I'll talk on behalf of Saitoh, since he tested most of the things with me and Maxi is my main anyway.
I'll try to be precise as possible, but remember that it's only an early build.
Horizontal Attacks
A,A [Right Cross]
Still pretty much the same as SoulIV, it's almost useless.
6A [ Right Outer]
6A, RO A,K is a NCC now. Pretty beast !
3A [Left Inner ... IIRC]
It's now his old BL A from IV. So it's a piece of crap that should never be used. Hence the fact I don't remember if it's LI or BL it leads to.
2A
Same as before.
1A
His old WL A from before. It's quite slow, some peoples block it on reaction.
4A
Same as before, but the following B has disappeared for no reason. So the use is pretty limited.
7_8_9A
Didn't care, didn't try. Sorry
WsA
Mid, track both side, safe, good frame advantage on hit.
Only down side is damage, but I like that move the way it is right now. You can 4B without being interrupted.
66A
His old 33A, doesn't cause KND anymore. Instead, the opponent will turn around. Still high, I guess safe.
33A
Don't remember hahaha
22_88A [Left Inner]
Seems to have some good frame advantage on block since 22A, LI A is not interruptible. We didn't try it thoroughly as we should have but I'm pretty sure it's not interruptible since nobody did succeed to do so ... EVER.
It stuns on counter and maybe neutral I'm really not sure about that. 22A, LI K, CE is a (very painful) combo. 4B,B,K works too after LI K for some pain without meter. I would say it's a pretty good stance initiator, since the range is great and people fear for the LI A.
11_77A [Behind Lower]
His old 236A. Not much to say about it. Still the same " meh " move as before.
44A
His old 88A. Nothing on CH tho, no more combos.
Vertical Moves
B,B
Same as before. Useless.
6B(~4)
Old 66B.
Spinning nunshaks is still weird and not so useful. Didn't try next to walls tho.
3B
Launcher mid now. Seems unsafe.
I had an hard time connect anything after but 66B+K seems to do the trick just fine.
2B
Same move as IV
1B [Right Outer]
His new magical mid poke. It's a mix between his old 1B and 3B. I'm not sure about the TC frames anymore tho, should have tried that ... sorry.
1B counter hit gives free RO A,K.
Furzy Wall combo : 1B(CH), RO A,K, W! 1B, RO A,K W! 4B,B,K 2K,B
You can replace 4B,B,K by his CE for an insane amount of damage.
4B [Left Outer]
Same move as IV
7_8_9B [Left Outer]
His RC B !
Pretty good move now ! 9B on block, Counter hit LO B,K works wonders. But now that I think about it, I got interrupted one or two times ... don't remember by who or with what. ... sorry again.
WsB
Very fast backfist in the face. High
This move hurts a lot ! Very good punish if you manage to duck a throw or an high move. Not so good at punishing lows since some of them recover crouch.
Super unsafe, so only for punishing purposes.
66B [Left Inner]
Let me introduce you to Maxi's new whiff punisher = 66B, LI A.
The common reactions you'll got from your opponent is :
1. " OMG RANGE???!!! "
2. " OMG DAMAGE???!!! "
You can almost whiff punish from mid screen with this bad boy, and it helps Maxi BIG TIME. Of course this move is probably -[insertnumberthat'llmakeyoucry] on block since you can be punish by almost anything in the game but ... there's a trick. His new B+K on stance will save you from a lot of punishment ! I'll talk about it later in this post.
It's pretty linear too, you will whiff if the opponent just sneeze. The move hits OTG too, it's a good way to be in LI stance on wake up game.
33_99B [Behind Lower]
Same as before. You'll be beaten on block like always, don't raise your hopes too high with BL A after that move.
33bA is gone now ... that's sad news.
22_88B_ [Right Cross]
His old 11B, but faster and shorter range. Still pretty linear.
You can hold B to charge it to a guard break, it's SUPER fast ! It's a very good move. Its linearity hurts it a bit but if you can manage, it's a very good tool in your arsenal, since RC has been buffed a little bit.
11_77B
Can't remember it either ... I didn't 11x a lot hahaha
44B [Right Outer]
A new stance starter. Hits OTG and massive blockstun. It is pretty slow tho. If you manage to land it, it stuns on normal hit and you got RO B, RC A,B for free. It hurts like hell so it'll teach people to be careful.
Kicks
K
Same move as IV
6K
Same move as IV
3K
Same move as IV
2K,B
His old 2B+K,B from IV.
1K
Same move as IV
4K
Same move as IV
7_8_9K
Didn't try.
WsK,K
Same move as IV
66K
His old 44K from Soul1 (IIRC), a running spinning kick. Hits high, slight blockstun against some characters and tracks a little. It's a pretty good gap closer, even if it's high.
33_99K
Same as IV
Awesome mid pock
44K
Jumping knee kick in the face.
Huuuuge range. KND on hit, slight blockstun on some characters. Force crouch on block.
I don't know what to think about this new move. It has some good stats and a big range but it's so linear it's laughable. Like 66B, you can just sneeze and evade it.
22_88K,K_A
His RO K,K_A.
Since you can't charge the second K anymore ... I found this pretty useless.
11_77K
Guess what ... hahaha
Simultaneous press
A+B(~G [Left Inner IIRC])
NCC.
First hit doesn't hit OTG anymore, that's BS if you ask me. The G cancel is now officially USELESS.
On block you get your sorry ass kicked as always.
6A+B (Brave Edge version : [Left Inner])
This move is just wonderful !!!! One of his best moves in his new arsenal.
It's a safe mid, TC, and it HURTS !!
The downside is that it can be side stepped pretty easily and the range is almost " SoulIV BL A like ".
The BE version is an instant Guard Break (LI B is almost not interruptible ...) that put Maxi into Left Inner, one of the (if THE) most powerful stance in V.
1_2_3A+B
His old 3A+K.
Still blockable on reaction, high will still whiff at max range.
4A+B
NCC
Can't be charged anymore.
Guard Burst, 4A+B ch, 66B+K hurts if you want to keep your meter. Otherwise it's a useless move.
7_8_9 A+B
His old 7_8_9B from IV.
It's faster now, and DESTROYS the guard meter. 5/6 times is all it needs to Guard Burst.
No blockstun but seems safe. If you can time it right on wake up you'll Guard Burst the **** out of your opponent every round.
B+K,B,B,B,A
Same as before.
Seems easier to do tho. Less damage and BT B+K is not guaranteed.
Easier but not as good.
2B+K [Right Outer] / 8B+K [Left Inner]
His old 2A+K/A+K.
Still doesn't evade ****, still crap, will still never be used.
4B+K
Same as IV.
66B+K
Hits OTG and hurts A LOT.
Stances
Right Cross
A,B (BE [Left Inner])
Take the 2 ending hits of his IV LI A,A,B and you got RC A,B.
Only this time it's safe and NC. It hurts too. It end the loop.
If you BE the B, it'll give you an instant guard break (obviously HUGE frame advantage) and shift into Left Inner.
It's pretty strong now, but I fear that people will learn to Just Guard the second hit and kick Maxi's ass. Didn't try if you can delay it tho ... my bad.
B [ Left Outer]
Same as IV minus the Guard break and doesn't hit OTG anymore, that sucks.
Doesn't know about the blockstun, sometime I can LO BK CH sometimes I get interrupted. Weird.
K, K
Same as IV, minus the " jf " :k at the end.
Behind lower
A
Soul3 BL A.
B,B [Left Outer]
Didn't have to try that one ... so my memories of it are kinda blurry. It's two mid, on block you're in trouble, on hit you're the BAWSS !
Saitoh Edit : BL is stronger due to BL B. BL B is the same move as in SC1, shift to LO a bit faster tho. The great thing is you can do BL B, B. 2nd hit is like SC4 RO B. Shift to LO. On block you're quite unsafe, but on hit LO BK is combo. BL B,B is a NC too, but i dont remember the advantage on hit
K,K
Same as IV.
People still duck it every time.
Left Outer
A,K
Same as IV.
A low that even my cat can duck on reaction, followed by an unsafe mid.
It's just ****, never use it. Useless waste of space.
B,K
Cool on CH otherwise it's a pathetic excuse for a move.
2K,B (old 2B+K,B) is not guaranteed anymore.
B on block you'll get murdered, do the K and people will duck and massacre you.
Best part is, when you land the K on block, you don't even have frame advantage. Mitsu can A,A before you can 2A.
Useless waste of space too if you ask me. This move is an insult, Soul2 one is needed here.
K
A slow low sweep. Advantage on hit, I guess unsafe on block.
Kinda useless too, even if people don't react to it now due to the fact that it's new. But give them some time and you'll find yourself never using it.
Overall, LO is the WORST stance EVER, it's just horrible, this stance should be renamed to SC as SuiCide. You should never enter in LO, you should NEVER even think about going into LO.
It's a shame because 4B is very good, you have to PSL 1 to go into RC or PSL2 to go into LI to keep doing something useful. You just waste time doing that.
Need some serious changes.
Right Outer
A,K
NC now
K can be charged as always.
B [Right Cross]
Mid
Stun on normal hit. You have free RC A,B after it.
On block it's not that great, but better than RO B from IV.
K,K_A
Same as IV.
The second K can not be charged anymore.
K,B is gone.
Pretty slow and RO B kills 2A pretty well (with free RC A,B after) so it's not that useful now.
Left Inner
A (BE)
A powerful back fist that'll shut people up. This move is FAST, it HURTS and it's UNSAFE !
It's mid too and that's good news. You can use it as an interrupter.
You can BE it, but I didn't see anything new. It might have a better pushback but you're still unsafe (Mitsu's A,A : the first one whiffs, the second one hits ... yup the recovery is THAT insane.).
Saitoh keeps telling me the damage are buffed in BE but I can't see it, nor can I see the point since LI K in combos is far better, since it leads to his CE or whatever you want.
A good move overall anyway.
B_[B ] [Left Inner]
You can't cancel it anymore, and that's a shame, because with the cancel, LI would be perfect.
If you charge it, it's a guard break and you go back into LI.
K
High, HUGE block stun. (Maxi's B clashs with Natsu's A)
Stun on normal hit, CE is free after.
An awesome move over all.
LI is definitely his best stance in V, people should and will fear it ... A LOT. If Namco brings back the cancel for LI the stance will be a flawless one.
All Stance
B+K
Wavering light is gone, now it's " just " an auto-gi.
It'll guard impact ALL MID A or B. Not sure about K but IIRC kicks can go trough.
No " re GI " bullshit this time since Maxi will back fist their ass into a stun.
2K,B is guarantee after. Didn't try CE, but if it work you'll have to buffer it and be super fast. Don't think it'll work tho, didn't try either.
Critical Edge
Super Fast, only one hit if it whiffs or on block. Unsafe.
The damage are huge, it can whiff punish almost any moves and Ring out.
If it connects with an opponent in the air, only the first punch will connect for almost no damage at all. Do that after 3B if you want a quick ring out or if you like punching people in the crotch hahaha
Conclusion and random thoughts
Maxi is far better now.
It's just an early build, and the character is far from finished, but what I saw pleased me. I really love that new Maxi, he needs a lot more attention, but I think they go in the good direction.
Unfortunately, Maxi is really hurt by three things :
First, everybody can walk back SUPER FAST. Sometimes you enter a stance with any move, and the next move you do will whiff if the opponent walks back. You'll be punished ... hard, real hard.
If you whiff, you're in stance, if they have the meter, it's free CE in your face, you can't do anything.
Why? Because they just hold 4. That's kinda unfair and if it stays that way, Maxi will suffer big time.
His new damage output is cool, he can bring the pain. But as always he have to work his way to it. Take Mitsurugi for instance, that guy just have to run and 2K/Whatever move in B you want to destroy anything in his path. You don't need anything, just keep poke and get some counter hit. Harass people's nerves with 2K all day and mix it with a painful mid and you're good.
What can you do against that? You'll work hard to get in his head, just to find out it's a table in the middle of an empty room, with a little note that says : " 2K/Whatever mid ".
It's pretty unfair for Maxi too. It's really hard to fight someone that can destroy you with 3 moves. It's even harder when you play Maxi and have to create a " stance riddle " in order to " ? " to death someone.
Just Guard.
It's gonna kill Maxi. For example if you do RC A,B:BE and the opponent JG the second one, which is pretty easy, you lose a quarter of meter, and get punished.
What kinda grinds my nerves to oblivion is the loss of cancels like LI ~G when they introduce something like the Just Guard. It's like spitting on the face of Maxi for no reason. It was the 3rd worst character in SoulIV he doesn't need any nerfs AT ALL, Namco ! Not even ONE !
If Maxi got more fake moves (Soul2 66A~G for example), and can delay some of his best moves it'll be ok. If not, you can switch to your second character and make it your main, because Maxi is not gonna leave the bottom tier area this time either.
Other than that, he has a very good offense now, his LI stance is brutal and helps a lot keeping people in fear.
6A+B:BE is an hardcore offensive move and will make people fear Maxi a lot.
If you mash a button : LI K, CE
If you duck, waiting for LI K : LI B, LI A
If you stay still and wait in fear : LI [B ] or LI K both have huge blockstun.
You can wait a little bit and shift to LO after 6A+B:BE but since LO is a BS suicide stance, it's useless.
When you're in far range Maxi can still close the gap with 66K or 33A. Or you can bait/wait a whiff and punish mid screen with 66B, LI A.
The loss of 44A,B hurts a little but it's manageable. Only thing that annoys me is that you can't get in with a mid, but I guess Maxi would become top tier and be nerfed. What is unfair is that you have an hard time getting closer, but when you're in, people can just hold 4 and flip you the bird while laughing since it's soooooooooooooooooo easy to escape.
I really hope Namco's gonna fix this.
Mid range you have 22_88A [LI] which is, for now ... need more testing, awesome.
On block :
If they mash a button : LI A aKa " stfu and make me a sandwich " Hurts a lot
If they stand still : LI K block stun or LI [B ] into LI (soooo same thing here : rewind and retry haha).
On hit : LI K into CE
You can 22_88 [B ] for a long range Guard break into RC.
If you're close enough you can RC A,B:BE into LI and see above.
If you Guard break long range RC B into Suicid...LO is viable. (You can PSL out of LO if they freeze or B+K Auto GI).
Close range :
1B into RO is the " a normal day at the office " move for Maxi.
If they freeze after a Guard Break you can 44B into a huge Blockstun and some more pressure.
You can have fun and do stuff like :
1B, RO A, [K] Guard break the opponent freeze
-> 6A+B: BE iGuard Break the opponent still freeze
-> LI [B ] Guard break
-> LI K on hit : CE / on block : Blockstun
You pretty much devastated the guard meter of your opponent, it should be glowing red by now.
If Maxi is good for one thing in V, it's wreaking havoc in people's guard meter. You can Guard Burst almost every round.
Guard Burst :
22_88B, LI K, CE
Like I said = It really HURTS
If you don't have any meter left, after LI K you can 4B,B,K or 1B,RO A,K into a wall for a huge damaging wall combo.
That's really Maxi's main strength and the reason why people will fear and try to mash buttons or Just guard or waste meter in Guard Impact.
More fake moves, more delays, some real changes in some stances (LO I'm looking at you), 3B+K low into LI (mouahaha) and other character that'll not just hold 4 to kill Maxi and you got yourself the best Maxi ever made.
Hope you'll find this post interesting, and sorry if I made some mistake here and there, english is not my natural language. :)
I'd like to remind you that it's not the final product, and all that I said may be succeptible to change in the future !
What is written in my post is about Maxi in the DEMO/Beta version of SoulCalibur V.
