Thrill Kill/Tormentor

Tormentor Overview Strategy Combo Strings

Overview

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 4^f 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 4^f 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	4.6^u⌀ (Medium)
Movement Speed	5.6^u/s (6^th fastest)
Dash Distance	9.5^u (5^th worst)

Move List

Front Punch

Straight Jab

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	4^f	2^f	8^f	-3 / +3	3	2.7^u	-	-
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
	8^f	1^f	17^f	-11 / +3	3	3.0^u	-	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
	9^f	8^f	9^f	-9 / +46 (+3)	5	1.7^u		-
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
	11^f	2^f	10^f	-5 / +35	7	7.3^u		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
	18^f	2^f	30^f	-25 / +20	10	5.0^u		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
	5^f	1^f	10^f	-4 / +3	4	1.8^u	-	-
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
	9^f	2^f	12^f	-7 / +2	4(12)	6.3^u	-	-
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
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Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
-	-	-	26^f	-	-	-	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
	11^f	4^f	11^f	-8 / +5	5(15)	5.3^u	-	-
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
	31^f	4^f	13^f	-29 / 0	9(27)	8.0^u		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
	9^f	6^f	16^f	-9 / +1	6(18)	8.3^u	-	-
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		14^f	-	58^f	-15 / +2	30	7.2^u-10.5^f^u		-
On Hit		14^f	5^f	17^f	-15 / -10	5(15)	9.3^u	-	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
	8^f	27^f	31^f	-25 / +11	21(73)	3.6^u		-
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		14^f	-	44^f	-10 / -12	13	3.4^u		-
On Hit		14^f	5^f	12^f	-10 / -5	5(15)	8.5^u	-	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
	6^f	5^f	15^f	-13 / -2	4	4.1^u	-	-
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

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Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	11^f	6^f	14^f	-13 / 0	12	10.8^u		-
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
	6^f	1^f	19^f	-13 / -2	3	5.0^u	-	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
	7^f	3^f	16^f	-11 / +24	4	3.2^u		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
	13^f	1^f	19^f	-13 / +14	7	3.3^u		-
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
	9^f	1^f	9^f	-3 / +4	3	2.3^u	-	-
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
	7^f	1^f	18^f	-12 / -1	3	5.1^u	-	-
There’s no reason to use this kick over Medium Kick on its own, unless the extra 0.1^u of range is worth sacrificing combo versatility for.

Snap Kick

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	11^f	1^f	14^f	-8 / +3	4	4.4^u	-	Switch
A combo filler move, for the most part.

Spinning Sweep Kick

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	10^f	2^f	20^f	-15 / -10	3	6.8^u	-	-
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
	21^f	1^f	15^f	-9 / -1	8	3.7^u		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
	8^f	2^f	12^f	-7 / +2	4	4.5^u	-	-
Another good low move. Great range, and can strings into Charged Punch.

Running Knee

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Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	12^f	3^f	16^f	-12 / +21	9	8.9^u		-
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 16^f of recovery when he misses a grapple attempt.

Neck Slice

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	0^f	-	47^f	/ +75 (+17)	11	0.8^u		-
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
	0^f	-	44^f	- / -2	18	0.8^u		-
A very fast, straightforward grab.

Rear Grapple

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	0^f	-	46^f	- / +1	24	0.8^u		Switch
A rear version of Punishment', with more damage for your trouble.

Swap Places

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	0^f	-	27^f	- / +12	-	0.8^u		-
A basic swap grapple. 11^f of stun.

Taunt

Hit	Startup	Active	Recovery	Adv. (Block / Hit)	Damage	Range	Property	Stance
	27^f	2^f	67^f	-71 / -33	4	4.5^u		-
This taunt has a hitbox! Neat.

Thrill Kills

Thrill Kill 1 - No Inputs
Thrill Kill 2 - +
Thrill Kill 3 - + +
Combo Kill - + + L1 +
Dance - + + + +

Chain Heater

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.

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