Plasma Sword/Vector

Introduction

Overview

(Insert brief description about character and how they play, other details)

Strengths

Weaknesses

Strong Neutral: Vector is the Sagat of this game. He has a strong high/low fireball, a semi-gimmicky DP and great singular buttons. There are few characters with as simple and effective of a gameplan as Vector/Omega. Satellite Oki (Vector Only): Vector can convert a lot of his knockdowns into lockdowns thanks to his 214A+B super. This has great, albeit expensive, synergy with his 236A+B super, which sends the enemy full screen and allows Vector set up zoning mixups. Excellent move set utility: Vector and Omega both have tools for just about any situation in the game, and their super pool also covers each other's matchup spread. While Vector's ability to convert and lockdown far outweighs Omega's (and thus, makes him the more stable tournament pick) there are certain matchups where Omega's AA super out-performs anything Vector has and makes him the better pick, such as when dealing with Saturn's missile abuse.

Needs Meter: Vector's only big non-meter combos are from extremely niche and unlikely situations: landing 3K or back throw. This is not a juggle character, and without meter, the robots just don't hit very hard. Struggles to make comebacks: You've got a fireball and some decent pokes. That's about it. Vector doesn't have high/low pressure that's worth writing home about, he just wins neutral and converts off bad jumps from the opponent. Characters that overwhelm him in a few big guesses make his life miserable, particularly if they can easily out-maneuver his fireball game. Weak to Meta: Because of the above points, every top tier pick in the game is specifically a bad matchup for him. The cats in particular make Vector's life hell, as Vector can never be without meter versus them (so that he doesn't get hit by the block string infinite) and he also can't keep them out with his core toolkit. The only character in the top tier that he doesn't very specifically have his toolkit invalidated by is June, who, in many ways, is just better at doing what Vector does anyways.

Move List

Vertical Normals

5A

A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	14	-	-	-	+0	-	-	Ground
One of Vector's primary pokes. Has a strong tendency to anti-air and can lead into his strong 5AA confirm.

5AA

5AA

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	14	-	-	-	-	-4	-	Ground
One of Vector's primary pokes and a strong confirm into super. Unfortunately, the second hit can whiff if done too close versus small crouching opponents, particularly the grapplers.

3A

3A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	21	-	-	-	-5	-3	-	Ground
Vector/Omega's longest range poke, and a strong punish on some very minus moves, as it combos into Vector's laser super at long range. Very bad on whiff so you should pretty much always cancel it into something. Has lots of hit/block stun if it actually makes contact, though, making it a very strong but linear poke.

While Running A/B

While Running A/B

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	9	-	-	-	X	-9	-	Ground
Knockdown shoulder tackle. Fast and has a generous hitbox, but that's about where the good qualities of this move ends.

Horizontal Normals

5B

5B

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	Mid	19	-	-	-	+4	+5	-	Ground
Vector's 5B is one of the worst horizontals in the game, and only really made somewhat useable by its giant arc and A followup. This is because it whiffs most crouchers in the game and is relatively slow. If your opponent somehow blocks this, though, you're in control.

2B

2B

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	Low	16	-	-	-	+6	+5	-	Ground
Though it is a bit on the slower side, Vector's 2B is a fantastic neutral low poke with good range and great anti-step coverage. This is a must-have for your neutral, as it is your primary deterrent to your opponents sidestepping your entire movelist otherwise.

Kick Normals

5K

5K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	11	-	-	-	-17	-4	-	Ground
Boot to the face. The awful hit data would be a lot worse for him if it weren't for the fact he can 2-in-1 it into gunshot, making it a valuable poke. As Omega, this into copTer super is a premium punish. Bad if it whiffs, but its speed and consistency means you'll want to lean on this, anyways.

5KK

5KK

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	11	-	-	-	-11	+5	-	Ground
Boot to the face x2. A great combo into fireball, and the frame advantage afterwards is pretty great for a move of its type, particularly against characters with no i9s or better. This is a premium string for Omega, as he can copter from it.

5KKK

5KKK

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	11	-	-	-	-28	-14	-	Ground
Three boots. This is where this string stops being solid and becomes a meme. Often won't combo from 5KK and the followup afterwards is slow and reactable.

5KKKK

5KKKK

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	11	-	-	-	X	-15	-	Ground
The biggest boot. You are doing this solely to tell your opponent you don't respect them. Nice pushout on block, but ultimately the only reason this is "safeish" is because you deserve it for not getting hit between the third hit and this.

While Running k

While Running K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	10	-	-	-	X	-22	-	Ground
Knockdown low kick. Not a lot to say: it's just bad.

Jumping Normals

While Jumping A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

While Falling A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

Special Moves

Beam Bazooka (Low)

Beam Bazooka (Low)
214A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	23	-	-	-	-7	-7	-	Ground
The reason you're playing this character. It's the most standard fireball in the game, and though the block advantage isn't great up close, its still the safest thing you can do in your block strings the majority of the time.

Beam Bazooka (High)

Beam Bazooka (High)
236A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	23	-	-	-	-7	-7	-	Ground
The reason you're playing this character. The high version is mostly identical aside from being easier to hit jumpers, but losing to low profiling crouchers.

Second Technique: Smashing Light Ring
236B

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground
WIP

Third Technique: Summer Salt Kick
236K

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

Fourth Technique: Paired Shadow Gods

Fourth Technique: Paired Shadow Gods
214A

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground
WIP

Ashura
222

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

Gauge Moves

Engetsu
236AB

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

Mad Spin Burst
214AB (Omega Only)

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground
Omega's Mad Spin Burst turns him in a diagonally moving copter. It is one of the fastest supers in the game, making it a viable punish on a lot of situations and moves no one else in the game can punish, and it also serves as a very strong reversal/anti-air/string OS.

Plasma Revenge
AM

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

Plasma Reflect
BM

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

Plasma Field - Plasma Sword
BK

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

Miscellaneous

Throw
5AB

Damage	Guard	Startup	Active	Recovery	Total	Hit Adv	Block Adv	Meter Gain	Property
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Ground

Strategy

Matchups

Omega vs. Vector (5:5?)-- A weird matchup to measure as both characters have utility supers but for different purposes. Once Omega has meter, he shuts down the skies, and once Vector has meter, he shuts down Omega's fireballs. In theory, of course: The reality is that reacting to fireball at certain ranges with Vector laser is quite hard, and Omega copter can sometimes just not hit right versus jumps (or be baited with range) and Vector isn't the most inclined to jump, anyways. Omega's copter OS generally doesn't work versus his own very-safe-on-block strings, also. This is still a very real 5:5 mirror match despite their super utility differences. There might be an argument to give a slight advantage to Vector since he punishes less optimal stuff like random Horizontal Laser easier, but random Horizontal Laser isn't really a key part of this (or any) matchup at high level.

vs. Blood / Shaker (Both 5:5) Robots have the neutral, Blood has the damage/mixups. Because Rekka is -7 until the third hit, there isn't much "punishment" value in picking one robot over the other, and Vector's laser/orbital combo is actually a lot more meaningful here at shutting down Blood's teleport stuff + keeping him out. Laser also can be done at a range that will push Blood out just far enough to where Rekka can't be used as a punish, potentially tricking him into putting himself at negative right in front of Vector (or accidentally committing to all three if he doesn't know it's a bait.) This all sounds great for the robots, but the reality is that it only takes one command grab to swing things back into Blood's advantage, so, like most robot matchups: patience and keep out. Blood's strings are generally safe on block at all times even if he doesn't do Rekka, so Omega's Copter OS for strings is a lot less useful here than in some matchups.

vs. Byakko (3:7)-- Byakko can dash super your gunshots on reaction, and sword super your jumps on reaction, and checkmate you with frame traps. You wildly out damage the paper tiger if you score a confirm into super or a plasma field, but that's basically gambling at that point. This is the matchup you probably most want a counterpick for.

vs. Gerelt/Claire (5:5)- Play neutral and be mindful of the fact that Gerelt has one of the few 2Bs that are better than yours. A more rare matchup in the sense that you actually out damage him, but you're still mostly going to want to play cat and mouse with him (and try not to let him abuse 7K too much. This is his main meter build and meter is one of the main ways he beats you.)

vs. Gantetsu/Gamof (4:6) Omega and Vector both suffer hard against the grapplers. 5A tends to only beat early jumps at best, Omega copter is a lot harder to hit versus the grappler low jump, and the insane movement/pressure/high health combination of these characters means it is entirely in their favor to take wild risks while getting in. "Just play neutral" is a larger summary of the robots at large, but their neutral is heavily mitigated by their lower damage output vs the grappler risk/reward. Vector might likely have a better matchup for the simple reason that combos into laser->orbital setup put the grapplers at full screen and run down the clock, but is still likely in favor of the grapplers.

vs. Kaede (Vector 5:5, Omega 5.5:4.5) Omega's ability to limit Kaede's approach is a little better thanks to copter, while Vector technically has the harder punish on her moves with 3A->Laser. However, 3A has some buffering issues that will cause 2A to come out if not input correctly, making dash 5K the better punish vs. her silly all-in stuff anyways, and in those instances, Omega does actually out damage Vector. Neither of them do badly vs her as long as they are correctly blocking the reactable-offline hammer. She wildly out damages you, but the robot moveset should be winning neutral when played correctly. Either way, patience really determines the matchup the most. Omega has the extra advantage of being able to just buffer copter in the middle of her strings and option select some of her best options, such as 5BB. Her counterplay to this is pretty limited: only do 5BB at tip, or spend her meter post 5BB in a callout that generally results in, at best, a little mid-air damage and, at worst, both characters returning to neutral. Being able to completely invalidate her primary way of damaging step is exactly as good as it sounds. Another important detail: Kaede's safest special move, 236B, sometimes won't hit the robots crouching.

vs. Zelkin/Eagle (4:6) The robots have nothing really special to get away from Zelk blockstring aside from positioning and and high risk/rarely-worth-the-reward DP. Omega copter is an occasional threat to a too-wild-of-an-airdash and Vector laser is decent for sniping out whiffs/accidental back turns from long range, but mostly this is just a match of running the clock and running away from bird 2K. If Vector/Omega somehow hit an anti-air 5A, then the Zelk player absolutely 1000% messed up bad. Zelk 2B being i10 is also a really, really solid check to the few frame traps the robots have.

Combos