This "Easy" Character Is Misunderstood

[@LordKnightfgc]

how are you feeling about giovanna? (also pls subscribe)

[@chuckmcclain8789]

my waifu, my weapon of choice, some of the most fun I've ever had in a fighting game

[@typup8888]

Actually just got the game. Just playing slayer right now so I really don’t know much of the characters but millia and elphelt. Very much still learning but awesome content, LK!

[@DeadMan-uz1ii]

Look Giovanni so fun

[@toams5687]

ive mained her for 3 years. strive is my first fighting game but i feel like I've gotten very good at her and i know my stuff about her. WIth that being said, I feel like she will be better next patch since i see things like dprc or white wild assault getting touched or characters like sol or goldlewis that give her a bad time. i absolutely love her speed and emphasis on fundamentals. maybe the only thing i would change is reverting the 5k nerf which imo was just random, and in general wild assault has to be touched.

[@reversal3693]

she’s cool

[@RyuGoomba]

6:28 the Dawg changes color for the 50% buff also she is hot

[@silvio2462]

dont talk bout my wife like that

[@zoerosedunk4548]

So true

[@YungFalcon2246]

Giovanna is no cap my all time favorite fighting game character. Super easy to pick up but her setplay can be kinda tricky! Love her design a ton as well just dope to see two newcomers in the gg world who are dark skin and gios nonchalant attitude really made me insta fall in love!

[@xavmarz755]

She is also the baddest fighting game character of all time ong.

[@ozone005]

​@@xavmarz755paragraph enjoyer vs Chad "She's hot"

[@zachstarattack7320]

u had a good multiversus vid

[@Phantom-dh2vq]

​@@xavmarz755especially if you like mods because wolf ears

[@YungFalcon2246]

@@zachstarattack7320 thank you 🥺

[@Ephlaght]

9:18 That Pot Buster was fucking vile lmao

[@KaptainKommissar]

first time seeing the pot jumpscare huh

[@captaincookie5042]

@@KaptainKommissar the jumpscare is hammerfall prc, no?

[@JellySkelle17]

Unironically not a bad choice against baiken as it can bait her parry lmao

[@Ephlaght]

@@KaptainKommissar lol no I was a season 1 pot main. This stuff still gets me and it’s great

[@magickitty9693]

As a gio player since season 1 I think there's a reason that Gio is excellent for beginners that gets a little glossed over even in this video; she allows new players to benefit from the meter system even if they can't actively use it. A new player who can't do supers and doesn't know what a roman cancel is, much less how to use it, will still benefit from feeling their character get stronger as they do things and build meter, which encourages the kind of play that Guilty Gear wants to express; moving forward and pressing buttons and hitting your opponent and building meter. She feels like she gains that momentum, even if the player can't use the meter, and I think that makes her really good for beginners who can't use meter properly, allowing it to not go wasted like it would on other characters. As a now high-level player, I can say that the speed and combos of Gio are what keep me playing the character, season 3 routing is so cool and extremely fun to do, as well as mastering her movement, giving her better control of her own position than any other character, it feels fluid and expressive. As a strike-throw newbie, I'm mostly still on the throw loops part of the gameplay, but this has given me a lot of insight into the character as a whole and some new things to do with her! Thank you for the excellent video!

[@kman060]

1:02 - Gio's stepdash isn't a set distance anymore, it was updated in S2, you can change the distance of the dash by holding back or forward. Holding forward will make the dash go farther, and holding back will cause a shorter dash (which many people considered a nerf to Gio at the time, as her dashblocking covered a shorter distance).

[@jekufo]

Thank you kind internet stranger, was about to write this myself!

[@ptylio6149]

You are appreciated

[@LordKnightfgc]

🙃I said this weird, I did show that she had control over it though

[@shmooters5599]

Oh cool, I knew about holding back, I did not know tht holding forward actually made it longer

[@NemSumeragi]

I think down+back, down, and down+forward also gives a different distance too?

[@aganaom1712]

Tbh I think she's in a perfect spot rn Good enough from a tournament perspective to be a threat in the right hands with flexible and effective tools but simple enough to pick up and be rewarding while teaching good fundamental habits Also very few actual bad matchups and not usually too frustrating to fight against

[@chaselowell4567]

Elphelt is easy, Giovanna is intuitive

[@AchedSphinx]

i appreciate the gio video. don't get too many of them. i used to do them on my channel, but life made me pretty busy. gio, in general, is pretty tricky to master because you need to be exceptional at spacing and knowing the other character better than they know themselves. even though enhanced drill, seems like a solution to beginner woes, it's so slow it'll take awhile before any new player implements it into their plan. i'm guilty of abusing the deceptive range of gio's throw since you can use it from midscreen to punish as well. she also has a lot of set-ups with tension that are really cool as well as fuzzy set-ups with BRC and falling j.H into j.H. overall, cool character, i recommend people give her a try.

[@NovaNyst]

Gio can damn near teleport with her throw and I love it

[@lagspike7763]

Bro called 100 meter Giovanna Fiona from Shrek I’m weak 😭

[@SonicBoyster]

Like the dude below me, Gio is my all time favorite fighting game character. Her dash and momentum just feel really good to use. Her buttons feel good to use. If you land her "DP" as a counterhit the other guy just explodes, which feels good. She's great.

[@user-kp5nl6cy5d]

would love a detailed baiken 3.5 video, almost everything you can find on her is pre 3.0 or your video on her when she just got changed, love these detailed breakdowns

Side note for the 50% passive, the Wolf also glows brighter once the passive activates

[@ollolool]

Loving these specific character focused videos please keep these up

[@Winter_Sun]

Gio is a pretty interesting character, I would definitely agree that a Gio player needs to understand other cast members and how one should pilot her in those matchups moreso than many of the generalist strike throw characters. She does have some setups where she can afford to ignore opponent's options, though while her movement oriented neutral is very strong, a Gio player needs to account for their opponent's options to be truly effective.

[@antonsimmons8519]

Right off the bat came the Cammy comparison. It's hilarious to me, because when I first picked up the game(pre-launch) I tried Gio with that same bent...and got MOLLYWHOPPED. Tbh, I don't think she's like Cammy. Almost at all.

[@Enndorii]

She has a dive kick, spiral arrow, and is generally strike/throw? Besides those surface level similarities she plays really differently to Cammy

[@antonsimmons8519]

@@Enndorii Yeah, you nailed it. Surface-level similarities only.

[@LordKnightfgc]

Yah it's all surface level, but I've heard it sooo much since the game came out.

[@antonsimmons8519]

@@LordKnightfgc I always see people do dumb crap like that. "I just came from Tekken. Who in SF plays like Lee?" That kinda nonsense. I figure that's how Gio got labeled as Strive-Cammy.

[@GreatRusio]

Her air grab is a one to one which feels funny. When i was playing SF6 a lot I would sometimes input spinning knuckle in GGS and then in SF6 I would try to beat projectiles using Spiral arrow lmao

[@Living_Target]

I was a long term Gio player, but her changes in season 3 actually killed my motivation to play the game. I really don't like how they removed a ton of power from specials only to give it back and more with chave. You're forced to optimize as many chaves as possible, and it hamstrings her routes. She went from a character that's flexible and had a ton of freedom of choice to make up short powerful routes to a character that's more powerful but forces you to execution check or lose out on damage and advantage. I'm an old guy who got into FGs late, and I just don't have the reflexes to learn the routes easily. I was given a choice to learn the routes, learn a new character; both of which was a lot of investment, or pick up a new game. I went to granblue and haven't looked back, though I do miss playing S2 Gio. She carried me to a really average Evo placement which was an achievement for me after only a few years of playing FGs and not really going to tournaments. Love her design too.

[@GreatRusio]

I don't think Gio combos really changed that much outside of the new CH conversions or optimal routes really. Since you said you've been playing Gio for a while I am absolutely certain you could learn everything important within an hour or two but at the end of the day its your choice, no downsides to just picking up Grandblue.

[@Living_Target]

@@GreatRusio I actually think a lot of situations are worse now. DP not giving a combo in a lot of situations, 214K not giving you a knockdown, 5k not juggling except in a very close range hitbox It's far more limiting to CH.

[@AchedSphinx]

@@GreatRusio the biggest change is converting f.S and 2S into chave 623S extension combos. the reward off doing it is night and day, but the execution isn't the easiest. there are ways around it, if you got the meter you can get just about the same damage going straight into super. but doing a meterless combo that does the same damage while building about 50 meter is super nice for the next interaction.

[@Living_Target]

@@AchedSphinx love your vids man

[@AchedSphinx]

@@Living_Target thanks. i'm glad you enjoyed them.

[@Flavourius]

I think it's more like people are disappointed of her dog doing Jack except within a super. Still waiting for _Hadogken_ to be a thing

[@chuckmcclain8789]

I mean... theres 2D... I guess

[@user-dx1qv4yz5i]

I'm not sure if this is correct but I think before launch people were expecting her to be a puppet character

[@Peeves22]

​@@user-dx1qv4yz5inot sure about the community in general but I definitely saw a fair amount of posts about it from around the post-announce pre-beta time (about her being a puppet character)

[@tonynguyen6639]

It's the main reason I didn't pick up Gio at the start of the game xD

[@methodman9t966]

Rei is in all of specials, both supers, gio leans on rei in fs and 2s, and her wa has her use rei as a claw

[@neon1321]

Strive was the first fighting game i actively tried to improve at, and Gio was the character I fell in love with immediately on launch. This deep dive makes me want to pick up the game again. Thanks LordKnight!

[@Xirbtt]

Pretty cool to see someone talk about fighting game impact a character has on something other than tournament play. So many people in the fgc cut you out or say things don’t matter unless you are the top players when thats not true at all.

[@GregInTechnicolor]

I'd love for you to make a video like this about Anji!

[@xerker4147]

Really enjoyed the video, but it also made me think how common it is now to go from wanting to help simplify the idea of a character in a fighting game to just accepting that the simplified idea of a character is all there is too them. More often than not nowadays I find of you ask about a character it’ll be like “oh Leo mixes you” rather than “Leo is a stance character with unique step dash and and emphasis on mix and screen control” type deal

[@rand0mlyhere]

Gio flew under the radar for me for a while (I usually played Axl and Baiken), but after some time in season 4, I went back and picked her up. She’s become my new main. From everything Lordknight mentioned to just her raw damage. One hit of close slash, and you’ll be through the wall wondering where half your health went. CS->2H->214H(4S)->CS->2H->CS->5H->236D->5K->jc->jHS->jD->jc->jHS->jD->j236236HS -OR- 6246HS. Enjoy peeps!

[@pearlkisses_8520]

Gio is the bane of my existence my best friend mains her. I'm floor 4 and he's celestial so I'm just constantly getting beat up 😓 this will help me LK thank you

[@sleepfgc]

Same exact thing happened to me when I got into strive, hope you enjoy

[@bookishdelight]

Just got into Strive a month ago (I technically played XX years back but really just mashed buttons with Millia a bunch without knowing the underlying systems, so this is the first GG I'm officially "learning"). I can't remember the last time I got _magnetized_ to a character this hard, from her design to her personality to her mechanics (and aesthetic) having big Makoto and Jon Talbain energy, Giovanna's just so damn fun and I keep coming back to her despite my old main being a few squares away (I do like how Millia turned out here too, I just need to sit down and really practice her!). But yeah, the more I looked around the more I kept seeing talk that she was ez mode and didn't have any depth to her. Playing her online has started to dispel that notion for me, but thanks for giving me even more confidence and Gio knowledge with this video, it came at the perfect time for me. 😁

[@nkirmath8621]

I like to dabble with gio because her kit is pretty fun to mess around with, and she gets some sick combos

[@GriFFonRec4]

The most laid-back secret service member who goes even with a powerful Black, Japanese-crazed, vampire-samurai.

[@taham33]

I've just taken to re-learn Gio after messing around with ABA since she came out and you upload this video, lmao, thanks

[@chiko5602]

my first main. always nice to see gio in the spotlight

[@derekdidear3575]

great video! coming from street fighter, Gio was exactly what i wanted. i sort of assumed they made her for that purpose

[@PinePizza]

Animal Crossing New Leaf music in the background? Awesome! (I've been playing this game again recently.. man, 3ds gaming is the best)

[@ryanschlecht6087]

Commenting for the algorithm. Gotta respect this man’s grindset.

[@peacewalkr6942]

I started playing strive for the first time in over a year and picked up gio. Really enjoy using her, wants you u get going with her, rounds become lightning fast. I’d say my toughest matchups are characters with long reaching normals like Johnny, axl low, or testament along with Millia and ky. I’ve also grown a new found hatred for meterless DPs lol

[@PivotalStudio]

Giovanna was the first character I picked immediately on getting Strive on release day. I remember watching some (official?) videos before release day and thought "damn she's pretty cool" and I stuck with her for majority of the first season. I ended up trying Ky and Anji and stuck with Anji, but I still like going back to Gio and playing her and relearning her. Even though I'm not strong with her, she's just so damn fun to play.

[@1000Tomatoes]

I hope they don't give Gio a command grab. Give it to Rei she's right there for the bite anyways.

[@Nick-gx4oc]

Yes the lk giovanna video I've been praying for 🙏 giovanna is the funnest fg character ever because of sliding normals. Sliding normals are so fucking fun man im bout to make a skating themed fg just so every character can experience it 😂

[@bobbyspray]

I like this type of video. Explaining the basic of a character.

[@FeyrirCW]

Please don't make me go back to the old me...

[@shinygekkouga52]

I’ve been waiting for this! Gio slips under the radar so much for so long, but as long as she carries me, I can’t complain.

[@user-bw7mu3ku1r]

Gio mains and pocket Gios, rise up!

[@heracrossz7701]

Pocket Gios don't count

[@Upsetkiller456]

GGST was my first GG game and she was the one I ended up picking, I just like how she felt to play and it fit towards my style. Don't really play the game anymore but the new move she has seems really cool but too much for me. I'm a pretty casual FG player so I like characters who are good at making the basics pay off or oppressive rushdowns. Hisako, my favorite FG character ever was also similar to this but had a parry which was beautiful to throw in.

[@xSaintxSmithx]

I might be off base here, but I feel like there are A LOT of characters that are easy to play hard to master in this game. Ram, Sin, Johnny, May, Nago, Pot, and i-no for example.

[@bovid2750]

This is crazy I just picked up Gio and opened yt to TWO giovanna videos

[@Darkwolf0505]

Yoooooo!!!! I've been saying since S1 as a Gio main, "Gio's spot on the tier list depends on how good you are at GG". The better you are, the better the character gets. 🧡🐺🧡

[@miguel555678]

I love Giovanna. Great video

[@mrblooper1994]

Yo, C.Grab on Gio would go so hard. The memes would be so good. Please daiske make it a zero damage grab that starts combos

[@tswrangle1000]

The dog just tackles you

[@Enndorii]

Gio command grab would make me so happy. The only other major tool she’d be missing is a meterless reversal though that one is missing for balance reasons probably lmao

[@mrblooper1994]

@@Enndorii I'm fine with Gio not having a reversal. She has quick buttons and good health (man I miss the psuedo slayer 6p she used to have before they rebalanced the 6ps. We didn't know what we had before we lost it... Also rip 2D as well

[@PossiblyTheRealSirSqualo]

Alternate title: A Manns Guide to Giovanna

[@felisk4304]

I always enjoy watching your videos about specific characters because it feels like I'm collecting so much information in such a short time frame even for characters that I feel I have a good understanding of the matchup. Great video! :D ALSO!! it was great meating you at UMAD (: I now have aquired a PS4 adapter so hopefully we can play many more matches whenever we meet again :P If you do make a video about umad pls give me a shout-out L000l

[@Enndorii]

I am mostly new to fighting games, I only started playing within the last year, and Gio was my first pick in my first game I really played, I love her honestly and I feel like she just isn’t talked about that much because she’s not one of the top tier characters

[@RobotPlaysGames]

Just subbed. I really like your content because you go in-depth and I appreciate your no-BS delivery. Keep it up! I’m curious if there are any new games on the horizon that you would consider main-ing, either in addition to or instead of GG. 2XKO, Fatal Fury, HunterxHunter, etc.

[@LordKnightfgc]

2XKO is next, I might try Fatal Fury too because I have never really tried a SNK game before and I'm trying to expand my horizons some more this year.

[@Letaro]

Love her design and I think the new move helped a lot in making her more fun and interesting

[@tylercafe1260]

I win with chip damage so often. The problem players are having with a game like Guilty Gear is understanding how to spend meter more efficiently especially on Defense. I see people FD too often from trying to avoid chip and just have no meter for the majority of the match or never pick up on the chip damage accumulating. Like I know I'm not doing a Garuda Impact but an Axl delay Rensen YES! explosion does pretty good chip and gets completely slept on. There's a few characters who's chip damage get completely neglected and I admit didn't think Gion would be much of chip problem but the new spiral arrow makes her really stand out.

[@Tletna]

Giovanna does have some high level stuff but overall until you get to that mastery level she is a brain dead character. This is sort of like Chun Li. A button masher can play Chun Li in Street Fighter, Guile or the Shotos, but for Chun Li her timing on things is so difficult it really is difficult to master her. Even though Giovanna and Chun Li are different I think they're similar in the sense that they're easy to start playing but very difficult to master.

[@grafh2732]

I would say a fair assessment of the character. I started playing fighting games with Strive, i immediately picked her because she is the coolest. But i hate the changes they made to her especially the 2D nerf (2D my beloved, i'll miss you forever), and the fS nerf, it used to work on lows too, now every low stops her approach, also her DP no longer comboing. They turned her into a much more difficult character, at least for me, and everybody keeps saying she's better. Anyway i had my fun with the game, and i will always like Giovanna, at least from the design perspective.

[@Cronelius107]

Incredible breakdown

[@MasakanSolaris]

Calling her easy is very misleading its more accurate to say gio is very one note, she doesnt have any real strategy other then just running in and beating your ass.

[@Blustride]

623S my beloved Also make EnSepultura a command grab so it has a reason to exist

[@eonfgc1736]

As a mid/high level Gio main myself for like 2 years now (We played when you came to Brazil if you remember :) really close casual sets), I think she requires a lot of good conditioning and spacing in order to get the maximum out of her specially in very volatile matchups like Leo/Sol/Sin. Really good character design, but I wish they gave her more options to work on defense, since it feels kinda bad specially after the 623S nerfs from last patch. Great video as always goat!

[@voidsnorlax6556]

Love your content

[@Motmoon915]

Lk stay making videos about characters as soon as I decide to try them

[@bt_11]

I've always felt she had a kind of kara throw with her dash

[@bogbupog]

It's always 'easy to learn/hard to master', I want to know who is easy to master.

[@DeertickDaniel]

Goldlewis

[@RapunzelRed]

Do people think they're god like at anti airing in Strive? Is that something people actually think?

[@jetflash100]

I feel like this comment was mainly because s1 and s2 Gio had the easiest otg oki after almost every combo. I myself dropped Gio when she lost this easy oki.

[@doctorshakey8072]

😂 😂😂 Good times. I haven't played much since season 1 but been wanting to get back into this game. She's so different now.

[@barrymaslow8441]

That English?

[@Casperdile]

Good video LK i like it :)

[@user-Miha.]

I hate playing against her

[@terrell7377]

Late to this video, does anyone know the names to the songs that play in the video?

[@byakuyatogami1859]

My belief is that Giovanna’s dog is only used sparingly not for any lazy reason. It’s purely so your opponent can tell when your turn/chain ends.

[@DeertickDaniel]

Spiral arrow

[@byakuyatogami1859]

@@DeertickDaniel I get what you’re saying, but that’s sort of my point too the dogs used purely for visual clarity.

[@alex5623]

I come from the future, Giovanna wins EVO 2024, trust.

[@alex5623]

Told you all I wasn't wrong(?)

[@mathieuhabib8900]

what do you mean "yet"? is she getting a command grab in s4??

[@doctorupset3304]

Gio is very strong imo. At launch she was already causing havoc with stepdash throws and her warcrime of a 2D on top of some really strong specials, and now she's gotten even better, and she even has quite a few options for combo routing to squeeze out some extra damage without breaking the wall. I've considered picking her up but I just never really vibed with her.

[@TVs_Brent]

Grappler Gio supremacy

[@someguy9946]

So how do I beat her

[@FaceD0wnDagon]

Bro, the wolf changes color at 50%. Do you not know?

[@Icesonic778]

me personally i actually hate this character so god damn much, ive never seen a good standard character with so much bullshit and so much positive things about her that just ignores most of the cast members, And its not like i dont know how to fight her, its more of the lines of i would rather fight nago or sol then this thing I personally think that shes a easy brain rot character, cause your not learning how to play strive when you play her, you're learning Gio and not the game itself cause shes just that easy, and she makes the game even easier for you ( IN MY OPINION BTW)

[@tdwl2802]

This applies to literally all of the shotos twice over lmao. Gio is fine

[@manemane2773]

HOW do you do blue rc into overhead on gio PLEASE

[@DeertickDaniel]

Every character can jump cancel c.s or 5k into forward brc for an overhead if that’s what you mean

[@whitorblius]

Sonero: BRC Overheading A Fool: An Instructional Guide. kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGXFeIiMqclsZqM

[@shafferstyle]

Enjoying these deep dives. I'm a Leo player, don't fault me for it.

[@yaboi-km2qn]

I don't think she's easy, she's too fast for me.

[@paz8723]

Toxic Positivity

[@GBFGO-PLAYER]

dat thumbnail got me acting up 👀💦

[@tommyshelby994]

where or how can I learn her combos?

[@ThePoodle]

Dustloop! A lot of her combos revolve around getting into empowered 214s from 2h

[@tommyshelby994]

@@ThePoodle thanks

[@ThePoodle]

Please make anji video? So many people have no clue what he does

[@Arunnejiro]

12:04 pause

[@aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa731]

Gio main as well. I really like what they did with chave but i would like a little bit more of sauce to be really happy with her. Don't know even making trovao less slow on startup just to see it more often in neutral. Another move. Some freaking purpose for enhanced sepultura. A little bit more of complexity wouldn't hurt

[@ElegantEgotist-114]

Fun fact, Rei (her spirit animal) glows when she’s at 50%. That’s the visual cue for her 50 tension buff

[@magnoUo]

I feel like I'm in hell in roundstar agaisnt Slayer

[@heracrossz7701]

You can try doing walk back 5k into dp,if you walk back 2h wouldn't reach and Giovanna's 5k punishes slayer's 5k if you walk back and it can even beat his 2D (not guaranteed) you also beat jumps in and all the variables of K dandy except for pile bunker and maybe k dandy, but risk reward is heavily on your favor.

[@renann3]

Shrek mentioned. Sooomebody once told me....

[@Ej_Michael]

she is probebly good but she isn't as cool as ky so

[@Lattoru]

I have a friend who could really learn things from this video if the vid had french subtitles

[@fredmanM]

terrible video Mr. Lordknight, you said she was good Mr lordgnight. She is bad! tell Mr partytime that she is terrible!

[@heracrossz7701]

She isn't bad just mid which is bad she should at least be top 5

[@remorsefulacts8197]

Day 1 asking for a Zato video. Hopefully game play too

[@MayGGST]

ok, what the fuck is that thumbnail???

[@wishPacket-tv8ii]

Jack o pose????

[@mcbill7352]

yooooo may guilty gear what do you think about milia rage

[@MayGGST]

@@mcbill7352 i think shes mid to high tier right now shes also annoying to fight sometimes but usually i dont mind her

[@typup8888]

FIRSTTTTT

[@M1ndblast]

Nope.

[@CordiDre]

Is tht natural gray hair or dye. Dude looks 25

[@heracrossz7701]

I like season 1 she was neat and my first fighting game character I also hated season 2 she got mostly nerfs and the strike on her strike throw pressure wasn't a real threat since she didn't do much damage on season 2.5 they rework her combos and make the strike on her strike throw an actual threat, but she just did avarage strive damage by that point. season 3 is my personal favorite big damage on round start, big damage of off 2s and far s normal hit, no HKD 214s but a super plus guard crush, and my beloved dp loops♥️, she was just harder to play during season 3.0 and she wasn't very beginner friendly during this patch it felt that she would have eventually became a top tier threat like a nago or HC at the cost of just higher execution, but then seasom 3.5 and they make her easier and weaker, like i get it but i will rather have her be the hardest character in the game and a top tier than just they way she is now mid and easy, but I get it she is really popular choice on new player i just wish they could at least for one patch make her undoubtedly the best character in the game she deserves it.

[@calltire8978]

Ngl, Gio is my favorite character in GG, and is probably my forever main

[@Rubykiku]

Going to lie, i’m not afraid of Gio at all 😳

[@calltire8978]

@@RubykikuOkay???

[@Rubykiku]

@@calltire8978 I was lying, sorry