Suirad
[10] Knight
With SCIV's life wrapping up, I thought it might be useful to have a thread consolidating info in this Soul Arena, so that future players who happen to be interested can find the info they are looking for in the absence of recent expertise and recollection. If anyone has any suggestions on the thread, please post them in the general discussion section. So...
What does Sophie play like?
Sophie does oodles of damage, has powerful reversal options, a terrific set of pokes and is arguably the best block-punisher in the game. She suffers from lousy wake-up(against downed opponent), a rather short throw range and lows that are not particularly impressive. Her soul gauge game is decent and her step is OK.
Sophie on Offense
Though never really my specialty, it is clear that Sophie's offensive game is nothing to sneeze at. Considering the excellent combination of damage /range / safety / speed / other beneficial properties of Sophie's Mids, a straight slug fest between Sophie and almost any other character is in her favor. On the other hand her mediocre lows make standing guard quite effective against her aggression at most ranges. From what I've seen, successful offense for Sophie typically involves 1)Convincing opponent they want to block by using power mids(like TAS B) and/or fast pokes with good range(i.e. BB) when at + and evasive moves(AS AA, TAS AA, A+B, GI) when at neutral or negative 2)Getting close enough to perform a throw/mid mix-up. Sophie's throw range may be weak, however her throws themselves are anything but. For a good example of how offense with Sophie should look, watch a video of either Ramon or Belial playing her.
Sophie on Defense
The guard button is a Sophie player's friend, since Sophie can stab(AS B) the heck out of most the cast on block. A solid portion of learning her defensive game is just knowing what you shouldn't let the opponent get away with on block. Otherwise, what is worthy of note is that Sophie's best defense is largely about attacking. Sophie can poke the area around her with relative impunity considering how fast/safe hers are. B_BB, 3A, 4B+K are all great for keeping opponent out of your grill.The good recovery rate on BB, 4B+K, WR K and others allows her to step to the side or backwards after the moves are blocked to keep opponent out of throw/low range and bait whiffs. For an example of what you want Sophie's defense to look like, watch a video of daGOTTh. If you want ideas about how to stifle offense by attacking the area around Sophie, watch a video of yours truly.
Spacing with Sophie
While there will be match-up considerations involved here, generally speaking Sophie wants to be breathing down opponent's neck when attacking and at mid-range(just outside range of BB) when defending. To close distance with the opponent Sophie can leverage her mighty 4B which, even when blocked, forces the opponent to make decisions about whether to attack or not and moves Sophie some two character lengths forward in the process. Her forward run speed and Angel Step stance are also OK in case you can get opponent to turtle up, although you won't be compelled to write home about them. When trying to maintain distance Sophie's main tools are push-back off of the majority of her moves, movement and the threat of TAS B X2 at mid-range.
Quick Reference Links
Frame Data: Wiki Format: http://www.8wayrun.com/wiki/sophitia-frame-data-sc4/
Thread Format: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-frame-data.305/page-2#post-34544
Combos: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophies-juggles-combos-なになに.123/
Tech Traps: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophies-tech-traps.94/
Moves which can ring out: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophies-ring-out-moves.446/
An introductory guide to Sophie's moves and how to use them: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-attack-use-guide.2206/
Wall Combos: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-wall-combos.5398/
A list of Strings which can be interrupted with A+B aGI: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/safety-check-punishment-guide.95/#post-16485
And a discussion on what A+B is like in the grand scheme of things: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/el-fortune-guard-impact.6849/
An important discussion on the difference between the 2B string and FC 1B string: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/2b-8b-a-k-versus-fc-1b-8b-a-k.3133/
An unscientific description of the different ranges of Sophie's moves: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-range-tiers.4674/
Some Mids TAS will STC: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-tas-fc-as-tech-crouch-super.1637/
What does Sophie play like?
Sophie does oodles of damage, has powerful reversal options, a terrific set of pokes and is arguably the best block-punisher in the game. She suffers from lousy wake-up(against downed opponent), a rather short throw range and lows that are not particularly impressive. Her soul gauge game is decent and her step is OK.
Sophie on Offense
Though never really my specialty, it is clear that Sophie's offensive game is nothing to sneeze at. Considering the excellent combination of damage /range / safety / speed / other beneficial properties of Sophie's Mids, a straight slug fest between Sophie and almost any other character is in her favor. On the other hand her mediocre lows make standing guard quite effective against her aggression at most ranges. From what I've seen, successful offense for Sophie typically involves 1)Convincing opponent they want to block by using power mids(like TAS B) and/or fast pokes with good range(i.e. BB) when at + and evasive moves(AS AA, TAS AA, A+B, GI) when at neutral or negative 2)Getting close enough to perform a throw/mid mix-up. Sophie's throw range may be weak, however her throws themselves are anything but. For a good example of how offense with Sophie should look, watch a video of either Ramon or Belial playing her.
Sophie on Defense
The guard button is a Sophie player's friend, since Sophie can stab(AS B) the heck out of most the cast on block. A solid portion of learning her defensive game is just knowing what you shouldn't let the opponent get away with on block. Otherwise, what is worthy of note is that Sophie's best defense is largely about attacking. Sophie can poke the area around her with relative impunity considering how fast/safe hers are. B_BB, 3A, 4B+K are all great for keeping opponent out of your grill.The good recovery rate on BB, 4B+K, WR K and others allows her to step to the side or backwards after the moves are blocked to keep opponent out of throw/low range and bait whiffs. For an example of what you want Sophie's defense to look like, watch a video of daGOTTh. If you want ideas about how to stifle offense by attacking the area around Sophie, watch a video of yours truly.
Spacing with Sophie
While there will be match-up considerations involved here, generally speaking Sophie wants to be breathing down opponent's neck when attacking and at mid-range(just outside range of BB) when defending. To close distance with the opponent Sophie can leverage her mighty 4B which, even when blocked, forces the opponent to make decisions about whether to attack or not and moves Sophie some two character lengths forward in the process. Her forward run speed and Angel Step stance are also OK in case you can get opponent to turtle up, although you won't be compelled to write home about them. When trying to maintain distance Sophie's main tools are push-back off of the majority of her moves, movement and the threat of TAS B X2 at mid-range.
Quick Reference Links
Frame Data: Wiki Format: http://www.8wayrun.com/wiki/sophitia-frame-data-sc4/
Thread Format: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-frame-data.305/page-2#post-34544
Combos: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophies-juggles-combos-なになに.123/
Tech Traps: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophies-tech-traps.94/
Moves which can ring out: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophies-ring-out-moves.446/
An introductory guide to Sophie's moves and how to use them: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-attack-use-guide.2206/
Wall Combos: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-wall-combos.5398/
A list of Strings which can be interrupted with A+B aGI: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/safety-check-punishment-guide.95/#post-16485
And a discussion on what A+B is like in the grand scheme of things: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/el-fortune-guard-impact.6849/
An important discussion on the difference between the 2B string and FC 1B string: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/2b-8b-a-k-versus-fc-1b-8b-a-k.3133/
An unscientific description of the different ranges of Sophie's moves: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-range-tiers.4674/
Some Mids TAS will STC: http://www.8wayrun.com/threads/sophitia-tas-fc-as-tech-crouch-super.1637/