DrakeAldan
Follow the rules!
While studying combos today, something occurred to me.
Damage scaling effects all combos, which is why multi-hits from Viola don't end up doing too much.
That being said, if damage scaling is affecting Brave Edges and Critical Edge in combos, then we are losing something, right?
I compared the normal combos I had gathered with the Brave Edge combos, and then I looked at the Brave Edge and Critical Edge individually.
I found that for spending 50-100% meter, returns on investment were minimal at best.
Let's look at some combos.
3B, 236B vs 3B, 236B BE.
Normal combo does 56 damage.
BE combo does 65 damage.
You are paying 50% meter for 9 points of damage. That is unacceptable.
1B, 66A+B vs 1B, 1B BE, AA.
Normal combo does 67 damage.
BE combo does 74 damage.
You are paying 50% meter for 7 points of damage! Preposterous!
66B, 66B+K, 66A+B vs 66B, 66B+K, 236B BE.
Normal combo does 80 damage.
BE combo does 80 damage.
You are paying 50% meter for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON AT ALL!!!
You get my point. Now, Critical Edge, in 2-hit combos, does fare a little better, but, let's see:
wrA+B, 3KK, 66A+B vs wrA+B, CE.
Normal combo does 74 damage.
CE combo does 99 damage.
You are paying 100% meter for 25 points of damage. Not as bad as the previous combos, but, still pretty bad, as BB does 32 damage, and you can land BB, right?!
If we look at it like using 2 Brave Edges, you'd get 12.5 damage points each, which is closer to the ratios we saw in the combos above. Pretty pathetic, for what you're paying.
---
Now, using Brave Edge and Critical Edge outside of combos is a different story.
Let's look at all of the edge moves.
1B BE - This move just sucks. -12 on block, less damage than the 1B normal combo. Terrible, don't use this.
66A BE - Now this is what I'm talking about. Combo with 66A+B for 83 damage. You paid 50%, you get a step killer that is advantage on block and 83 damage if you hit. That's getting your money's worth!
236B BE - Combo with 2B+K for 64 damage. Now magically safe, to give you breathing room during your punishment attempts. Not too shabby!
CE - 13 frames, incredible as an interrupt or punish. You pay 100% meter for 90 damage, or about 45 damage for two potential Brave Edges. With the utility of the CE used correctly, that's not bad, though its use is situational, and in most cases it would be better to use 66A or 236B Brave Edges.
---
So what does this all mean?
Brave Edge and Critical Edge are best used naked. If you have your enemy launched, and he is near death (or in CE's case, at the edge of the ring), it would be wise to use a BE or CE (preferably 2-hit CE) combo to end the match instead of risking a desperate one-pixel comeback. However, if you have meter and both players are at full health, it is best to use normal combos only and save your meter for naked Brave Edge, naked Critical Edge, or Guard Impact.
Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps you with your matches in the future.
Damage scaling effects all combos, which is why multi-hits from Viola don't end up doing too much.
That being said, if damage scaling is affecting Brave Edges and Critical Edge in combos, then we are losing something, right?
I compared the normal combos I had gathered with the Brave Edge combos, and then I looked at the Brave Edge and Critical Edge individually.
I found that for spending 50-100% meter, returns on investment were minimal at best.
Let's look at some combos.
3B, 236B vs 3B, 236B BE.
Normal combo does 56 damage.
BE combo does 65 damage.
You are paying 50% meter for 9 points of damage. That is unacceptable.
1B, 66A+B vs 1B, 1B BE, AA.
Normal combo does 67 damage.
BE combo does 74 damage.
You are paying 50% meter for 7 points of damage! Preposterous!
66B, 66B+K, 66A+B vs 66B, 66B+K, 236B BE.
Normal combo does 80 damage.
BE combo does 80 damage.
You are paying 50% meter for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON AT ALL!!!
You get my point. Now, Critical Edge, in 2-hit combos, does fare a little better, but, let's see:
wrA+B, 3KK, 66A+B vs wrA+B, CE.
Normal combo does 74 damage.
CE combo does 99 damage.
You are paying 100% meter for 25 points of damage. Not as bad as the previous combos, but, still pretty bad, as BB does 32 damage, and you can land BB, right?!
If we look at it like using 2 Brave Edges, you'd get 12.5 damage points each, which is closer to the ratios we saw in the combos above. Pretty pathetic, for what you're paying.
---
Now, using Brave Edge and Critical Edge outside of combos is a different story.
Let's look at all of the edge moves.
1B BE - This move just sucks. -12 on block, less damage than the 1B normal combo. Terrible, don't use this.
66A BE - Now this is what I'm talking about. Combo with 66A+B for 83 damage. You paid 50%, you get a step killer that is advantage on block and 83 damage if you hit. That's getting your money's worth!
236B BE - Combo with 2B+K for 64 damage. Now magically safe, to give you breathing room during your punishment attempts. Not too shabby!
CE - 13 frames, incredible as an interrupt or punish. You pay 100% meter for 90 damage, or about 45 damage for two potential Brave Edges. With the utility of the CE used correctly, that's not bad, though its use is situational, and in most cases it would be better to use 66A or 236B Brave Edges.
---
So what does this all mean?
Brave Edge and Critical Edge are best used naked. If you have your enemy launched, and he is near death (or in CE's case, at the edge of the ring), it would be wise to use a BE or CE (preferably 2-hit CE) combo to end the match instead of risking a desperate one-pixel comeback. However, if you have meter and both players are at full health, it is best to use normal combos only and save your meter for naked Brave Edge, naked Critical Edge, or Guard Impact.
Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps you with your matches in the future.