Air Blocking, Air Guard lets players block air-to-air attacks as if they were blocking normally on the ground. Although technically a Groove Subsystem and not a baked-in feature, Air Guarding is effectively a unique feature to C-Groove given that no other groove has it.
Air Guard only works if the blocking player and the opponent's attack (their projectile or the attacking opponent themselves) are both airborne. While this does not give C-Groove players complete defensive safety in the air like in P-Groove (air Parry) and K-Groove (air Just Defend), it does open up safer options for advancing or retreating with jumps. For example, a character that may unpredictably throw fireballs from a distance—especially Sagat and his high Tiger Shots—is much safer to jump in on (from distance!) as the projectiles can be blocked.
Air Guarding while jumping backwards is a common defensive positioning technique, better known as Chicken Blocking. As you need to use back (
) to jump backwards (
), if you continue to hold back you will block any air attack from the very moment you leave the ground. This allows you to safely retreat from situations where you may be vulnerable to incoming crossups or surprise jump-in or projectile attacks, where a backdash may leave you more exposed.
Blocking in the air is not a cure-all, however. If using Air Guard, you will lose trip guard when you land. Should you block an opponent's air attack but they land before you do, that may leave you wide open to get hit with a free combo. In some situations, it may be better to take the single hit in the air so you air flip out and are able to safely land and block immediately; versus blocking in the air and taking the full brunt of a super or A-Groove Custom Combo when you land and are unable to block it.
Groove Summary
C-Groove is a purely Super Combo-based Groove. You have a Three Tiered Super Meter which allows you to perform three different Levels of Super Combos. True, EVERY other Groove has Super Combos as well, but there are four main factors that make C-Groove far more Super Combo based than the other Grooves:
- No time limit! Once a Meter is built up, you don't have to worry about any time limits. You are able to Super whenever and wherever you like, so utilizing Supers into your gameplay is MUCH easier. You can play naturally, and your opponent will never know when the Super is coming!
- Any Super, any time, any place! A-Groove and P-Groove don't have time limits either, so why aren't they as good? Because A-Groove is stuck with Level 1 Supers (which are pretty terrible in priority by Level 1 Super standards) and P-Groove is stuck with Level 3's. C-Groove's biggest advantage is that a person using C-Groove not only can choose to do a Level 1 or Level 3 whenever he/she wants, but a Level 2 Super, which isn't available is any other Groove. If you have the Meter (and see number 3), you can do a nice Level 1 to finish off opponents, or you can do a powerful Level 3 if you need a comeback. Whatever the situation asks for, if you've got the Meter, you can do it. C-Groove is the ONLY Groove where you can choose what Level of your Super Combo is performed.
- Meter builds up SOOOO fast! You do not realize how fast your Meter builds up in C-Groove. I swear I've seen fights where someone blows a whole Level 3 Super Combo on someone, and in 10 seconds, BOOM! You're Meter is full with a Level 3 again. The reason this seems so much fast than other Grooves is because it requires the least amount of points to build up a Level 1 Super in C-Groove. A-Groove and N-Groove have the next shortest meters, but C-Groove's Meter is more than 1/5 shorter than A-Groove and N-Groove.
- Level 2's can produce tons of damage thanks to C-Groove's new ability to cancel Level 2's into a Special Move or a Level 1 Super (if available). This makes it much more practical to throw out Level 1's at will, because if you have a Level 2 left, you can still do VERY damaging Combos. So you don't always need a Level 3 for a good, damaging comeback Combo.
So if you like using Supers, C-Groove is the Groove for you. Especially if you're proficient at Comboing Supers.
Strengths and Weaknesses
C-Groove Strengths
- Meter efficiency and value for damage
- Always-available meter means BnBs can easily turn into a damaging super combo
- Air guard opens up more movement options, mostly in the air but on the ground too
C-Groove Weaknesses
- No true "gimmick" means all damage must be generated with good ol' footsies and fundementals
Character Considerations
Characters well suited for C groove: Sagat, Blanka, Hibiki, Honda, Guile, Ken, Chun-Li, Rolento, Yun, Kim, Eagle, Rugal, Yamazaki
