=============================================================================== Soul Calibur 2 - Cassandra =============================================================================== Author - Harold "Kageh" Hess The following mini-guide is a strategy article written for GameNOW magazine (Vol. 3 #23, September 2003). This is the uncut version which was later edited to be more palatable for the gaming masses and meet space constraints. This was in no way meant to be a complete guide, but rather an inspirational article of sorts to get people interested in playing the character. Enjoy! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cassandra, despite her cute appearance, is a very brute force type character. She excels at closing distance and getting right in her opponent's face with her special movements and attacks. Once there, she has a wide assortment of brutal mix-ups with which she can beat the opponent into submission. Cassandra is a no nonsense style character with a decent amount of trickery for good measure. She is well suited to an aggressive style. However, her attacks also lend themselves to being used passively as counters. Cassandra's fast, advancing attacks allow her to wait for the opponent to make mistakes and then punish swiftly. A strong character not confined to any particular approach. Offensive and defensive minded players alike will enjoy using her. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Crouch Dash ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cassandra possesses a movement (shared only by a few characters) called crouch dash. Performed by 236, it is a lunging type movement that moves Cassandra forward quickly and somewhat low to the ground. In addition to being able to perform special attacks from this movement, Cassandra also has the ability to string multiple Crouch Dashes together. Many of the special attacks from this movement come out fast and are quite powerful. It is a very intimidating way for her to close distance quickly. Opponents will freeze in their tracks like a dear in the headlights when they see this blond bombshell dashing towards them! Cassandra's 236B is her main attack from this movement. Commonly referred to as an "Electric" from Tekken fame, this attack comes out fast and hits hard. Its reach is far, knocks down on hit, tech crouches under high attacks, and is fairly safe on block. A very good move, but its use must be moderated to maintain its effectiveness. Use its surprising speed to interrupt the slower attacks of unsuspecting opponents as well as punish whiffed or slow recovering attacks. Cassandra's other attacks from her special crouch dash movement are quite useful. 236AB is a fast horizontal attack that can be used to catch those trying to evade at very close distances. 236K can be useful for catching the opponent off guard with its slow speed. The other crouch dash moves have their uses as well, but the important thing to realize is that Cassandra can cancel her crouch dash movement into her other normal attacks! It is possible to rush at the opponent with multiple crouch dashes and then immediately go into other moves, some of the most effective being her throws and low attacks. The threat of her electric and intimidation factor of the crouch dash itself will make the opponent more susceptible to Cassandra's other attacks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Strings and Things ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cassandra has a very strong move set in addition to her crouch dash movement and the special attacks from it. One of the most effective being her basic standing A and the surprisingly good strings it acts as an initiator for. AK is a very fast two hit natural combo that does good damage and leaves you in an advantageous position very close to the opponent. AA has similar properties but leaves you slightly farther away. AB is a natural combo and leads to a strong natural mix-up with its canned follow ups. Pressing K afterwards will cause Cassandra to finish the string with a low attack while B will cause her to go mid. You can delay each hit of this string, but the last B can be delayed even longer for more confusion. Cut the string short after the first two hits and follow up with other attacks to catch your opponent by surprise. Cassandra's B strings are very useful as well. BB is a fast, mid, natural combo that does good damage. The second hit can he held and the delay can be used to throw off the timing of your opponents. The last hit of BK comes out pretty slow, but produces a nice block stun that puts Cassandra in an advantageous position. Use the stun to force a guessing game on your opponent afterwards. B6B or [B] has some useful applications if used sparingly. The second hit is a guard crush when held, but the move is easily stepped delay or not. Use cautiously. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Essentials ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cassandra has some of the best single strike attacks in the game. Her 2A is extremely fast, completely safe on block, and gives her incredible advantage on hit. 3K is one of the fastest mid attacks in the game. Not very damaging, but it's a great move to pester the opponent with. 2K is another great pester move, but hits low and gives advantage on block. An electric will beat out most of the opponents counter attempts afterwards on hit. 2K, 1A, 8 Way-Run 1 or 7 B, and 1K are some of Cassandra's best low attacks. 8 Way-Run 1 or 7 B and 1K are fast lunging lows that advance on the opponent, but are somewhat easily evaded. Conversely, 1A is a somewhat slower low that tracks evasive movements better. Make sure to know when it is appropriate to use either. 66A+B is one of Cassandra's farthest reaching mid attacks. It's fast and knocks down on hit, but is very linear and easily evaded. Use it to catch advancing opponents with its surprising range. A+B is another great reaching move that moves Cassandra forward. It is fast, has evasive properties, leads to combos on hit, is completely safe on block, and is not easily evaded. An excellent move used from mid to long range for closing distance. Tears up poking characters that try to hold you off at a distance. 44B is a tech crouch move that's great for going under highs and launching the opponent for good damage. Bait people into chasing after you with highs and perform this move out of back dashes to go right under their attacks and punish. Much like her 236B, 6B is a great move for punishing whiffed attacks. It reaches far and its simple command makes it much easier to execute quickly when you see an opening. It's different in that it hits high and does not knock down, but it does leave Cassandra in a very advantageous position on hit. Opponents will have to block an electric. A great move to setup mix-ups with. Cassandra's lows, while decent, cannot be abused too much. She can have a hard time dealing with defensive opponents as a result and this is where the importance of her throws shines through. When performed out of crouch dashes and hits that leave Cassandra at an advantage, throws are the perfect tool for dealing with a defending opponent. Her 66G+B command throw comes out of a crouch dash or run very smoothly and has very damaging follow-ups. Players can have the choice of attacking afterwards immediately for more damage or pressuring the opponent on the ground for potentially more damage. Cassandra's G+A throw, while not as powerful, puts Cassandra in a very favorable position afterwards. She will be able to force a guessing game involving 3B and 1K. The strength of her throws will make opponents think twice about defending so much and make the more susceptible to Cassandra's fast, powerful mid attacks.