Support Characteristics

Thank you very much to 'Rowde' and his extensive testing to come up with this post (Originally posted at GameFaqs....Posted 10/28/2010)

Rowde wrote:

I've been messing around with supports a little today while trying to get the "use a char 30 times" titles in vs by myself. Some chars are in multiple groups......

Group One: Jutsu or UJ Ground Combo
Neji
Rock Lee
Hinata
Karin
Chiyo
Hidan

Group Two: Jutsu or UJ Air Combo
Sakura
Rock Lee
Tenten
Tsunade
Kabuto
Temari
Konan
Lars

Group Three: Knockback - Ground
Naruto
SM Naruto
Hokage Naruto
Sai
Choji
Shino
Yamato
Guy
Asuma
Jiraiya
Minato
Jugo
Orochimaru
Kankuro
Gaara
Chiyo
Killer Bee

Group Four: Knockback - Air
Neji
Kiba
Hinata
Pain

Group Five: Ranged
Ino
Suigetsu
Sasuke Kirin
Sasuke Chidori True Spear
Sasori
Deidara
Tobi
Kakuzu
Konan**
Kisame
Itachi

Group Six: Down
Shikamaru
Kakashi
Karin
Sasuke Taka

Group Seven: Knockback - Chakra Shuriken
Skikamaru - Does not work at close range with Kankuro, only medium to long. At Close Range the Poison effect overrides the explosive effect, although your opponent will still be on fire.
Gaara

Group Eight: Special
*Sakura - If called from the air will initiate Standard Support Action from the air and it will be executed faster.
*Tenten - If used at medium range she will throw out several mines. These mines will remain on the ground for about 3 seconds. If your opponent comes into contact with them before they disappear, they will be damaged and knocked straight up into the air.
*Choji - Standard Support Action has a massive delay before starting. If called from the air will initiate Standard Support Action from the air and it will be executed faster.
*Asuma - If used at medium range he will spew out a cloud of smoke that will remain on screen for a couple of seconds. If your opponent comes into contact with this cloud of smoke before it disappears, they will be damaged and knocked back across the ground.
*Tsunade - If called from the air will initiate Standard Support Action from the air and it will be executed faster.
*Karin - Standard Support Action can cause Defense Down, Movement Down, and Poison.
*Kankuro - Chakra Shuriken will cause Poison.
*Chiyo - Chakra Shuriken has a massive delay before launching.
*Tobi- Whether or not his Standard Support Action is successful or blocked, he leaves behind 3 Bomb Balls in front of your opponent where he emerged from the ground. These Bomb Balls will remain on the ground for about 5 seconds. If your opponent comes into contact with them before they disappear, they will be damaged and knocked back across the ground.
*Pain - Immediately knocks your opponent and any supports away from you. If called from the air will initiate Standard Support Action from the air and it will be executed faster.

Explaination of Groupings

Group One: Jutsu or UJ Ground Combo
To be included in this group I required that after I visually confirmed that the Support Action had hit at least one time, I had enough time to double chakra load and connect my UJ to the opponent before the Support Action was finsished. The timing to connect your UJ will vary with which character you are using. It is still possible for your opponent to KnJ during the Support Action or the initial hit of your UJ, but the rate of success is fairly high. Additionally, you could perform your Jutsu instead.

Group Two: Jutsu or UJ Air Combo
To be included in this group I required that either the Support Action or the final hit of the Support Action sent my opponent straight up into the air and that I was able to connect my UJ to the opponent before they land. The timing to connect your UJ will vary with which character you are using. It is still possible your opponent to KnJ to avoid the support Action, but I have no idea if it's possible for them to KnJ your UJ as they fall. That will require further testing, but I haven't seen anyone do it yet. Additionally, you could perform your Jutsu instead.

Group Three: Knockback - Ground
Every character in this group will knock your opponent away from you across the ground upon the successful completion of their Support Action. With the exception of Chiyo and Hidan, it is not possible to combo most Jutsu or UJ directly to these Support Actions. However, if you are in Support Drive Level 1 or 2 and have a character set to Attack Support, all of these characters' Support Actions will initiate an Attack Drive if successful and create an additional opportunity for you to connect your Jutsu or UJ.

Group Four: Knockback - Air
The characters in this group will knock your opponent away from you through the air. The direction they fly and the arc they fly away at will vary depending on where they get hit. I have been unsuccessful in my attempts thus far to connect a Jutsu or UJ to my opponent before they land. However, if you are in Support Drive Level 1 or 2 and have a character set to Attack Support, all of these characters' Support Actions will initiate an Attack Drive if successful and create an additional opportunity for you to connect your Jutsu or UJ. Also, it is possible to connect a Jutsu or UJ with Neji or Hinata's Support Action, but you have to be very fast once you've confirmed that the opponent is being hit and not blocking.

Group Five: Ranged
To be included in this group I required that the Support Action was able to traverse the entire battlefield and still hit the opponent. The notable exclusions are Shino and Temari. Their Support Actions stop just short of hitting your opponent if they are standing at the opposite wall of the battlefield. With the exception of Konan, if you are in Support Drive Level 1 or 2 and have a character set to Attack Support, all of these characters' Support Actions will initiate an Attack Drive if successful and create an additional opportunity for you to connect your Jutsu or UJ. Konan is the only Ranged Support that behaves differently, she sends the enemies straight up instead.

Group Six: Down
Upon the successful completion of these characters' Support Actions, your opponent will fall to their feet where they stand. With the exception of Karin, it is not possible to combo most Jutsu or UJ directly to these Support Actions. It is not possible for these Support Actions to initiate an Attack Drive.
Group Seven: Knockback - Chakra Shuriken
If you are at Support Drive level 1 or 2, the two characters in this group can initiate an Attack Drive if they have been set to a Balance Support and you initiate a Balance Drive by throwing Chakra Shurikens. This is because their Chakra Shurikens will knock the enemy away from you across the ground if they connect. You do not have to wait for their Support Gauges to be at ready, you can call them out as long as you have the chakra available to throw Chakra Shurikens while you are in Support Drive Status. This allows you to create many opportunites to connect your Jutsu or UJ.

Group Eight: Special
Some Special Attributes I've found of some Support Actions and Balance Drives. The special attributes have been explained above. There may be more, so this section may need an addendum.

Final Thoughts
I think I made my classifications with offense in mind more than defense. Obviously, any Support Action can be used in attempt stop your opponents rush. I think that the characters' who have Single Hit or Short and Fast Support Actions are the best for Defense, though. It gives the enemy little to no opportunity to KnJ. If you call out Neji to get someone away from you, and they KnJ in the middle and then block, well then they're still right next to you. I think Pain, Kiba, any Naruto, Minato, Jiraiya, Guy, and any Ranged Support(except Konan) make the best defensive supports. In addition to getting the enemy off of you, if you are in Support Drive level 1 or 2 and have an Attack Support... well you know the drill. It's all about quickly turning defense into offense.

I think you should choose your supports not only to compliment your char, but also to counter your opponent's character. So don't get attached to using a specific team, because they are not going to work in every situation.

My choices for some of the groups:

Group One - Karin, Chiyo, Hidan
I like Karin the best because of her special attributes, within the first 3 hits she has an incredibly high probability of sticking your opponent with all 3 negative status effects. That defense down is no joke. I prefer Chiyo over Hidan because she tends to keep your opponent more stationary plus the hits are very quick and not easy to KnJ. Hidan is awesome for the fact that he stays around and will track the opponent if he misses or your opponent uses KnJ, it's possible for him to hit the opponent with the end of his combo if they aren't paying attention. However, that doesn't help you set up for a Jutsu or UJ Combo as easily.

Group Two - Tsunade and Sakura, Tenten, Lars
I would only recommend using Supports from this group if it is part of your strategy to use the UJ setup. I think Tsunade and Sakura are best two characters to use from this group, especially from the air. Tenten can work if used defensively and Lars actually lands all of his hits fairly quick. Everyone else either has a long combo that could possibly be Knj'd or a long startup time making them easier to block.

Group Four - Pain or Kiba
The main task of the characters in this group is to get your opponent off of you in a pickle. No one does that better or faster than Pain. Kiba can be used similarly.

Group Six - Don't Use Kakashi or Sasuke Taka
Seriously, I don't see any value to these supports. It is not possible to set up any additional damage with either of these guys. Plus, if you are using them defensively, they don't get your opponent that far away from you, if you need to chakra charge, these guys aren'te going to give you the comfort space to do so.

Group Seven
Start using these guys now. Seriously. Anytime you are facing an opponent using a close or mid range character, you should mix these guys in with an Attack Support of your choice.

Thank You Again Rowde..

Thanks for bringing this post back from its pauper's grave at faqs.
Rowde is very good at analyzing these things. I want to re do his post and add some things he missed and add further explanation.

Add how Temari's balance Kunais have so much hitstun, that even Deidara can combo his U2 into it.

And how Hidan's balance kunai resets the combo meter, allowing potential infinite SBs(or so I heard, never tried it)

edit: I didn't read the dates, my bad.
Still, it's useful info.

Wow lol. When i use Temari i usually do: Chakra shuriken -> support. But didn't know u could combo it into Deidara's ultimate. xD

Btw nice list o.o
I used to: Neji support -> Asuma U2.

What ever happened to rcee?

he dissapeared

Thanks, I find this very helpful