Strategy
Haohmaru is the Neutral Guy. He pretty much gets by on just poking the opponent and maybe the occasional lucky hard slash. Most of your game plan is poking the opponent and defense. There will be small deviations depending on the archetype of character you play against but for the most part it's almost all buttons.
"x N" means the move notated can be repeated as many times until it falls out of range.
General Strategy
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Vs.
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Groove Strategy
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Playing 
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Level 2 Cancels
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General Strategy
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Vs.
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Anti-Roll
Here is the general strategy vs. rolling.
Click "Expand" to see the contents.
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Anti-Roll Cancel
Here are the main strategies to fight against Roll Cancels. These aren't going to cover every RC individually, however every RC in the game will be countered by at least one of these tactics.
Click "Expand" to see the contents.
- Roll/Dodge: Basically fighting fire with fire. Rolling against a roll cancel works against long RCs, examples include: Claw's Rolling Ball, Sakura's Fireball and Tatsumaki, Eagle's Sticks, Honda's Hands, Chun's Spinning Bird Kick (just hope she doesn't hit you from behind), Yamazaki's Snake Arms, etc. Dodging does not work nearly as well as rolling but it can get you out of sticky situations. It is horrible against fast RCs if you don't commit to a dodge attack as you are vulnerable to a quick throw.
- Throwing: RCs are invincible against everything against throws. Reversal RCs are not technically reversals as throws can beat them on wake-up and in other close-up scenarios. Use it if you are in range and suspect the opponent might try to surprise you with it. When the battle is face-to-face, you might want to stray away from other options since the opponent can do the same things to you.
- Get Out: Jump out of the attack. Works well against moves shown in the roll/dodge bullet point, however for specials that can actually anti-air like Honda's Hands or Yamazaki's Snake Arms, they might not work, however specials like Rock's Elbow and Eagle's Sticks will eat shit once you get out of their range. Not always a recommended tool but it is effective in the right scenario.
- Guard Cancel: Against moves that are difficult to get out of, especially in the corner (Honda RC Hands, Iori RC Rekka), you can spend a little on a guard cancel to get your turn back. This is also going to do wonders for your guard bar. If you aren't in a groove with a guard cancel (basically P or K) then this option won't be available and you have to try something else, most likely just parry or JD the best you can.
General Strategy
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Playing 
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If you want to see Custom Combos, refer to the Combos Section
Vs.
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Anti-CC
- Blocked CC: placeholder
- Roll CC: placeholder
- Wake-Up CC: placeholder
- Anti-Air Custom: placeholder
- Trip-Guard Custom: placeholder
- Up Close Custom: placeholder
- Jump-In Custom: placeholder
Anti-Roll
Here is the general strategy vs. rolling.
Click "Expand" to see the contents.
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Anti-Roll Cancel
Here are the main strategies to fight against Roll Cancels. These aren't going to cover every RC individually, however every RC in the game will be countered by at least one of these tactics.
Click "Expand" to see the contents.
- Roll/Dodge: Basically fighting fire with fire. Rolling against a roll cancel works against long RCs, examples include: Claw's Rolling Ball, Sakura's Fireball and Tatsumaki, Eagle's Sticks, Honda's Hands, Chun's Spinning Bird Kick (just hope she doesn't hit you from behind), Yamazaki's Snake Arms, etc. Dodging does not work nearly as well as rolling but it can get you out of sticky situations. It is horrible against fast RCs if you don't commit to a dodge attack as you are vulnerable to a quick throw.
- Throwing: RCs are invincible against everything against throws. Reversal RCs are not technically reversals as throws can beat them on wake-up and in other close-up scenarios. Use it if you are in range and suspect the opponent might try to surprise you with it. When the battle is face-to-face, you might want to stray away from other options since the opponent can do the same things to you.
- Get Out: Jump out of the attack. Works well against moves shown in the roll/dodge bullet point, however for specials that can actually anti-air like Honda's Hands or Yamazaki's Snake Arms, they might not work, however specials like Rock's Elbow and Eagle's Sticks will eat shit once you get out of their range. Not always a recommended tool but it is effective in the right scenario.
- Guard Cancel: Against moves that are difficult to get out of, especially in the corner (Honda RC Hands, Iori RC Rekka), you can spend a little on a guard cancel to get your turn back. This is also going to do wonders for your guard bar. If you aren't in a groove with a guard cancel (basically P or K) then this option won't be available and you have to try something else, most likely just parry or JD the best you can.
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Playing 
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Parry Punishes
Here are your options after a successful parry in any given scenario.
Ground Parry vs. Grounded Opponent
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Ground Parry vs. Aerial Opponent
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Air Parry vs. Grounded Opponent
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Air Parry vs. Aerial Opponent
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General Strategy
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Vs.
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Anti-Parry
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General Strategy
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Playing 
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Power Charge
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Dodge
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Dodge Attacks
Here are how you can use Sagat's dodge attack.
Dodge Punch (placeholder): placeholder
Dodge Kick (placeholder): placeholder
Desperation
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General Strategy
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Vs.
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Anti-Dodge
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Anti-Desperation
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Playing 
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Vs.
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Anti-Roll
Here is the general strategy vs. rolling.
Click "Expand" to see the contents.
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Anti-Roll Cancel
Here are the main strategies to fight against Roll Cancels. These aren't going to cover every RC individually, however every RC in the game will be countered by at least one of these tactics.
Click "Expand" to see the contents.
- Roll/Dodge: Basically fighting fire with fire. Rolling against a roll cancel works against long RCs, examples include: Claw's Rolling Ball, Sakura's Fireball and Tatsumaki, Eagle's Sticks, Honda's Hands, Chun's Spinning Bird Kick (just hope she doesn't hit you from behind), Yamazaki's Snake Arms, etc. Dodging does not work nearly as well as rolling but it can get you out of sticky situations. It is horrible against fast RCs if you don't commit to a dodge attack as you are vulnerable to a quick throw.
- Throwing: RCs are invincible against everything against throws. Reversal RCs are not technically reversals as throws can beat them on wake-up and in other close-up scenarios. Use it if you are in range and suspect the opponent might try to surprise you with it. When the battle is face-to-face, you might want to stray away from other options since the opponent can do the same things to you.
- Get Out: Jump out of the attack. Works well against moves shown in the roll/dodge bullet point, however for specials that can actually anti-air like Honda's Hands or Yamazaki's Snake Arms, they might not work, however specials like Rock's Elbow and Eagle's Sticks will eat shit once you get out of their range. Not always a recommended tool but it is effective in the right scenario.
- Guard Cancel: Against moves that are difficult to get out of, especially in the corner (Honda RC Hands, Iori RC Rekka), you can spend a little on a guard cancel to get your turn back. This is also going to do wonders for your guard bar. If you aren't in a groove with a guard cancel (basically P or K) then this option won't be available and you have to try something else, most likely just parry or JD the best you can.
Anti-Guard Cancel Roll
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Playing 
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Just Defend
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Just Defend Frame Advantage Formula
Good to reference for your character to see what kind of returns they can have on a JD.
Click "Expand" to see the contents.
Formula
Adv = G - (Act + Rec)
Adv = New frame advantage estimate from a JD'd attack. G = Guard Stun. See Guard Stun Estimates. Act = Active Frames of the JD'd attack. Rec = Recovery Frames of the JD'd attack.
Guardstun Estimates
Light Normals: 10 Frames
Medium Normals: 14 ~ 16 Frames
Heavy Normals: 18 ~ 20 Frames
Special Moves: 19 ~ 21 Frames
Examples
Rugal 2LP = 10 Frames - (4 Act + 6 Rec) = +0 on JD (+5 Normally)
Eagle 5MK = 14 ~ 16 Frames - (6 Act + 16 Rec) = -6 ~ -8 on JD (+0 Normally)
Sagat 2HP = 18 ~ 20 Frames - (8 Act + 14 Rec) = -4 ~ -2 on JD (+2 Normally)
Rage
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General Strategy
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Vs.
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Anti-JD
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Anti-Rage
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Pokes
st.MP: A great poke that outspeeds a lot of incoming buttons. Its best uses at max range where fast buttons can't reach and slower buttons can't get out in time. It's really nice even against characters with better buttons. The only weakness is the duration, as rolls can easily blow this poke up, so don't throw it out predictably.
st.HP: This one should only be used with heavy caution. Do not use this as a regular poke. Only use it every now and then to keep the opponent honest, so not use it regularly otherwise the opponent can make a read and get a real easy counter. Should be spaced as much as possible so that it can be unpunishable if blocked.
cr.LP: At closer ranged this is your best option. It has a 2f startup and it's safe. You can use this up close to poke and prod the opponent, and overall makes neutral at closer ranges easy to play.
cr.MP: st.MP but slightly worse? It's relatively similar to st.MP, it just lacks range. Overall it's another great poke Haoh can use and it hits low so it's a good tool to mix with j.HP.
cr.MK: Okay button to throw out. Mostly an up close counterpoke, but can still work.
st.HK: Only really a counterpoke, but it has the priority that his other pokes do not outside of the very sluggish st.HP, so it is still useable.
