Torr Stance
“Torr Stance” (K) is a Summon assist with a 12f startup where Ferra quickly climbs onto the lead character’s back; once this occurs (indicated by a yellow gauge), the Kameo Gauge gauge will begin gradually depleting at a moderately fast rate until 50% of the gauge’s value has been consumed. This can be performed with any amount of gauge 50% or greater, but will always drain up to 50% worth of gauge. This stance can be cancelled by pressing the Kameo button again, which will always drain approximately 25% of the gauge’s value. “(Air) Torr Stance” is an Ambush version of this assist, performed instead by pressing (U+K); this version causes Ferra to leap forward in the air, meaning the attempt to mount the lead character will whiff if they are not airborne when Ferra is called. In contrast with the grounded version, this version immediately consumes 50% of the gauge value and depletes the remainder of the gauge at a slightly faster rate while Ferra is on the player’s back; however, if aerial stance is used when the player only has 50% gauge left, they will actually be given a very small amount of time and gauge to cancel into another stance move just before the Kameo depletes. The player also cannot cancel Torr stance while airborne except with “Improvised Fail” (but can input the cancel in air which will come out upon landing).
While Ferra is on the player character’s back, she can control the player’s movement allowing them to move forward or backward by tapping the direction, causing the player to be pushed or yanked back awkwardly by Ferra and travel a greater distance than their normal movement would allow. The player can also still jump in any direction while in Torr stance, however blocking and crouching are disabled during this stance and jump height is decreased. While grounded, Torr stance gives the player access to a new set of abilities which can be performed one at a time— each one except Pain N Gain will consume an additional 50% gauge value on top of whatever is consumed by remaining in the stance (or will at least consume the remainder of the gauge if it is less than half-full during stance), and will have a slightly delayed cooldown before recharging at a moderately fast rate. Each attack performed from Torr stance can be quickly cancelled into as soon as the stance is called and will do 5% dmg on its own (except “Torrn Up” & “Pain N Gain”). All moves except for Pain N Gain will cause the player to exit Torr Stance automatically. Any commands inputted while airborne (except the Punch inputs) will be stored in air and will come out as soon as the player lands on the ground. These added moves provide players with multiple different mixup options that will launch or cause a knockdown on hit, and may jail after being quickly cancelled into from certain attacks (potentially forcing the opponent to respect a 50/50 and/or vortex situation). Any attack from Torr stance that is Flawless Blocked will become 10f more negative on block (except for Yo-Yo Throw), with all of her overhead options also being vulnerable to a successful Up Block alternatively. Being hit while in Torr Stance will immediately exit the player from the stance, deplete 50% of their gauge value, and place Ferra in a very brief animation of cooldown before she runs offscreen.
“Swings!” (1) is a Mid launcher that is +3 on block (with 7 active frames), where the main character will swing Ferra in an upward arc at a 22f startup to launch the opponent upwards and allow for a jump cancel, making this a valid anti-air option due to his upward-arching hitbox and ability to be converted into kombos.
“Potato Sack Toss” (2) is an Overhead launcher with midscreen range that is -2 on block (and 5 active frames), where the character will flip Ferra over their shoulder onto the opponents head and pop them up into the air. This launcher is not jump cancellable on hit but has 20f more hit advantage than Swings and 2f faster startup; performing this attack in a kombo will allow it to startup 3f faster. This move will become -31 on a successful Up Block.
“Slide!” (3) is a Low launcher that travels fullscreen, hurling Ferra across the ground like a projectile but treating the move like a physical attack (nullifying projectile-invulnerable abilities). This move starts up in 17f and will also startup 4f faster when used in a kombo. This launcher has slightly less advantage than the aforementioned launchers on hit & is -12 on block, but in addition to a fast 8f recovery also has 29 active frames, allowing it to become more advantageous after traveling a farther distance. The active frames will also allow Ferra to hit an opponent’s Kameo that may be in front of their lead character and continue to travel through this impact still hitting the main character, making Slide very useful to contest an opponent who may be calling assists fullscreen.
“Yo-Yo Throw” (4) is an Overhead hit that is similar to “Potato Sack Toss” but will lead to a knockdown instead. Having a faster startup than the other Torr stance attacks (at 15f), this move causes Ferra to rapidly spin in the air upon being flipped over the shoulder, traveling midscreen distance to hit the opponent. Ferra also becomes directable with a Close (hold back) and Far (hold forward) version. This attack has 36 active frames, most of which occurring while Ferra is airborne; while she is still prone to being hit or evaded at certain timings/angles, the move becomes active as soon as Ferra is tossed upwards, which can also prevent an opponent from trying to jump over the executing player. This attack is +15 on block when performed at most ranges (in certain cases gaining more advantage for hitting meaty) but will become at least -1 against a successful Up Block; some rare situations may cause the move to become -8 on Up Block.
“Torrn Up” (L1 or 1+3) is a Throw where Ferra leaps off the character’s back from midscreen distance onto the opponent, performing the same Forward Throw animation as her default. Although the throw is visually the same but does 1% less damage, it can come out 1f faster on startup, is at least +20 on knockdown, has 8 active frames that allow it to hit meaty (up to +28 on knockdown), leaves the opponent slightly closer, and is untechable' (effectively making this move a command grab). The fast startup & cancel advantage of the Torr Summon also allows this grab to effectively be special-cancelled into, which can result in a tick throw after certain blockstrings (although this may not be a “true” tick and can be interrupted). This can allow Ferra to establish a 3-way mixup by conditioning the opponent to respect her Overhead and Low moves, leaving them susceptible to the throw. This throw can also be used in a kombo on hit (as a nod to MKX), making it a useful kombo ender.
“Pain N Gain” (D,D+K) is a damage buff ability that causes Ferra to stab the back of the player character, inflicting 5% dmg to the player; this can be inputted repeatedly until Ferra has been depleted or cancelled, inflicting 10% dmg the second time (and 2% each time after). In return for sacrificing health, the player will receive a noticeable damage increase that will last about 12 seconds. This buff can be stacked up to two times (despite being able to input the command more times); level 1 will increase base damage output by 15%, while level 2 increases the damage output by 33%. Although the move’s startup and recovery may appear slightly slow, not only can the player act immediately after the knife is pulled from their back, but each stab will grant a hit of armor to the player from right when the stab connects to right when the knife is removed. Certain fast-hitting attacks may still stuff the opponent’s armor preventing them from executing a follow-up move, although being hit will not negate the damage buff. This move does not consume any of the Kameo Gauge and can be used until the stance expires or is cancelled.
“Improvised Flail” (j.1 or j.2) is is the only ability assigned to Aerial Torr Stance, and thus it is only available to the player while airborne. This move is an Overhead jump punch resembling MKX Torr’s neutral jump punch (or ”NJP”); this punch will launch the opponent similarly to “Potato Sack Toss” but with faster startup (10f). It is typically neutral on block but can be made slightly more plus, although it is also still affected by Up Block to the same end as the normal Torr stance overheads. The launch on hit also allows the player to follow with a jump attack or kombo. A highly effective strategy is to cancel into this move by first cancelling a jump attack (or any attack that puts the executing character in an airborne state) into Ferra’s aerial stance Ambush; the small amount of leftover gauge granted by using this Ambush with only 50% gauge will give the player just enough time to quickly cancel into the jump punch, making this combined sequence technically only cost 50% gauge value. This technique can increase the player’s mixup potential as a blockstring ender or as a way to make the opponent respect Ferra’s grounded options after an empty jump (as well as providing additional kombo routes on hit).
Lackey Variation
“Lackey Variation” (D+K) is a utility Ambush that calls Ferra onscreen in front of the player’s character, standing off to the sideline. Once she is called, the Kameo Gauge will begin gradually depleting at a moderately fast rate until empty, as Ferra stands in place where she was called. She will not move from her place until one or both of the players move (usually forward) and shift the focal point of the screen, helping her stay visibly in frame for better interaction with the player character. While standing onscreen, she will “cheer” the player on during a successful hit or kombo, increasing their meter gain significantly; in contrast, being hit by the opponent while Ferra is on the sideline will drain meter from the executing player. This assist can be cancelled by pressing (D+K) again for the cost of 25% gauge value, but cannot be cancelled while in hitstun. Hitting Ferra during this assist will drain 25% of her gauge value and put her in a brief cooldown, but will not end the assist; instead as her gauge continues to steadily deplete, she will run back a short distance and do a “power-up” taunt before running back towards the player character and continuing the assist on the sideline. While it is recommend to only call this Ambush during a kombo (to fully maximize meter again as well as negate the risk of being hit and losing meter), some players may be able to call Ferra onscreen to act as a “wall” during a zoning/counterzoning scenario, using her to absorb Mid or Low projectiles (as a High projectile will always whiff directly over her) and maintaining the assist state that will increase the meter gained from successfully zoning (or from countering/punishing the opponent’s attempts at zoning). “Let Me Ride” (U+K) is a 10f command that allows Ferra to exit the Lackey Variation and climb onto the player’s back, entering them into Torr Stance. This does not require any additional gauge to perform but cannot be used with less than half of the Kameo Gauge available, and it can only be performed Ferra is directly next to (or “on top of”) the player on the sideline.