SoulCalibur V Character Tips: Ezio Auditore

SoulCalibur V is the latest release in the popular fighting series.  It came out in early 2012.  The game can be bit difficult for newcomers since it is a 3D fighting game.  This means that along with moving forward and backward, you can move side to side, strafing your opponent, which allows for a lot of new strategies and things to consider.  For instance, vertical attacks can now be dodged by strafing.  This strafing is called the 8 way run.

So you want to play SoulCalibur V.  However, you don’t know how.  All you know how to do is mash buttons, which never ends up working out well against anyone who has even a basic knowledge of a character.  The following is going to teach you how to effectively play with Ezio Auditore, who is the latest special character in a SoulCalibur game.  He comes from the Assassin’s Creed games and plays much like he does in that series.

(Note:  The control schemes are going to assume that you are playing on the Xbox 360.  If you are playing on something else you will need to simply adjust the “X”, “Y”, “B”, or “A” button to match the controller you’re using.)

(Note: To denote directional stick movement, I’m going to use arrows, except for diagonal inputs, which I will use a slash for. /=down and back, \=down and forward.  Two arrows will mean to tap it twice or hold it (as in, running attacks). ? is away from the opponent, and ? is towards the opponent.)

First off, Ezio fights like an assassin in that he isn’t meant to simply attack, like a lot of the other characters.  He plays if you put a lot of time into perfecting counter hits.  Counter hits occur when you strike the opponent in the middle of one of their attacks.  Ezio has a lot of moves that initiate a secondary hit if you achieve a counter hit.  One great example of this is his \Y, which won’t do much damage, but if you get a counter hit, (which isn’t too hard due to its immense speed) it will add a second part where Ezio pushes the opponent to the ground for quite a bit of damage.  Other attacks that do this are ?? or ??Y, and ?Y, though there are many others.  ?Y is very useful because it causes Ezio to take a step back, allowing him to dodge close range attacks, before he strikes.

Other than counter hits, Ezio mostly relies on close range attacks.  His wake up Y,Y can do a lot of damage, and if you knock down the opponent, ?B? will do a lot of damage.  It’s all about finding the moves that work well for you in this range.  X+Y is a good move to use from mid range because it’s fast and sets up combos with moves like ?X+Y or ?B?.  However, many of Ezio’s moves are just average.  So find the ones you like the best and use those.  The main thing you’re going to be trying for are his counter hit attacks, because these will do the most damage as well as leave the opponent in a vulnerable position for follow up attacks.

From long range, Ezio also has options.  His crossbow and hidden pistol can do a lot of damage.  ?B+Y doesn’t do much damage but it’s a low attack from range, which the opponent won’t be expecting and it can knock opponents out of the ring, which is useful.  Of course, like other long range attacks, these attacks are vulnerable to strafing.  You will only want to use B+Y when an opponent is standing up.  This will make it much harder for them to dodge and they might panic and try to block it (it’s a fire move).  You will never want to use ?B+Y, instead use ?B+Y.  This crossbow shot does good damage, but at the same time Ezio spins to his left, allowing him not only to strafe incoming attacks, but also to follow strafing opponents.  This only works in one direction, but it presents a much higher chance of a hit than ?B+Y.

Ezio’s critical edge is very powerful if you can find a good time to get it off.  I would certainly recommend using it.  Other than that just remember to stay mobile and know how to block the enemy’s attacks when you can’t counter them.  That is Ezio’s specialty.  He has a fast walking speed, so use that to your advantage and hit the enemy with those counter hits or maybe even strafe around them for a back grab.  Find what works best for you and have fun.

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