I main Raphael I love em to death but I think its time I pick up another character. What suggestions can you offer me to learn Sieg? Should I just go to training mode an memorize his move list first? Watch videos? For whatever reason im always stuck at the begining when learning a character haha.
I'm glad to see people picking up Siegfried :D
To start with him, at first you can go to the training mode and then go through every move that is listed at least once.
Then try to find some basic combos for him. Afterwards play against the AI to adjust to his moves/gameplay and make sure that his style is suitable for you. Try to experiment a bit with him.
After those minor first steps you can come here and go through the threads for
combos and tech traps,
top moves,
match ups,
videos and
frame data. I'm sure they will be really helpful. Also if you have any questions use the
Q&A thread
But here's my minor Siegfried guide.
So... Picking up Siegfried:
Siegfried is all about stance mix ups, spacing, opponent reading, risk, manlyness etc...
First of all you need to learn his 4 stances: Base Hold (SBH), Chief Hold (SCH), Side Hold (SSH) and Reverse Side Hold (SRSH).
Base Hold
This is the stance that Siegfried holds his sword over him and he is crouching under it. To enter it you simply press B+K. The best thing about this stance in my opinion is the auto guard impact which agis horizontals (mid, lows) as well as some stunquakes, giving you the opportunity to hit your opponent with some damaging combos. So the moves coming out of this stance now. One is SBH K, which has a BE version which can give you extra damage as a combo ender and hits grounded unlike the simple SBH K. Another one is SBH B which is kinda slow but launches the opponent. I usually use this move after the agi works. And the last one is SBH A which is a low sweep but rather slow too. This one is cancellable with 2, which leaves you in a crouch and ready to do some mix ups. However it is very risky as you are free to attacks.
Chief Hold
This is the stance that Siegfried holds his sword behind his back. To enter it you can press 2B+K or 8B+K. This stance has an agi if you are backturned that can surprise the opponent and if you press B you throw him over you, taking much damage and wallsplat him if there is a wall in front of you. Anyway, the moves you can do from this stance are, SCH K, SCH K BE, SCH B and SCH A. SCH K is the fast kick and its BE version is a launcher that can lead to a damaging combo. SCH B is our favourite follow up after 3 (B), very damaging, it has clean hit properties but it is really easy to step. So if you see your opponent stepping use SCH A and if he is close you may be lucky to get both hits and if you hold the A you find your self in Side Hold.
Side Hold
This the stance that Siegfried holds his sword at his right side and you can enter it by pressing 4B+K. It makes Siegfried step back a little when entering it and it is mostly used for whiff punishing. A move that is very damaging for the health and the guard gauge of the opponent is SSH BBB but it is risky and stepable. A low sweep is his SSH AA but I recommend using only the first A if you really wanna use the low; use both if you see that you get a counter hit. If you hold the first A you end up in Reversed Side Hold. And the last move of this stance is SSH K which knocks down the opponent.
Reversed Side Hold
In this stance Siegfried holds his sword at his left side and you can enter it by pressing 6B+K and you end up close to your opponent. The moves from this stance are SRSH A, SRSH B, SRSH K and its hold version. SRSH A is a high step kiler with cool range but people often duck it. The real mixup is between SRSH B and SRSH K. SRSH B is a mid poke that stuns your opponent giving you enough time to land a powerful combo. SRSH K is the low spinning kick and if you think that it will hit it'd be better to use the hold version it end up in SBH and land a damaging combo.
Each stance and move has it's own purpose, but they all offer mixups and they are risky.
Siegfried, however has some interesting, strong tools that every Siegfried player must learn and use properly
Top moves & tools
iagA: Strong stepkiller, possibilities for RO and W!
22_88A: God's gift, stepkiller, ROs and W!s
2A: Stepkiller, combo breaker
3(B): Launcher, -1 on block, leads to SCH, W!, oki
iWSB: Same as above, mind game
iWSAA/iWSAA2: Mid then low, leads to mind games if you cancel with 2, same as SBH A2 situation
B6: Nice fast poke
3K: Makes the opponent think twice
K: i13, Siegfried's fastest move, used for interrupting combos
1K: Oki
All grabs, specially the flapjacks: 50/50 situations, mind games
Just Guards and Guard Impacts: Combo breakers, they give the opportunity to make a comeback and do damaging stuff
Frame Data: Essential
I hope you'll find this quite helpful to start with and I assure you that the more you'll use him the more you'll form your own playstyle, use the strong tools into the best situations, etc. Sometimes though you'll notice that you may need to slightly change your playstyle depending on who you fight but the theory is pretty much the same. It just all takes time, practice and faith.