What do you use in general? There's no generally "best" attacks to work with, everything you do is something of a gamble because every attack has downsides(moreso if you're becoming predictable). How about we say you're right in your foe's face and at neutral, neither of you attacking just yet. You've got to immediatey decide which option to go with.
AA: Very fast, first hit can be canceled into G, and catches them if they try to sidestep. On the downsides, it's relatively weak, can be crouched, can be counter with some aGI moves(e.g. Xiba's B+K), and the second hit can be JG'd if the foe is someone that loves using JG and blocked the first hit.
BB: Very fast, first hit can be canceled into G and hits crouching foes. On the downsides, it can be stepped, is vulnerable to more aGI moves(Patroklos A+B for example), and the same minor JG issue applies when the first hit is blocked.
K: Very similar to AA, can be canceled with G, very very few aGI moves will repel kicks(Zwei 6 A+B), and on the downside it's less damage compared to AA or BB and can be both crouched or sidestepped.
2A: Roughly half the damage of AA, but has most of the other benefits plus entering the full crouch state if you hold 2. Usually the range isn't as good as AA, the damage certainly isn't, depending on your character it may be a special low that can be blocked high, and during most 2A attacks you're vulnerable to throws.
2B: Single hit, crouching B basically. The same downsides as BB apply, but it's vastly more difficult to JG.
2K: Low-hitting K, more or less. One additional upside is that very few aGI attacks will repel it.
3B: Creates the opportunity for the most damage, but is one of your riskiest options with a longer animation before hit and a sizable delay before you can do anything if it's blocked. In general, if your 3B is blocked your enemy gets a free 3B you can't do anything about.
A+G/B+G: If they're standing there blocking, just throw 'em flat on their ass to show them being defensive is a bad idea! On the downsides, throws are slower than most of your options and can be broken for minimum damage dealt. But then, throws also mean 40-60 damage if they guess wrong(the first button you try to break a throw with determines its success or lack thereof) and depending on your character may allow for tech traps, ring outs, or more.
G: Usually not doing damage is a bad thing, but if you block your foe's attacks the rule of thumb if that you'll be in a better position to get in guaranteed damage due to the majority of attacks putting their user at negative when they're blocked. On the downsides, you're not hurting your foe(very very important), you're inviting a throw by blocking at close range, your standing guard won't work against 2K or other lows, and crouching guard is vulnerable to mids like 3B.
So even with all these options(plus even more character-specific options) at your disposal, there is no sort of ideal action to take. Now consider that your foe is in exactly the same situation. This isn't to say things are purely a guessing game, but guesses and mindgames are a *BIG* part of basic strategy for every situation. Some situations may even appear to have an ideal attack to perform(like Cervantes' BT B+K is the general go-to move when his back is to his foe), but if it's not performed inside a combo there's always a way that the foe can deal with it.
Bread and butter moves? Depends on the characters, but for the most part they're listed in the various SAs(they still have downsides of course lol). Click the icon with a character's image at the top of the main forum index to go straight to the individual subforum.
How combos are defined in Soulcalibur is any string of attacks that cannot be escaped or interrupted unless the person performing it messes up their input. So no, there are no combos you can escape.
Ukemi is another thing that's situational and will vary with your foe and their habits as well as yours. Take Natsu and Nightmare for examples. Against Natsu, it's often wiser to lay on the ground for a moment and roll backwards to avoid her bomb ~ bodyslam combos. But then if you start staying down out of habit, she has other pesky attacks she can use including a relaunch that'll pick you up off the ground. Against Nightmare it's generally better to get up off the ground immediately, but there are tech traps where if he knocks you down with certain attacks and you get up the wrong way he can knock you right back down. If you're close, he may just start grabbing you as soon as you stand up even. The basic idea is you're supposed to be playing mindgames at all times, even when you're knocked down.
The AI is pretty different compared to human players. In short, it has perfect execution, flawless efficiency, and generally can't succumb to mindgames but on the downside it's going to whore out frames to the point where JG will be easier against it than actual human players(whoring out fast attacks isn't very good against someone that is practicing JG regularly either). It will pick up your habits quickly in Legendary Souls, it will whore out frame advantage and throws like nothing else, and it will break damn near every throw you attempt. Yeah...the AI just isn't as fun. Get to online or playing with friends offline ASAP, mister!
