How to Make Shark Fin Soup ~~ Recipes for a Culinary Suigetsu

O hi, welcome to the cooking channel. Today we’ll be learning how to make Suigetsu’s delectable Shark Fin soup with your host, Mako Shark! In this episode, I will talk about the first character I ever really dedicated myself to learning. Suigetsu may seem a little unorthodox at first, but he has a lot of redeeming qualities. He has been my main character ever since I bought this game and I’ve always had a sort of bond with him. Today’s popular recipe format comes from the ever inspirational cinik and HAR MUH SEE! I do hope you enjoy today’s show and so without further ado, let’s get cooking! (Please refer to the Cook Book for basic UNS2 terminology)

-- Notice from the Author: This is an in-depth character/strategy guide for Hozuki Suigetsu. If you’re looking for a lighter read that covers his basic strengths, weaknesses and provides a general overview, I recommend Lethal’s Suigetsu guide here. But in case you are searching for a thorough analysis of Suigetsu’s abilities and functionality as a character, then I hope you enjoy the effort I put into writing this. --


A Strategy Guide and Analysis of Hozuki Suigetsu



A) Appetizer: Props and Slops – Overview of Suigetsu
B) Entrée: Attacks – Suigetsu’s U1, U2, grab, and tilt in detail
C) Main Course: Awakening – Have you been working out?
D) Dessert: Supports – What kind of Sous-Chefs should I choose?
E) Homemade Recipes: Personal Strategies
F) Final Thoughts


A) Props and Slops

Props:
- Relatively short combos (less hits = less chances to KnJ)
- Combos are noticeably difficult to KnJ (for whatever reason)
- Attacks do significant damage per hit, have great guard pressure, and all combo strings (except for ^ string) cause SB
- Ending lag after attacks can be cancelled at almost any point in the combo with c.kunai
- Air combo is short & sweet plus the subsequent ending lag can be cancelled with c.kunai
- U1 causes SB
- Grab is fast, moves forward, and causes SB
- Tilt can be cancelled and causes SB
- Can c.dash to ougi (U2)
- Great items (^ chakra recovery, > 2 paper bombs, \/ 2 attack boost, < 2 speed down tags)

Slops:
- Combos are slow and have horrible ending lag
- None of his combo strings have cinemas*
- U1 has awful startup, disgusting ending lag, and tracking is almost completely inept
- Missed U2s (or any other attack for that matter) set Suigetsu up for severe punishment
- Tilt has terrible ending lag

*do not be fooled by the special camera angles that activate during the final hit of Suigetsu’s combo strings! They are not true cinemas in the sense that they will not interrupt support activation and Suigetsu is NOT immune to damage or interference from supports.


B) Attacks

U1 ~ Suigetsu’s U1 is the unmistakable Water Dragon Jutsu made famous by the Demon of the Mist himself, Zabuza. The name says it all here folks; Suigetsu uses his chakra to manipulate water into a fearsome projectile that resembles a dragon. Unfortunately, this move has both long startup and cooldown which makes it extremely impractical to use in a serious fight. And just in case that wasn’t enough to satisfy you, its tracking is just downright shameful. Your opponent will essentially have to sit perfectly still for this attack to connect.

- In my personal experience, the only effective time to use this is right after a KnJ. It generally works best after a KnJ out of combos, tilts, or U1s that leave the opponent wide open, but even then there is still a certain level of risk involved when you factor in the startup and cooldown times. So why would you ever want to use this attack, you ask? Well Suigetsu’s U1 will trump non-projectile U1s such as Rasengan and Soul Hunt, and cancel out other projectile U1s like the Fireball Jutsu (although I don’t recommend trying to punish Rasengan spammers or c.dashers as the water dragon will almost always miss due to its terrible accuracy).

- In addition, the Water Dragon Jutsu will also cause SB (if you are fortunate enough to hit with it). The only problem is that the ending lag will prevent you from following up with anything other than a support. The only scenario where this does not apply is when you use his U1 from a long distance to where the cooldown already begins before the dragon hits the opponent. From there it is possible to follow up with a U3 after SB, given the god speed of U3s and that the opponent isn’t so far away to where you won’t reach them in time. However, this tactic is totally undependable since it relies so heavily on proper spacing and timing (and the wager that you can catch your opponent off guard with it from long range).

- At the end of the day, I feel like the Water Dragon Jutsu is just all around ineffective. It gains potential from its ability to cause SB, but its abominable startup, cooldown, and tracking capability turn it into the worst tool at Suigetsu’s disposal.


U2 ~ Suigetsu’s U2 is one of my personal favorites. It’s titled “Torrent: Water Transformation Jutsu” and it showcases Suigetsu’s unique ability to turn his body into water. This attack involves Suigetsu trampling his opponent in a wave of perpetual motion, converging into a sphere of water behind them, and launching himself toward his opponent with a devastating swing of his sword (and a priceless smile on his face too!). So let’s look at the strengths and drawbacks of this U2 in depth.

- First of all, it has quick startup and is fast enough to let Suigetsu c.dash to ougi with relative ease. I personally do not use this tactic because it is a talentless way to guarantee damage in my opinion. There is about 1 second of cooldown if the attack misses which some people won’t punish because they are too afraid to approach the torrent and accidentally get caught up in it. Experienced players, however, will most likely drop a U# on your back and you are by no means safe from supports either.

- During the actual attack though, Suigetsu is invulnerable to melee attacks, rush U1s like Rasengan, kunai/c.kunai, paper bombs/bomb balls, and stat down tags. Projectile (Sasuke) and barrier (Pain) type U1s will take priority over Suigetsu’s U2 and knock him out of his water form however. This is also true for U3s (U3 > U2) and another U2 will simply cancel both of you out.

- Its tracking is surprisingly good to the point where simply running to the side will not always guarantee an escape. Its hitboxes don’t go very high so it can be jumped over for evasion. Timing the U2 to catch opponents after SB will take a little bit of practice, but it is definitely the recommended method for its use.


Grab ~ Suigetsu’s grab is a glorious “abortion pawnch!” followed by the “stomp n’ slice.” It has relatively quick startup, moves forward for added range, and the best part: it causes SB and isn’t hindered by ending lag! Although there is some punishable lag if you miss with it, the ending lag occurs during the animation of the throw leaving you with infinite possibilities after the SB! Okay, maybe not infinite possibilities... but Suigetsu’s grab is probably the best move in his arsenal considering all of its advantages.


Tilt ~ Suigetsu’s tilt is called “Drenched” and is comprised of two horizontal swings of his sword that generate two gyrating waves of water. It has decent range and the ending lag after the first swing can be canceled with c.kunai, an air dash, or a U1. The second hit will cause SB if it connects, but once again we encounter the same problem we faced with his U1. The atrocious ending lag after Suitgetsu’s tilt severely limits your options. Fortunately, the cooldown for his tilt is slightly faster than his U1 and because tilts are considered standard melee attacks, you can chakra load during the animation of the second hit. Using this trick of chakra loading during the ending lag of the attack makes it possible to catch your opponent in a U3 after the SB with expert timing (I typically just mash B/O since you have such a small window of opportunity, but online connection lag could interfere with the success rate of this).


C) Awakening

Suigetsu’s awakening involves him using his signature hydration technique to make his left arm better suited for wielding Zabuza’s decapitating knife. Even though Suigetsu doesn’t have a curse mark or a tailed beast sealed inside him (like some of the other teenagers in this series >.>), he does have a transformation awakening that changes his moveset entirely and lasts for 15 counts. During his A-mode, Suigetsu’s combo string goes down to 3 hits and he acquires incredible guard pressure (as if his guard pressure wasn’t beast enough already). The last hit of his combo string launches Sui like a missile through the opponent (even if they are guarding) leaving some distance between the two of you and has almost no ending lag. So in other words; if you start the combo, you might as well finish it seeing as how it’s virtually unpunishable. Suigetsu’s air combo becomes a vicious assault in A-mode. It has 9 hits to it (not including the hit from an air dash) but is not quite as powerful as his ground combo. His tilt shoots a stream of geyser jets that have considerable reach, but it comes with some startup lag and ending lag. His grab becomes a death poke that will penetrate guards, but it takes forever to startup and has pretty short reach. And lastly, his U1 still contains the aforementioned drawbacks but deals massive damage in A-mode (still not worth using in my opinion).


D) Supports

Suigetsu can benefit from a wide range of support combinations. Projectile supports are good for him because they’ll add another level to his range game essentially like a second U1 without the laggy drawbacks. Barrier supports are great from a defensive standpoint because they can protect Suigetsu if he gets caught up in some bad ending lag after an attack. I personally prefer to choose one projectile support to compensate for Suigetsu’s U1 and one barrier support to cover cooldown times.

Attack – Since so many of Suigetsu’s attacks cause SB, you can never go wrong with at least one attack support. And if you’re feeling saucy, you can assign two attack supports and double up the SBs. There aren’t too many situations where you’ll get a double SB effect, but it’s strongly recommend you select one attack support. Suigetsu’s grab>SB>U2/U3 is one of his core damage strings that’s just too good to forego.

Defense – These support types really help Suigetsu punish anxious opponents. When a defense support blocks a c.dash, Suigetsu is faced with a wide array of choices that would never have been options before. For example, Suigetsu’s U1 gains a lot of appeal when the opponent is forced to stop right before they reach you from a c.dash.

Balance – The most attractive feature of a balance support is that they will eat a U2 for you at the price of them becoming unusable for a certain amount of time. Choosing a character with a better-than-average c.kunai will make up for Suigetsu’s unremarkable c.kunai and can significantly improve his pressure game.


E) Personal Strategies

Even though Suigetsu may not be my best character anymore, I feel like I know him better than the other characters from all the training and testing I’ve done with him. During the time when he was my main, I developed some of my own techniques to add a little personal flavor to my battles. I won’t argue the effectiveness of any of my developments nor will I recommend using them. I’m posting them for the sole purpose of spreading knowledge about Suigetsu’s capabilities and potential. You are free to use these techniques as you please or customize them to fit your personal play style.

1. up string combo >> air dash after rising slash >> speed down tag >> U2 during air cripple from item
2. down string combo >> air dash cancel after kick >> speed down tag in air >> U2 during air cripple from item
3. [during support drive] down combo >> air dash cancel after kick >> paper bomb >> U2 before SB >> SC
4. [during support drive] first hit of tilt >> air dash cancel >> paper bomb >> U2 before SB >> SC

-- I will add more entries to this list as I discover new tricks and techniques that I think are useful or practical. --


F) Final Thoughts

Wow, just look at the finished product! That’s what I call a splendid shark fin soup! I may not be the greatest cook in the kitchen, but I’m confident in the work I put into this recipe. If you’ve been inspired to make Suigetsu one of your main characters, or even just try him out at least once after reading this, then I have achieved my goal. It looks like that’s all the time we have left for this episode folks. I hope you all learned something new and exciting and I’ll see you next week! -- only on the cooking channel.



Special Thanks:
I would just like to give a special mention to HAR MUH SEE and his guide to Asuma, "Protecting the King." It really served as the outline I used for this guide and I really liked his word choice (i.e. Props and Slops vs. Pros and Cons).
I’d also like to thank MrLethalSky03 for pressuring me into finally writing this guide by beating me to the punch of posting the first Suigetsu guide. Without that sense of rivalry, who knows when this would’ve gotten done...
And of course, Arashi Boards deserves a shout out for being the best UNS2 community in existence. I’m happy to contribute whatever I can to the site.

I'm not exactly a Suigetsu expert, but if you remember when his combo in A-mode breaks guard, with controlled button presses couldn't you instead use your U1, rather than continuing the combo, for massive damage? Your opponent meets the requirement of standing still! lol

Anyway! This is an amazing guide! Your terminology was great and the added chef joke was great. Using links in your guide is a great idea as well, it actually guides new people trying to use Suigetsu! You deserve rep up for sure!

Also, I knew we'd need a certain guide format...all other guides that don't follow Cinik's (DJ's guide to guides) example just seem too sloppy, imo.

Nice guide but there's 1 thing that needs some fixing... wall of text wall of text.

I was messing around with Suigetsu yesterday and tried strategy nr1 but for some reason I couldn't do it (opponent could block). D:
Maybe I should've tried more. >.<

Btw who do u main now?

Lol thank you!

@Rdmaster: So his ground combo in A-mode won't break your opponent's guard if their shields are at max, but definitely by the second time it will. The first 2 hits have ending lag unlike the 3rd. I don't know if his combo can be jutsu cancelled in A-mode so you'd have to deal with the cooldown from his combo stacked with the startup from his U1. In theory, it would be the best time to fire his U1, but most people will call a support to cover them during their vulnerability. I'll do some testing on it later to determine its practicality, but thanks for brining that to my attention!

@glenndevis: Yes, the amount of text does look a little intimidating, but this is supposed to be an in-depth analysis of Suigetsu so I'm not really sure how I could "fix" that... And I mentioned in my "Notice from the Author" that this wouldn't be light reading so I did give fair warning in my defense.
Yeah, I was looking at strategy 1 this morning and I think I forgot to add an "air dash cancel after rising slash" before speed down tag. I'll retest it today and fix it.
Uhm, recently I've been favoring Pain and Kakashi. Kakashi is really good....

Maybe I'm just too slow so i fail at it. xD

And I like Kakashi myself in the game (don't rlly main him tho.) I'm not that good with him tho. xD

No, I'm pretty sure I forgot the air dash. Anyways, I've updated it. You should give it another try and let me know if it works out this time!

Kakashi's one of my favorite characters so I was determined to learn him eventually. Benfen has an awesome Kakashi guide that really improved my game and I just love how easy it is to U2 after SB.
"Mangekyo Sharingan!!!"

mako shark wrote:

No, I'm pretty sure I forgot the air dash. Anyways, I've updated it. You should give it another try and let me know if it works out this time!

Kakashi's one of my favorite characters so I was determined to learn him eventually. Benfen has an awesome Kakashi guide that really improved my game and I just love how easy it is to U2 after SB.
"Mangekyo Sharingan!!!"

K I'll check it next time i play.
I was messing around with Kakashi today after reading ben's guide and read that u mained Kakashi. xD

Nice guide! I should try him out again when I play. Also going to try out those strategies.
(And aw! Sui looks cute in that last pic you put (lol random))

Yep the new strategy works.
Also 1st hit of tilt -> air dash -> tag -> U2.
prolly works if u: air dash -> tag -> U2 during normal combo's too.
Awesome. :p

Well i'll be... you're guide is certainly better than mine! I actually feel embarrassed when I compare mine to yours. Good job xD

Lol I'm just glad that I could teach something about this game that other people didn't already know.

wow, this guide is pretty awesome. the guide's style is great and intelligently written. you clearly put a lot of work into this. definitely one of the best guides on arashi.

(p.s. maybe look into bullet points to break up the wall of text? i don't think its that big of a deal, just a suggestion)

What cinik said. You didn't fall for the trap that alot of people fall into. You really went into each of Suigetsu's options and fleshed them out. I agree with bulleting the u1 and u2 sections because there's alot of good information there, but the big hunks of text might discourage people from reading it or they may skim over it and miss the important info.

I also like that you included personal strategies. Congrats on making a very nice guide.

Mako earns the HAR MUH SEE seal of approval.

Fixed the U1 and U2 sections by implementing bullets. Feedback?

mako shark wrote:

Benfen has an awesome Kakashi guide that really improved my game and I just love how easy it is to U2 after SB.
"Mangekyo Sharingan!!!"

That made me feel good!

Also, Shouldn't it be the HAR MUH SEEal of approval?

Mako! love the guide!

But you forgot to mention that suigetsu when awakened can't get knocked down. Meaning that he can't be SB'd! Which is a pretty nice perk.
And his moveset isn't changed entirely, because he still has the same U1 and shurikens.

Other than that you got him all covered :P