Elphelt Might Be the Simplest Character in the Game

streamed Dec. 13, 2023
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#FGC #Sajam #GGST #GuiltyGear

[@SylemGistoe]

I cant lie, after playing Jack-O for so long, and kinda torturing myself with some Asuka, i am quite okay with treating myself and just letting myself play a fun and easy to understand character.

[@Finicky9]

Based character selection honestly

[@anqr7193]

Yeah honestly not sure if I want to try and suffer learning Johnny or Asuka or just play someone seemingly braindead like Elphelt

[@SylemGistoe]

@@anqr7193 i'll fuck around with Johnny on the side, and maybe eventually go back to asuka, and i'll always have the silliest valentine- but honestly? Having a character who is just normal and works in the pocket probably gives you more transferable skills than sticking to just extremely unique characters, lol.

[@cyrus6236]

Look, another JackO-Asuka player!

[@lazysylph3312]

Testy and asuka… now elphelt. huh. I used to hate zoners but they’re so fun in GG

[@magicalgirl1296]

You press the button, she does the thing, simple as. I love easy characters.

[@thrillho2747]

honestly best way to describe her 😂

[@OfentsePlays]

I played with Elphelt day 1 and I got from floor 7 to floor 10 (now I'm at 9). Definitely the most fun I've had in this game, and I find myself labbing 20 to 30 minutes just to find something wacky. I love her😂❤

[@illliiiiillliii6265]

Same dude. After 3 days im back up at 10 consistently. All i had to was get good at the granade juggle. Too bad i don't get to do rematches as often anymore, for some reason people keep running away after 1 or 2 matches. :P

[@SashaSlvt]

she is so simple with the gameplan the hard part i am getting is not just flowcharting whenever i wanna get devious instead i lab my cool setups and in matches i instadefault to my day one unga.

[@Erahku3991]

Defending against this character makes me want to drink Pine-Sol

[@NickJJU]

I had to watch an hour long Juxtaposer video to learn how to do pressure/mixups with Faust that are as effective as the Elphelt pressure/mixups Sajam took two minutes to explain here

[@Mene0]

It's kind of a shame going back to Strive's ranked system after SF6 tho. Character separated rank is th best thing, I suck so much when playing a new character I just TANK my rank and also feels bad to lose 10 matches in a row

[@seokkyunhong8812]

Don't play on ranked?

[@reeceulf]

A ranking is straight up the very last thing on my mind. I'm trying to get to the fun part of playing the video game and I wish arcsys would redo their matchmaking entirely. SF6 perfected the 'me push button, me play game' philosophy and it's a shame it remains so complicated for guilty gear. Although, I do agree, character based ranking is where it's at. Gets you queued into fair matches much more easily. It's funny how they almost have it with R-Code, but it's just a playtime showcase with pretty decorations.

[@ZamirStills]

Going from Baiken, who struggles to convert off her best pokes, to Elphelt is like night and day.

[@cactophone4552]

elphelt is soooo fun. i love the simplicity for a change coming from nago and that end game win screen is a fine motivator

[@johkerx9107]

She looks mad fun, I just bought Strive after her reveal and I’m excited to try her out along with Sin

[@4cd721]

For those who want a different Kara Cancel into super, you can do the motion and hit Slash and Heavy Slash at the same time.

[@aganaom1712]

Idk of i would say she's the simplest but she's definitely up there interms of how simple her tools are at a base level. She's probably the simplest dlc character tho

[@cerdi_99]

4:32 fun fact: u dont even need to press H twice to kara cancel the rekka into the super, just do the super input and it will kara cancel automatically

[@DrazGames]

Only time I've had it come out that way is if I hit H right after the cancel window for the rekka finisher is gone, any other time it just goes into the shotgun. Idk if I'm missing something or doing it wrong or what.

[@HopelessEnigma]

you might be hitting H before the whole super input is finished@@DrazGames

[@DrazGames]

@@HopelessEnigma Not according to the input history but idk, might have to mess with it more Edit: Messed with it a bit more, I guess it's still during the timeframe you can go into the rekka finisher but yeah if you do the super input a hair too soon the finisher comes out instead of super

[@cerdi_99]

@@DrazGames if you buffer it, it will give you the shotgun yeah

[@igobananas32o]

@@DrazGames hitting it twice is just a placebo that's making you delay the second press to time it well. You still have to hit exactly the same timing whether you hit it once or 7 times. Aim for once timed well imo because it's easier to control

[@sabelaine6044]

Noel Vermillion vibes for sure

[@dizzygunner]

next season is gonna turn strive into an FPS

[@Calhasnopals]

Elphelt is exactly what an 'Easy' character should be. She's simple and flashy, but she should be using all her tools to get the most out of her. One of this games banger DLC's for sure

[@JaytsuVA]

honestly super glad they made her so straightforward -- i LOVE the death metal idol switch-up, and her animations / interactions with a cast are a legit joy to see she's annoying to defend against re: rekka for sure LOL, but getting to commentate her has me hype every time

[@leithaziz2716]

She's also just straight up funny. From several of her attacks having her trip on accident Looney-Tunes style to all her taunts.

[@MrRaposaum]

I bought Elphelt today and I was testing her. I was joking with my friend that, since GGST rates Ky 5 stars for "ease of use", Elphelt should get 6 stars because it's not even close. I remember that back then they decided that Ky shouldn't pull too much damage because his neutral data-frame is already strong and he can (fairly) easy convert neutral buttons into combos. By that logic, Elphelt would be more balanced if they nerfed her damage IMO, because she's got easy pressure reset for days.

[@-rakoo-amv454]

yeah elphelt got kinda of a balancing issue IMO, she is way to strong compared to how easy she is to use BUT if you play her against a character with DP then she becomes bottom tier

[@SentientHoodii]

had GG on my periphery for a long time and finally bought Strive before she came out. i played strive with people before but only sparsely, finally played Missing Link, X and am gonna work my way through the games story wise (On XX now). but i have been playing a bit of online with Elphelt in Strive and i love her. I like Millia a little and Gio, Bridget felt nice, etc. but Elphelt is another level of smooth for me. my main FG is Blazblue and I'm a Noel main and it's uncanny how much her Strive incarnation feels like playing Noel to me, i even sometimes muscle memory slip into Noel mode.

[@lilliangoulston5706]

I honestly love the new Elphelt. I don't like execution-heavy stuff so being able to hop in and immediately do stuff is soooooo satisfying I think execution and complexity has a lot of prestige attached to it in the FGC, so people tend to look down on stuff like this. I'm a huge fan though

[@angel__king]

I think her problem is that she’s too easy. She’s extremely strong and easy to use so for people who don’t have her and can’t lab against her it feels really cheap

[@leithaziz2716]

@@angel__king You don't have to be a difficult-to-use character to be strong. Otherwise, people would be dissuaded from sticking with a character that's on the easier side due to thinking of them as a crutch in the meta. The best outcome is a variety of characters that cater to different playstyles being played, not just the big brain ones. The "not being able to lab" is a different problem fighting games still need to solve.

[@angel__king]

@@leithaziz2716 that’s not the problem I’m talking about. It’s that her ease of use has things like her flip ability which can be chained forever and the timing to interrupt it is extremely small. It’s less about the easiness of the character but that it’s extremely easy to cheese

[@MrCactuar13]

I'll miss how pulling the lever back and forth to reload each shot from her guns has that tactile sensation where the stick sounds and feels like cocking the gun/pulling the bolt of a gun. Easily the most genius control scheme in a fighting game. I feel that Elphelt lost a lot of her identity here, she's now just another anime gun girl. But since most players don't have an arcade stick, and I don't even think arcade stick is the best way to play this game, the moveset change at least makes sense in Strive's context.

[@SoI_Badguy]

​@@angel__king anyone abusing that is easy to counter because you can 5p out of it.

[@Livingeidolon]

That rekka seems like a more jacked up version of Ken's jinrai kick

[@RiffRaffish]

It was pretty jarring hopping back into this game after a long time then remembering that the ranked system sucks big time.

[@ArchaicEX]

I trusted this video when he said that the leaping hit of the rekka is interruptible, and I just got counter-hit over and over. I'm now convinced that it isn't, at least for characters whose fastest move is 5 frames.

[@ArchaicEX]

If you don't have resources to escape, I wonder if it's literally better to get hit as soon as possible during that sequence to giver her less tension and risc to work with. Usually I have either 214D or super to beat it, and her reward isn't so big that the whole thing is overpowered, just feels kind of lame to have to defend against.

[@ElvisMaximus1]

There is a 6F gap when she goes back into the starter of her unchain sequence, so you can hit a 5f button. If you're a little too late though it's COUNTER time also I really think her move should be referred to as an unchain more than a rekka, since it loops

[@r15835]

I'm pretty sure she says "GET READY" in her growl when she gets the hard knockdown after wallbreak.

[@isshintheguy4172]

Elphelt really pulling out the Tediore shotgun and then not throwing it away after...

[@bartekkko]

Playing with my friend who hasn't seen the training room in his life, my Faust vs his Elphelt is a 6-4 matchup, while normally it's 15-2 when I'm playing Faust against any other character of his.Take that information as you will

[@no_nameyouknow]

Maybe your friend is learning, if you always play faust against them they are going to get better at that MU.

[@NickJJU]

It's too early to tell, but I think Elphelt is a rough matchup for Faust. She can zone him pretty easily with the gun, since he can't airdash past it. She can close the gap with 214K pretty easily, and then run her rekka offense which is a nightmare to deal with. And Faust's defense is pretty bad. She can convert off of stray hits pretty well too, which Faust can't without WA, and if you're getting caught in Elphelt's offense you often need that meter to burst or to Deflect Shield

[@8thlvlMage]

I took a drink every time Sajam said rekka. I'm commenting from Valhalla.

[@1inimilian567]

I know and she is great, thought I do think the meat of her kit will be in 214H OKE.

[@theycallmejojo6090]

Elphelt: “I wonder what my life would be like if I rob the Kwik-E mart.”

[@plabcentral630]

This is very cool. I will still be playing pot

[@seokkyunhong8812]

Know what will fix this? DAISUKE! Add a bar!

[@hungryhedgehog4201]

How do you get out of her mixups without bursts? My friend plays her and if she gets me early into one of those mixups that round is basically over for me.

[@SentientHoodii]

you can 6P during the Slash of Chain Lollipop to break out, and you get a few opportunities as she has to use it to reset after Kick or Punch if she is chaining them.

[@josh24713]

ngl, that rekka be dicing ya boy up

[@eebbaa5560]

everyone has an elphelt

[@birdbr4in_383]

Yeah, kinda wish there was a bit more in her kit

[@LtSprinkulz]

you beat me by 46 seconds >:C

[@dancinginfernal]

Strive syndrome

[@phsquared1000]

I have this thought when I play as strive characters and then when I play against good players with strive characters I’m glad their kit isn’t bigger.

[@AdamJorgensen]

@@phsquared1000Weird way of thinking. The kit being bigger means you have more to worry about sure but it also means they have more to handle as well. There's a reason a lot of the strong characters in a lot of FGs tend not to be the most executionally complex ones...

[@reeses7839]

​@AdamJorgensen The strong characters vary by a lot of factors, but it inevitably becomes that the "strongest" does end up being the most complex simply due to the number of options they have. Akuma, Vatista, Yuzuriha, Metera, Johnny in Xrd, Happy Chaos in Strive is a perfect example. People will end up learning how to get the execution to a point that it is consistent, which means more options becomes more about how you worry about them, and less how much they have to worry about. Saying that "the strongest aren't often the most complex" is usually only true for the earliest points in the game.

[@leithaziz2716]

Elphelt's one of the most fun characters I've watched onscreen in the game while also being pretty approachable to learn. It's a mesh that works a lot better than you might think. I also feel what you mean regarding some of the DLC characters in comparison. I took one look at Asuka's moveset and decided that was not a character I could wrap my head around. Goldlewis is one of my favorites to play as, but you also tend to strain your hands from enough Behemoth inputs. So something like Elphelt would probably be refreshing to people starting out and are just looking to have fun from the offset.

[@pootsiii8178]

I really don't like this character, feels really discouraging to learn stuff on a remotely complex character when Elphelt gets everything easily and for free. I can't find a single weakness in her kit other than slightly poor defense and deflect shield being kinda good against her (honestly it's not great). Fast buttons, fast recovery (good luck managing to whiff a move on her), insane projectiles, fantastic dash, insane range, insane (and extremely safe) mixup, fantastic option selects, drop-proof combos and mixups, I just don't understand what happened here?

[@dragonic22]

Extremely safe mixup? After almost anything she does, you can 6p if she goes into rekka. And even when she does, the high/low enders are like -18

[@cristofercarias8]

You have trouble with rekka? Just 6p or 5p and she ded. Elphelt main here, can confirm

[@Malacai087]

Interesting to read in hindsight since she ended up being a universally agreed mid tier, she got buffs now tho I'm not too sure where she stands

[@BlazeConspiratori]

Metallica - Disposable Heroes: 2:00

[@Nooctae]

It makes me a bit sad she's this simple. her Xrd kit was just so interesting. The sniper stance was a real novel concept at the time. She wasn't that complicated for what Xrd is, but this is a bit extreme. If I was a really big Elphelt fan, i'd be a bit annoyed.

[@Sporkyz74]

This is kinda just the reality of xrd characters in strive, especially the DLC inclusions. Sin, Johnny, Baiken, Jack'o; as well as they fit in with strive and have perfectly functional designs, people who played them in xrd have been pretty disappointed with all the complexity that they lost. Just a difference in the philosophy of the game, I suppose.

[@sauceinmyface9302]

@@Sporkyz74 As a person on the other side, I think it's really cool how this has led to a bunch of characters that people used to think were so cool or cute but would never play, into characters they can pick up. I think Johnny was so sick in xrd, but I probably would never pick him up. But this Johnny? I can work with this Johnny, and he's still sick.

[@SylemGistoe]

Wasn't Elphelt literally the most hated character in Xrd because of her kit, though? I remember her being criticized harshly for cooking grenades, hitscan sniper, and "braindead" shotgun stance.

[@servebotfrank4082]

I was kinda surprised when I played Xrd that she had a fair bit of complexity to her. Obviously her level 1 gameplan is absurdly stupid and strong and her neutral can come across as brain dead but alongside her character specific stuff, pine berry setups, sniper stance cancels, etc... there was a bit more to her than I was lead to believe. Not that she required a thesis to learn that stuff or anything but she had a pretty interesting kit.

[@freyzerb.castro9124]

Idk the Elphelt players I talk with are having a blast with Strive Elphelt. Also if you wanted Xrd Elphelt to come back without being an Elphelt player either you don't play Xrd or you need Jesus

[@TohoEggbirb]

the most fun easy character

[@doctorupset3304]

She's just fun. I've been playing around with her and it's nice having so many options for free. I don't think there's anything really problematic about her other than that weird rekka super os, but since it costs meter it's really not a huge deal.

[@valencart]

I haven't had time to play the game since Elphelt came out and now I'm scared to

[@fakeaccount5647]

If you play Baiken you can punish with counter on basically every move

[@danibnnuy]

do you have games on yo phone ahh character

[@eebbaa5560]

6 star difficulty

[@DrazGames]

I'm just glad to be hearing a little less of the "Bridget is so OP and frustrating to fight against" now that Elphelt is out tbh

[@bigandhairyrichard6333]

Simpler than potemkin?

[@dragonic22]

Potemkin? It's not even close

[@rawrdino7046]

I got bridget and elphelt my two favorite characters!

[@drbjr8223]

jesus this game is beautiful.. i wish Street Fighter tried this style at some point.

[@LexiBelleGaming]

Ok, but why is her back broken in the character art?

[@memekingk373]

Yeah Im a hater

[@Thienthan]

Glad I don't play the game if I have to deal with an ez mode oppressive Elphelt now

[@chrislee5268]

A strive character is braindead easy? Whoaaaaa

[@arachnofiend2859]

This was the Anyone Can Cook top tier in xrd

[@seokkyunhong8812]

Wait until you try pre nerf Raven in xrd.

[@deathonadinosaur]

What's happened to Guilty Gear is so weird.

[@Vexinz]

Strive moment

[@LtSprinkulz]

1 minute gang

[@Mr.Faust3]

Elphelt is a easy character to pick up but hard to master me thinks

[@CaskettTV]

What in her kit is hard to master? She is incredibly straight forward and doesn't really have any room for variations that change how she would play.

[@ahola3208]

She's probably the easiest character in the game to master though.

[@echo4567psn]

⁠@@CaskettTVI kinda get what OP is saying, more so that her game plan is so straightforward that against much more skilled players it takes more skill and mastery of the character to execute. Her rekka for example is a huge part of her kit but against people above floor 9 they have next to no problem against it that you might as well never use it, you’ll be 5P’d out of it instantly and will pretty much end up dead.

[@Mr.Faust3]

@@echo4567psn yeah what this reply is saying kinda like baiken easy to pick up but you can tell who’s a master with the character

[@freyzerb.castro9124]

​@@echo4567psn Execution getting harder as you fight higher skilled players that know how to deal with your kit is literally every character in any fighting game

[@isaacprime7144]

A simp commenting on the most simple character hmm