Tips for Ram

[YellowFlashKid]

Ram mains, I need to know how the hell is this character is supposed to be played outside of using far and close slash. How do you keep some sort of pressure mid-screen? I know she is the second best unga bunga, but as of now she doesn't really suit my play style and I might consider dropping her.

I labbed some combos for her yesterday, but I can almost never apply them against a real player. Only thing that works is the close and far slash. Yes, I barely have any hrs on her, but everyone keeps saying she is probably the second easiest to learn, and yet.

[CRIX]

Keep labbing combos, while in a match focus more on maintaining a good neutral game, you want to control the distance with your slashes, anti air with 6P or jumping P or Jump S, and go to town with the pressure, if your opponent gets too comfortable blocking your slashes , quickly throw them, you want a good neutral game/offense to prevent your opponent from getting too crazy on you.

I main her, and I feel she is easy to learn because she doesn't have to get right up in your face like a lot of the other characters, you also don't have to do too many moves to do a decent amount of damage.

There are a lot of good resources on youtube about her as well, a 15-20 intro to Ram video may completely change the way you think about her if you are not having fun with her right now.

[Frog]

Most braindead character and you are having trouble with it? lol

[Shoepots]

Ram is definitely not an unga bunga character on the level of Sol or May or Leo. She's pretty much a zoner until you get them to the corner. You're playing her right if you keep doing f.S, HS and j.S until you push them to the corner and then throw the swords to start a mixup.

One of the people I play with mains her because he says it's easy to win with her, but also says she's pretty boring to play since she doesn't really have to ever change up her gameplay against any matchup except for maybe Axl since he zones at an even farther distance.

[0000]

Ram jump slash, far slash and heavy slash is nightmare. Abuse that stuff. Keep your distance, make opponent frustrated, they will use stupid stuff like night raid. Punish that.

I hate it.

Usually, they abuse that button to get some tension, keeping u busy, once they got meter, fS (hitconfirm), hS, RC, dash, cS, pause, fS, hS, sword toss, and sword toss 2, dash in, grab the sword then use that slashing special moves.

or if you cheeky u can grab the sword backdash and apply pressure again.

Also u can do that combo with side switch version if you are pressured in corner.
cS, fS, hS, RC, dash, side switch, cS, pause, fS, hS.


Put training mode dummy block: random, and counter: random.

She plays like 3rd strike chun li. Make enemy S U F F E R with your broken normals.
Poke poke poke, hit confirm, BANG! Half HP gone.

[PopetheRevXXVIII]

I have no idea how to use her either.
this might help
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQbOT5Sbzds

[Houseki Yarisuke]

I'm at floor 8. I generally have success with this gameplan, but I still have a lot to learn, so take this with whatever size grain of salt you feel is necessary.

* Footsies (no pun intended) is Ram's core advantage. I abuse her powerful and far reaching f.S poke like it's going out of style.

* I throw the swords if I can hit confirm into them at the corner. They will explode on the wall, dealing extra damage; even if my opponent blocks them, I can quickly dash in to pick them up and start laying on pressure. If I can't line up a hit confirm into corner (or a raw counter into corner) I don't throw the swords.

* If I do find myself without my swords and can't afford to wait for them or get them myself, 632146H will immediately retreive them. It's also good for draining the opponent's meter; they either drain the meter for FD or they eat the nasty chip damage. Avoid at close range.

* 236236S is easy to bait. Don't fall for it! Try not to rely on it as a wakeup unless your opponent is already trying to get meaty hits on you. If they aren't moving while you're on wakeup, then they're blocking because they're respecting your meter. Instead opt for the mixup: the humble throw, maybe even 214K if you wanna get cute. Condition your opponent to think you won't use a wakeup super. Then, when the time is right, use it.

* 5K and 2K are actually quicker and have further reach than c.S (5K has the same startup frame but fewer recovery frames) and 2K has a somewhat low hurtbox profile, but they can't combo into your damage dealing f.S or H. I use them as defensive pressure whenever a quicker opponent is trying hard to get close. Decide in the moment whether to use the safer K or the combo-starting c.S.

* 214K was a much better overhead in Xrd. In Strive it moves really far forward before coming down (easily putting you behind opponent with no crossup hit) and has large amount of startup frames. I only use it as an aerial wall break, sometimes for corner mixup, but even then it's easy to bait and punish. Be aware of its weaknesses.

* For ground wall breaks, I always use 236236S. If I don't have meter or for some reason want to save it, I use instead 214H.

* I love j.H so much. It's a great aerial-to-ground opener. It also has high blockstun and far downward reach, making it somewhat safe. Dustloop refers to it as "jump in of the gods" and I mostly agree.

* I avoid j.214S. I find a simple j.S works so much better as an aerial zoning move. I tend to whiff hard with j.214S.

* 214P rekka is a decent frame trap, but only if the opponent isn't expecting it. Easy to punish, so I use it sparingly, but I use it. If it's starting to look hairy and I feel a counter coming, I dash cancel outta there.

* Speaking of dash cancels, this isn't specific to Ram, but try to get used to using a dash button for dashing if you aren't already. There's nothing wrong with good ol' 66 for preference (I use it for dashing from a distance) but the sheer zoning power of a well-timed backdash is unrivaled. I like to run right up to my opponent, and then, right as I hit the tip of their range, immediately backdash. They whiff their move and, unless they're Faust, my range is bigger. Easy and high damage punish, made all the easier by a simple dash button.

* I try to condition my opponents to expect me to stop my block string after f.S instead of H, since it's technically the safer option on block. Once my opponent starts trying to punish f.S, then I hit them with the delayed H. If H ends up being a counter, it combos directly into 236H and a potential wall break combo. You might be surprised at how powerful the fear that you can put into your opponent with this is.

* Another great frame trap that leads to combo opportunities is c.S > 6H > 236H. Each hit frame traps into the next one. Again, I try to set this up against a wall, since I'll be throwing my sword. Also, due to its nature as a frame trap, obviously this string is super punishable if baited. Leads to massive damage potential.

* 2H is a risky anti-air, but if you can land a counter then it combos into pretty much anything. I find it reliable against Sol, Millia, Gio, I-No, and the rare swordless Ram; everybody else I tend to just get punished, trades at best.

* She has the worst sweep. Avoid 2D outright unless you're trying to send a message.

[YellowFlashKid]

Originally posted by Emerald Lance:

I'm at floor 8. I generally have success with this gameplan, but I still have a lot to learn, so take this with whatever size grain of salt you feel is necessary.

* Footsies (no pun intended) is Ram's core advantage. I abuse her powerful and far reaching f.S poke like it's going out of style.

* I throw the swords if I can hit confirm into them at the corner. They will explode on the wall, dealing extra damage; even if my opponent blocks them, I can quickly dash in to pick them up and start laying on pressure. If I can't line up a hit confirm into corner (or a raw counter into corner) I don't throw the swords.

* If I do find myself without my swords and can't afford to wait for them or get them myself, 632146H will immediately retreive them. It's also good for draining the opponent's meter; they either drain the meter for FD or they eat the nasty chip damage. Avoid at close range.

* 236236S is easy to bait. Don't fall for it! Try not to rely on it as a wakeup unless your opponent is already trying to get meaty hits on you. If they aren't moving while you're on wakeup, then they're blocking because they're respecting your meter. Instead opt for the mixup: the humble throw, maybe even 214K if you wanna get cute. Condition your opponent to think you won't use a wakeup super. Then, when the time is right, use it.

* 5K and 2K are actually quicker and have further reach than c.S (5K has the same startup frame but fewer recovery frames) and 2K has a somewhat low hurtbox profile, but they can't combo into your damage dealing f.S or H. I use them as defensive pressure whenever a quicker opponent is trying hard to get close. Decide in the moment whether to use the safer K or the combo-starting c.S.

* 214K was a much better overhead in Xrd. In Strive it moves really far forward before coming down (easily putting you behind opponent with no crossup hit) and has large amount of startup frames. I only use it as an aerial wall break, sometimes for corner mixup, but even then it's easy to bait and punish. Be aware of its weaknesses.

* For ground wall breaks, I always use 236236S. If I don't have meter or for some reason want to save it, I use instead 214H.

* I love j.H so much. It's a great aerial-to-ground opener. It also has high blockstun and far downward reach, making it somewhat safe. Dustloop refers to it as "jump in of the gods" and I mostly agree.

* I avoid j.214S. I find a simple j.S works so much better as an aerial zoning move. I tend to whiff hard with j.214S.

* 214P rekka is a decent frame trap, but only if the opponent isn't expecting it. Easy to punish, so I use it sparingly, but I use it. If it's starting to look hairy and I feel a counter coming, I dash cancel outta there.

* Speaking of dash cancels, this isn't specific to Ram, but try to get used to using a dash button for dashing if you aren't already. There's nothing wrong with good ol' 66 for preference (I use it for dashing from a distance) but the sheer zoning power of a well-timed backdash is unrivaled. I like to run right up to my opponent, and then, right as I hit the tip of their range, immediately backdash. They whiff their move and, unless they're Faust, my range is bigger. Easy and high damage punish, made all the easier by a simple dash button.

* I try to condition my opponents to expect me to stop my block string after f.S instead of H, since it's technically the safer option on block. Once my opponent starts trying to punish f.S, then I hit them with the delayed H. You might be surprised at how powerful the fear that you can put into your opponent with this is.

* Another great frame trap that leads to combo opportunities is c.S > 6H > 236P. Each hit frame traps into the next one. Again, I try to set this up against a wall, since I'll be throwing my sword. Also, due to its nature as a frame trap, obviously this string is super punishable if baited. Leads to massive damage potential.

* 2H is a risky anti-air, but if you can land a counter then it combos into a few things. I find it reliable against Sol, Millia, Gio, I-No, and the rare swordless Ram; everybody else I tend to just get punished, trades at best.

* She has the worst sweep. Avoid 2D outright unless you're trying to send a message.

Wow, thanks for all the tips. I'll have to lab her more and hope to be better. My current main is kinda getting stale so I thought I might switch up things.

[Houseki Yarisuke]

Yeah, I feel ya. I'm giving Nago some sideways glances. His blood chores looks interesting.

Ram is unga, but a different type of unga. Defensive unga, reactive unga. If you can be patient and react to your opponents' play, you'll do well with this character I think.

Anyway, good luck!

[YellowFlashKid]

Originally posted by Reighnvhasta:

Ram is definitely not an unga bunga character on the level of Sol or May or Leo. She's pretty much a zoner until you get them to the corner. You're playing her right if you keep doing f.S, HS and j.S until you push them to the corner and then throw the swords to start a mixup.

One of the people I play with mains her because he says it's easy to win with her, but also says she's pretty boring to play since she doesn't really have to ever change up her gameplay against any matchup except for maybe Axl since he zones at an even farther distance.

This seems really boring if all I'm doing is f.S, HS and j.S until they get pushed into the corner... to the point where you are all too predictable. This is why I wondered if there was something else I could to except that to put pressure while mid-screen.

[Toby Bentobox]

Originally posted by Emerald Lance:

I'm at floor 8. I generally have success with this gameplan, but I still have a lot to learn, so take this with whatever size grain of salt you feel is necessary.

* Footsies (no pun intended) is Ram's core advantage. I abuse her powerful and far reaching f.S poke like it's going out of style.

* I throw the swords if I can hit confirm into them at the corner. They will explode on the wall, dealing extra damage; even if my opponent blocks them, I can quickly dash in to pick them up and start laying on pressure. If I can't line up a hit confirm into corner (or a raw counter into corner) I don't throw the swords.

* If I do find myself without my swords and can't afford to wait for them or get them myself, 632146H will immediately retreive them. It's also good for draining the opponent's meter; they either drain the meter for FD or they eat the nasty chip damage. Avoid at close range.

* 236236S is easy to bait. Don't fall for it! Try not to rely on it as a wakeup unless your opponent is already trying to get meaty hits on you. If they aren't moving while you're on wakeup, then they're blocking because they're respecting your meter. Instead opt for the mixup: the humble throw, maybe even 214K if you wanna get cute. Condition your opponent to think you won't use a wakeup super. Then, when the time is right, use it.

* 5K and 2K are actually quicker and have further reach than c.S (5K has the same startup frame but fewer recovery frames) and 2K has a somewhat low hurtbox profile, but they can't combo into your damage dealing f.S or H. I use them as defensive pressure whenever a quicker opponent is trying hard to get close. Decide in the moment whether to use the safer K or the combo-starting c.S.

* 214K was a much better overhead in Xrd. In Strive it moves really far forward before coming down (easily putting you behind opponent with no crossup hit) and has large amount of startup frames. I only use it as an aerial wall break, sometimes for corner mixup, but even then it's easy to bait and punish. Be aware of its weaknesses.

* For ground wall breaks, I always use 236236S. If I don't have meter or for some reason want to save it, I use instead 214H.

* I love j.H so much. It's a great aerial-to-ground opener. It also has high blockstun and far downward reach, making it somewhat safe. Dustloop refers to it as "jump in of the gods" and I mostly agree.

* I avoid j.214S. I find a simple j.S works so much better as an aerial zoning move. I tend to whiff hard with j.214S.

* 214P rekka is a decent frame trap, but only if the opponent isn't expecting it. Easy to punish, so I use it sparingly, but I use it. If it's starting to look hairy and I feel a counter coming, I dash cancel outta there.

* Speaking of dash cancels, this isn't specific to Ram, but try to get used to using a dash button for dashing if you aren't already. There's nothing wrong with good ol' 66 for preference (I use it for dashing from a distance) but the sheer zoning power of a well-timed backdash is unrivaled. I like to run right up to my opponent, and then, right as I hit the tip of their range, immediately backdash. They whiff their move and, unless they're Faust, my range is bigger. Easy and high damage punish, made all the easier by a simple dash button.

* I try to condition my opponents to expect me to stop my block string after f.S instead of H, since it's technically the safer option on block. Once my opponent starts trying to punish f.S, then I hit them with the delayed H. You might be surprised at how powerful the fear that you can put into your opponent with this is.

* Another great frame trap that leads to combo opportunities is c.S > 6H > 236P. Each hit frame traps into the next one. Again, I try to set this up against a wall, since I'll be throwing my sword. Also, due to its nature as a frame trap, obviously this string is super punishable if baited. Leads to massive damage potential.

* 2H is a risky anti-air, but if you can land a counter then it combos into a few things. I find it reliable against Sol, Millia, Gio, I-No, and the rare swordless Ram; everybody else I tend to just get punished, trades at best.

* She has the worst sweep. Avoid 2D outright unless you're trying to send a message.

Great tips overall there! I agree on everything aside from the last point. Ram definitely has the worst sweep but it has utility in combos.

c.S is a good combo starter if you want the damage, and then if you're wanting a Dauro juggle then obviously a 2H follows but if you're trying to get in to a defensive player then 5K is your best bet. That's where you can use 2D to serve as a replacement followup to get the Dauro juggle route as 2H wouldn't work in that situation barring RC options.

So to recap using examples of Dauro combo routes.

For meaties and offensive pressure:
(dash) c.S > 2H > 623P > c.S > 6H > 236H > 236S (You can even set up Erarlumo 214P Hijinks after the second c.S if you're not close enough to the other side of the screen to use Bajoneto effectively)

For defensive players, and to use against tighter strings
5K > 2D> 623P > 5K > 6H > 236H > 236S (You can still use the Erarlumo route after 5K but the opponent height means you don't get as many options with RC cancels after second hit of 214, like using a dash RC to do a sideswitch)

Edit: Forgot to mention you do need a little lateral movement with the c.S in the first example for the 2nd c.S to connect which if you're getting in you'll likely be doing anyway. Just as a heads up in case you were trying to do that from neutral position in training :P

[Master Wots]

shove the guy in the corner do the sword projectiles, throw hs first and then the slash version after the former explodes, then dash up and do cl.s forward hs, and then cancel into the projectiles again.

[YellowFlashKid]

Originally posted by Zeus:

Originally posted by Frog:

Most braindead character and you are having trouble with it? lol

ram is the most braindead character of the cast? interesting

I would suggest ignoring him. I asked for some tips as I recently picked Ram and having a completely different playstyle than the one she offers made it a bit difficult for me to understand her. He offered no advice or anything useful whatsoever, and it shows that he is more willing to ♥♥♥♥ on people instead of help them, especially newer players.

[Athetos]

Your name seems familiar, so just in case you are the ram player that I played against earlier, GGs.

I'm not a ram player so there are certainly someone on here who can give you a better rundown of the character herself, but I noticed that the better ram players that I see tend to use the wide Arc of her attacks to let their opponent make a mistake.

She has some fantastic pressure, but I find her to be the most devastating when she is patient and fishes for a counterhit.

[DragonPunched]

People need guides for this character? Why though.

[Ethrnh]

Press "S". Done.