Emilie de Rochefort 2.0 - S2 Basic Guide to Lili

A basic-to-intermediate guide to Lili's safe moves, strengths and weaknesses in Season 2 to get you started with the character.

Introduction

This is a very basic guide written based on a genuine love for the character after 1200 hours spent with her, from a new player's perspective never before entered the competitive online and offline scene.

This guide will focus on:

• Punishment
  
• Launchers
  
• Safe moves
  
• Homing moves
  
• Tracking Moves (not Homing)
  
• Where to go from here

Who is Lili and what can you do with her
Lili is a predominantly defensive character who relies on opponent's lack of patience to succeed in the smallest amount of time. Her basic gameplan is straightforward: you want them to press buttons, you want them to whiff, and you want to punish them for it. Once this is done, you want to use one of her six million built-in combo starters, middle, and enders based on specific location and situation you find yourself in, to carry them to the wall and put them in a blender. Then take a sip. Very important.
As a result, her tools focus 99% on punishment and long range attacks. She has arguably the best punishment in the game and top tier range to do the job (even more so in S2). Add to this her powerful sidestepping.

By contrast, her own moves are extremely unsafe and slow, garbage sweeps, unsafe df2, no magic 4, unsafe wallbounce (theoretically safe on paper) and a very weak CH game.

Punishment

i10

• 1 +8 on hit, +1 on block Notes: More range than 2, not ideal to extend combos though
  
• 2 +8 on hit, +0 on block Notes: Very small range, connects better than 1 for extending combos
  
• 1,2 +8 on hit, -1 on block
  
• 2,4 KND on hit, -2 on block wallsplats. Notes: Weirdly small hitbox, whiffs a lot and must be used only in specific situations. It's the equivalent of Jin's own 2,4 but unlike Jin you cant just throw it out, you need to know the specific move you want to punish first otherwise you'll be eating big damage. It relies on matchup knowledge.

i11

• WS+4 KND on hit, -8 on block

i12

• 1+2 KND on hit, -12 on block wallsplats
  
• f2,3 KND on hit, -15 on block wallsplats. Notes: Amazing range, it's the long awaited solution to most of Lili's punishment problems at long to mid distance. 32 dmg, High,Mid, launch punishable.

i13

• f2,3 KND on hit, -15 on block

i14

• FCdf+1, KND on hit, -9 on block

i15

• uf+3 Launch on hit, -13 on block

i16

• ws+2 Launch on hit, -11 on block

i17

• d3+4 Launch on hit, -21 on block Notes: Lili's infamous Matterhorn. High crushes, evades a lot of moves, but it's truly risky.

i20

• df+3 +8 on hit, +3 on block Notes: Counterhit launcher. Very slow but used well on a read can give you an edge. Forces crouch on normal hit, leads to interesting damage output.

i24

• df3+4 KND on hit, -4 on block (far), +1 on block (tip range) Notes: Lili's signature carthwheel move. Clips through everything at mid range, can be stepped to the left. Ideal combo starter against people that abuse the wakeup low kick.

Launchers

d/b+4
Low, Homing. 31 frames, -24 on block. This launcher is most likely the slowest sweep in the game.
Absolutely useless at high level, the first few frames of its animation can be hidden with b+1-f cancel, d/b+4 for a bit of a surprise.


ff+2
Launching Power Crush. 18 frames, -17 on block. Causes CS for a full combo. Amazing tool from up close when you want to get someone off of you. Startup may be a concern, it requires a good read.


d/f+2
Your average d/f+2 launcher. 16 frames, -11 on block. Use at range 1, dont underestimate Lili's reach as she advances slightly while performing the move. It is a very good combo starter as you will be allowed two before any extension so the damage output is always 2-4 points greater than hopkick based combos. Useful against people that rush towards you.


ws+2
18 frames, -12 on block. The best usage of this launcher is d,D,df+2 which has the same animation as qcf. Lili can cover a quarter of the stage and launch anything and everything with good evasive properties. Requires presence of mind.

df+3
Counterhit Launcher. 20 frames, +3 on block, +8 on normal hit. Can follow up with the same combos found in ff+2. As for most of her moves, startup may be a concern. df+3 into another df+3 is a good way to keep the pressure on but dont abuse it; despite it being massively plus on block, it is still steppable. Do pay attention as the window of opportunity for a launch is narrow, you want to be quick on the response and for that you need to put some thought into what you're doing.

db+3+4
Counterhit Launcher, 24 frames, -17 on block. Very good against unsuspecting opponents and people that underestimate your range. Can reach very far, but in S2 it's very easy to get punished on block.

FCdf+3
Counterhit Launcher. 23 frames, -18 on block. In S2 this is now part of the true mixup covered by your qcf options. Not an ideal way to start a combo.

df+3+4
Lili's infamous cartwheel. 24 frames, -4 on block, +1 at tip range, still punishable by jabs or even launchable by hopkicks depending on your distance and your following actions. Best course of action on whiff or on block at range 1 is to d\b your way out of it. Dont abuse it, and do NOT, under any circumstances, use at range 0 unless your opponent is absolutely oblivious to its properties. Even then you risk getting floated. It is, all in all, one of the best whiff punishers available because of its incredible range.

Safe moves

1, 1,2, 2,4, d+3

Standard pokes. d+3 is -12 on block but its range is quite good and tracks well to Lili's left.

1,2,4

-9 on block, safe string that ends in KND if successful. There's a gap between 1,2 and 4 though, where i10 can float you so you better not abuse it. Mix it up with 1,2,3 (-13 on block) which grants a nice KND face down on Counterhit.

3,2

-5 on block, can extend in two ways: 3,2,3 (still safe but ends in a High) for a KND, or -f to enter Dew Glide, new feature in S2. 3,2-f can get you into all the mixup opportunities of Dew Glide, remember that Dew Glide 4 cannot trade with jabs anymore (nerf in S2) do not use against moves that are faster than 13 frames.

d2,2,3

-3 on block, used primarily as a combo extender, can be mixed up with d2,2,4 (massively unsafe).
Usage limited to intermediates at the wall.

f+3
-6 on block, Homing move that gives a nice KND on hit and Screw! on counterhit (only airborne opponents). Quite slow as it is 22 frames and the hitbox is so small you'll need to be next to the opponent's face in order for it to hit properly.

FCd/f+1
-9 on block in S2, this move can be used to punish i14 moves and cause a surprise for opponents that rely on you going into ws1,2 as primary choice. While its use is situational, it can be a very useful trump card at the right time.

qcf+2
Homing, safe-ish move. Its -9 on block at tip range and -10 at close range, but it's so fast that its rarely punished, even more so because it can be followed by 1 to complete the string qcf+2,1 which gives a powerful KND on counterhit (face down feet away) and is +5 on hit.

qcf+3, 4
Quite useful as many oppoents will try to punish the first hit, its +4 on block and causes KND both on hit and counterhit.

qcf+3+4
Lili's main pressuring tool, not to be abused as it is High and therefore duckable. In S2 it is finally a true Homing move so people cant step it. Amazing +6 on block, can lead you to any mixup your heart desires. Do have something in mind before you throw it out tho.

qcf+4
-8 on block, another good pressuring tool if used at the right time as it is very fast and can lead to interesting trades and KNDs. While you can also throw it out of the transitions b1-f and 32-f it is not advised as both have been nerfed in S2; coming 2 frames slower, they'll trade with 13 frames moves.

Homing Moves

f,F+1+2 (Hold at different delays)
Lili spins on herself, can have three phases depending on how much you hold F: first and second phase gradually scale the damage up, third phase is unblockable with KND on hit. All of them are Homing. First phase -9 on block, second phase +5 on block.

f+3
-6 on block, gives a nice KND on hit and Screw! on counterhit (only airborne opponents).

qcf+2,1
-11 on block. First hit is -9 on block at tip range, second hit can be delayed quite a bit for confirmation. It gives a powerful KND on counterhit (face down feet away) and is +5 on hit.

db+3
In S2 the damage has been scaled up by 5 points and it is finally a true Homing move. Powerful CH launcher, sadly very easy to detect due to its slowness. Duckable.

qcf+3+4
Previously mentioned. Primary pressuring tool, dont abuse it but keep it in the back of your mind at all times.

db+4
Previously mentioned. Extremely negative on block, dont use it.

Tracking Moves (not Homing)

You need to keep in mind Lili's linearity at all times. It is crucial for her survival. Thus, you want to have a better understanding of which moves track and where.
This is just a brief summary. It can help you while choosing the basic approach to your current opponent.

3, FCdf+3, d3 and u2 track to her left, generic d4 tracks left after b1~f on block
df+4, FCdf+1, generic d4, d1, BT+2, ws+1 track to her right
generic FCd+3, and BT d3+4 track both ways. You can make any BT move track better, both ways, by ducking first to realign (which may also get them to duck).
3,1 has a very good reach, tracks to the right but it's quite negative on block.

Where to go from here

I have just touched the surface of what Lili can and cant do, but this should give you a quick start into her world, and let you understand a bit better what are her strengths and weaknesses.
I'm sure you want to dip your toes into some combos next, and try out slightly more advanced topics such as Sidestepping moves.

For Combos, I cannot point you to anything more complete and awesome than FacksMasheen's very own S2 Combo Guide[docs.google.com], truly a masterpiece of a spreadsheet. It contains everything you will ever want to know about Lili's many spins.
If you want to go even further, and meet up with the community and the bulk of Lili's ancillaries, feel free to come to our official Discord Lili Rochefort's Estate[discord.gg], where in-depth guides and tech await you.

[BountyGamer™(私は最高だ)]

make more lili guides for opponents tht are side stepping all the tym.....

[🆁🅴🅶🅴🅽🆃]

Best Punisher? She's up there, but she's not top 5 material.
And in the right hands, she has very good CH game.

[yamiyamiyami]

God Bless you my dude

[bowlingB]

You better write about amazing dew glide next time to call this a guide.