Venom FAQ For Guilty Gear X on Arcade, Dreamcast, and Playstation 2. Written by Kenny "Kenshi" Tam Contact: kennytam@foxhound.zzn.com =============== Version History =============== Version 1.0 February 2, 2002 Everything ================= Table of Contents ================= I. Introduction II. Profile III. Annotations and Abbreviations IV. General Moves V. Special Moves VI. Overdrive and Instant Kill Moves VII. General Notes VIII. Strategies IX. Combos X. Miscellany XI. Notes and Credits =============== I. Introduction =============== This is an FAQ for the nifty looking Venom. He is quite an original, but that goes for the rest of the Guilty Gear X crew I suppose. This FAQ assumes you know the basics of the game, such as Dust Attacks, Roman Cancels etc. In other words I can't be bothered to list them. The move lists and descriptions I got from sitting next to my machine and watching the move several twenty times on training mode. =========== II. Profile =========== Full Name: Venom Birthday: ? (Orphaned) Nationality: Village of Assassins (England) Height: 5"6 cm Weight: 146 lb Likes: Zato, Sympathy. Dislikes: Blood, Those who oppose Zato Hobby: Reading, Chess. Weapon: Billiards Equipment(!). ================================== III. Annotations and Abbreviations ================================== UB U UF UB= Up-Back U= Up UF= Up-Forward \ | / B= Back N= Neutral F= Forward B--N--F DB= Down-Back D= Down DF= Down-Forward / | \ DB D DF P = Punch S = Slash K = Kick HS= Heavy Slash QCF= Quarter Circle Forward (D, DF, F) QCB= Quarter Circle Back (D, DB, B) DPM= Dragon Punch Motion (F, D, DF) RDP= Reverse Dragon Punch (B, D, BD) HCF= Half Circle Forward (B, DB, D, DF, F) HCB= Half Circle Back (F, DF, D, DB, B) Double Jump= Tap Up During a Jump. The character will boost themselves again in the air to go higher. A direction can be specified, such as Up-Forward or Up-Back. High Jump= Tap Down, then U. The character will launch themselves into a large jump. They cannot perform the Double Jump though. A direction can be specified, such as jumping towards the opponent by pressing Up-Forward. Forward Thrust Attack= Forward +Attack button. Certain characters may do special or different attacks when performing this. Dead Angle Attack= During Guard, Tap Forward + 2 Attack buttons. Assuming you guarded the attack, immediately do this and the character will counter with an attack. You need a tension gauge of above 50% however. Dust Attack= Press Slash and Hard Slash at the same time. The character will so an attack that if hit, will launch the enemy into the air. Press Up to leap up after to continue attacking the opponent. Sweep= Press Slash and Hard Slash whilst crouching. The character will do an attack that hits low and knocks down the opponent. Recovery= After being knocked down, press two attack buttons to flip out and recover. Throw= Press Forward or Back and Heavy slash when near opponent to perform a throw attack. Faultless Defense= Press Punch and Kick whilst blocking to negate block damage. However it expends some of the tension gauge every time you perform this move and requires the buttons to be tapped every time the move hits. Roman Cancel= Push Three attack buttons during an attack to stop further animation. Used for creating custom combos otherwise impossible. Requires more 50% of Tension gauge to perform. Overdrive Attack= With Overdrive gauge at either 50% or full, do the specific command for the character to unleash a powerful attack. Instant Kill Tecnhnique= Press all 4 attack buttons. The character will go into Instant Kill mode, where the tension gauge turns red and starts deceasing. During that time, the character can unleash an Instant Kill Attack. If the character misses or the bar runs out, the tension gauge cannot be used. It requires a full tension gauge to perform as well. ================= IV. General Moves ================= Standing- ********* Punch- Venom does a weird little poke with his pool cue. He leans slightly backwards when doing this move, and the cue does very little. Good for combo starting since it is fast. Kick- Normal looking side kick to the opponent. Not very fast but it can still be used in gattling combos. Slightly less reach than the Punch, but does more damage. Slash- Does a far reaching poke with his cue stick. Same speed as his kick, but with much longer range. Makes a good poke. Up close it becomes a three hit rising attack. It can even combo into another slash. Note that after the third hit it will knockdown. Hard Slash- Venom holds the cue stick by the middle and does a small step forward, smashing the cue stick into the midsection of the opponent. Slow in coming out, but has good priority. The delay is useful for charge times though, such as for his Stinger shot. Jumping- ******** Punch- Venom does a normal looking pool cue poke, similar to how it is supposed to be done in real life to hit the ball. He does it in the air though. Not very good as an air attack, but excellent for mashing in air combos. Kick- Venom turns in the air and does a weird kick to the opponent. Looks like he is posing in the air. Not very useful in air though since it doesn't seem to retract for another attack. Slash- Venom swings his cue stick at the opponent. Can be used in air combos, and has pretty good priority. Not very good range though, since the cue travels in a downwards arc. Hard Slash- Does a downwards poke. Similar to his punch, but angled lower and significantly longer range. Good for hitting ground opponents as a poke or combo starter. Doesn't have good horizontal range though. Crouching- ********** Punch- Venom sticks his hand out, like a chop. Short range, somewhat fast move. Can link into other attacks though. Kick- Slides his leg out to the ankles of the opponent. Looks pretty much standard but comes out slowly. Same range as his crouching punch. Slash- Pokes at opponent's legs with his cue stick. Has a long reach and can combo into HS. Makes a good poke too. Hard Slash- Venom drags his cue upwards then pokes the opponent in the face. Does two hits up close. Oddly enough it does not seem to combo into other moves. ================ V. Special Moves ================ Venom's special moves can be quite complex, so... Command Moves: -------------- Cue - (F+P) Venom hits the opponent in the face with the other end of the cue stick. Circular Smash - (F+HS) Venom does a circular swing with his cue stick. It has great coverage, forming a hit range above and in front of Venom. Great for almost any defensive scenario. Of course use your common sense since it wont beat projectiles or anything like that. Dust Attack- (S+HS) Venom does a standard Pool shot with his cue, but with the cue behind his back. Looks like a trick shot you see people do in bars or something. Comes out fast for a dust attack, with little start up delay, but has short range. Sweep Attack- (D+S+HS) Venom lies low and swings both legs around. It can avoid some attacks such as the Stinger aim as well as Stun Egde. It can also hit opponents behind Venom. Throws: ------- Giant Pool Ball - (B or F+HS) Venom transform the opponent into a giant Pool ball. Venom doesn't do anything though but the opponent will mysteriously take damage and get knocked down anyways. Special Moves: -------------- Stinger Aim - (Charge B, then F+S or HS) A pool ball appears and Venom hits it towards the opponent. Slash version travels slower than the Hard Slash version. The button can be held so that it gets larger until it will automatically launch (button can be held for 3 seconds.) The maximum number of hits is 6, where each second held increases hits by 2. Venom is vulnerable though when charging up the shot. There is a very slight delay when launching the projectile, almost the fastest. The recovery time s the same as though. Good for zoning the opponent as well as in combos. Try to mix up the speeds to confuse the opponents. Against characters like Jam or Millia though, who can avoid them easily, try using the Carcass Raid move as well. Carcass Raid - (Charge D, then U+S or HS) Venom does a similar move as the Stinger Aim, but this time he directs the ball towards the ground. Slash version will bounce at a greater angle along the ground, being able to travel full screen before vanishing. It bounces at mid-screen, and will go upwards at an approximate 45 degree angle. Good for confusing the opponent as well opponents planning to dodge from far away. The Hard Slash Version is angled much closer to 80 or 85, where it bounces up and down close to Venom. The ball forms a W shape, where the first downwards hit is from Venom's strike. This is good for defensive purposes, if you predict that the opponent will jump in at the next attack. Makes good anti air as well. Use both versions to confuse the enemy. Mad Struggle - (in Air, QCF +S or HS) Vemon pause slighty in the air then dives towards the opponent in a diving kick manner. He does multiple jabs at the opponent on the way down. Venom can follow up with an attack when he lands, but leaves him vulnerable if blocked. Pretty good priority, as it can beat out most normal move anti-air attacks. The HS version adds a flip kick at the end of the attack. Not much difference other than that. Good for air to ground attacks, as well as pressuring the opponent. The delay at start up does make it risky though, but it is too short for the opponent to do much against. Double Head Morbid - (DPM+S or HS) Venom dashes forward and spins his cue stick at the opponent. The move hits high and can be stopped by low attacks or projectiles. Slash version travels a shorter distance in front of Venom, dealing 4 hits. Great for combos. Heave Slash version goes full screen and also does 4 hits, doing slightly more damage. Heavy slash version will hit automatically near the opponent, so he will not continue traveling when close. Vulnerable from far away, but travels very fast. Good for countering jumps as well as whiffed moves. It is vulnerable to low attacks though. A good move of Venom's. Warp - After Ball formation, (DPM+K) Venom will teleport to a summoned ball's location, assuming he is far enough for the teleport to register. About one or two steps away should be enough. Deadly technique if mastered. Ball Formation -------------- Ball Formation - (HCB+Attack) Vemon's expert zone. Difficult as hell to master, dominating if mastered. Venom materializes a ball from thin air. The ball will appear and stop according to what button is used. Up to four balls can be summoned, but each attack button used once. Depending on the combinations of button pressed, the balls will follow into different formations. Each ball will appear on screen for about 6 seconds before vanishing. The ball can be launched with almost attack, and angle depending on how it is it. Keep in mind the move takes a while to perform, and that Venom is totally vulnerable when doing it. Summoning a new ball away from another one will move the first ball to the new location. The timer on the balls do not refresh though. Each button has a specific formation rule; meaning using that button will move the balls into that formation. Using that button as the last ball will complete the formation. Other than that, the balls will shift according to the pattern until set. The pattern can still be changed after the four balls appear though. Using a Diagram, where Venom is on left, opponent on right at full screen distance. Punch - 99 O O /|\ /|\ / \ o <-ball at knee level / \ Kick - 99 o <-ball slightly above head level O O /|\ /|\ / \ / \ Slash - 99 O O /|\ o <-ball at waist level /|\ / \ / \ Hard Slash - 99 O O /|\ o<-ball at waist level /|\ / \ / \ Punch - Upwards Slope Formation Preference 99 o O o O /|\ o /|\ / \ o / \ Kick - Diamond Formation Preference 99 O o O /|\ o o /|\ / \ o / \ Slash - Triangle Formation Preference 99 o O o O /|\ o /|\ / \ o / \ Hard Slash - Downwards Slope Formation Preference 99 o O o O /|\ o /|\ / \ o / \ ====================================== VI. Overdrive and Instant Kill Attacks ====================================== Dark Angel - "Kakugo...Kimero!" - (QCB, HCF+S) Veomn lunges forward and launches a giant red globe towards the opponent. It starts off slow, but accelerates towards the opponent. Venom recovers and can follow up the Dark Angel right when it starts accelerating. It ends when it travels off screen, so Venom can continue moving forward so the screen will scroll, adding more hits. The most possible hits is approximately 30-40 hits. The Attack will eventually out speed Venom's dash, thus limiting number of hits. This is THE Overdrive of choice. Lots of hits, hard to avoid, easy to follow up. The opponent has little choice but to duck and defend. If they jump, they will either have to time it near perfectly to clear it, or double jump. Either way, try to force them back down in the way of the Dark Angel attack. The block damage on this move is huge, and does a lot of hits quickly. Try to catch up and mix up some attacks, like a full screen Double Head Morbid and so forth. I'm sure you can see the cheapness potential of this move. It beats out any projectile and cannot be cancelled or negated in anyway other than to hit Venom during the start up frames. Red Hail - "Kyah!" - (in Air, QCF, QCF+HS) Venom launches a hail of Pool balls down at the opponent. Repeated animation of Mad Struggle basically. Not as useful as the Dark Angel really. Useful for surprise moves, to trick the opponent into an anti-air move which Venom will counter. Aside from that, treat it like an aerial Overdrive projectile. Note that not all hits will actually make contact, and depending on positioning, very few will actually damage the opponent. Dim Bomber - (Instant Kill) "Kyahhhhh!" -(QCF, QCF+HS) Venom does a downwards slash, similar to his F+HS move. Upon contact, the opponent is transformed into a Snooker ball, along with it's miniaturized hair style. Venom then surrounds it with a complete Pool Ball set, in which he hits with his own white ball. The balls ricochet off and turn back to smash into the center character ball. Look pretty cool. It can only be done in close range though, and since the opponent will be more alert and careful, makes it hard to connect with. Stick to his other moves instead of going for this. ================== VII. General Notes ================== Nifty character. He can be hard to master and use, but on the other hand, somewhat easy. One of the most original characters I have ever seen. He has a certain style to him, aside form his weird hair style. ================ VIII. Strategies ================ Venom can be played two ways. The easiest and most common way is to use his Double Head Morbid as well as Stinger/Carcass attacks to harass the opponent. Use the Dark Angel whenever possible and follow up with that. Venom is quite fast, and his pokes do have good range and priority. The other harder and rarer way is to use his Ball Formation moves and herd the opponent into position for a simultaneous multi-hit attack. As one can imagine, this is extremely difficult to pull off, given the pace of the game. It requires controlling the pace of the game, the opponent, as well as the timing and formation of the balls. If done properly though, the opponent will be hard pressed to do much, since it is possible to hit high and low, making evasion and defense near impossible. Versus; Ky Kiske -------- Ky uses will rely heavily on the Stun Edge Projectile to keep you away, and the Charged version to beat Venom's projectiles. The pace of battle isn't really as fast, so it is easier to pull off the ball formation tactics. One easy tactic is to Summon a ball and hit it with a Carcass or Stinger aim, causing one ball to cancel the Stun Edge whilst the other ball hits Ky for counter damage. Aside from that, if you decide to go up close, the Mad Struggle and Double Head Morbid moves are the way to go. If he tries to Charge Stun Edge, go for a Dark Angel if up close. Be warned that Ky's Instant Kill, despite how boring it is, is one of the more effective ones. Sol Badguy ---------- The King of Offense. Venom is no match for Sol's brute power and finesse, so resort to a more defensive and tactical viewpoint. The Stinger is a good way of stopping his rushing attacks, and the Carcass raid is great for defense. Mix up the attacks and vary the speed. If he does get close, do the F+HS and link it into the Double Morbid. The Dark Angel is a great move if he decides to rush blindly. If you feel up to it, try trapping Sol with the Ball formations. It will be hard though. May --- Despite how cute and cheerful May is, she is damn hard to beat at times. Most players like to call Dolphins out as well as fly all over the place. She is much faster than Venom, but she doesn't have as much range. As usual, resort to Stingers and Carcass raids to pin him around. The Double Morbid does have a long lag, so it could be deadly if May decides to do the Spinning Anchor Overdrive. Try to overpower May with brute force. Millia Rage ----------- I am sure many of you know how frustrating it is to battle Millia. She is pretty overpowered in a sense. Fast, powerful, great special moves, incredible combos. Arg. Prepare for a cheap and hellish fight. The Stinger isn't as useful since Millia is very mobile. The HS Carcass raid is a good cover move, and the Dark Angel is good for pushing her back but it maybe too costly spending an entire Overdrive just to push her away. Her ground Overdrive is easy to avoid, but the one air overdrive is hard to avoid and can catch many people off guard. I am sure there is some hidden caveat to her. She is easily abuseable and very popular for a good reason. Axl Low ------- Axl has along reach, but nothing you cannot handle. It is a keep away really, where Venom has the upper hand. Try to use the Ball Formation and Stingers against him. Axl does have some close quarter moves though. The Dark Angel is a good move here if he gets close, but not very useful far away since Axl can see it coming or even fly over it altogether with his Axl Bomber. Zato-One -------- Hmmm a match with Venom's savior. Zato has some nifty tricks with his shadow Eddie. He can hit from any range, so try to move about. The Ball Formation is hard to pull off, but it can limit and focus his attention to Zato instead of using Eddie as well. Zato's Overdrives are somewhat easy to spot, but his air overdrive is pretty painful. Potemkin -------- A large big guy. He is a large target, so fire away from FULL SCREEN. He can reach very far with his attacks, so either keep away or go up close and just poke him to death. He does have a really powerful Overdrive that needs to be done up close though. He has an autoguard in his dashing punches, which also have massive range. Try to keep in close and abuse the pokes. The Ball Formation is possible since it is a pretty slow paced battle in comparison. The problem is finding an opening to hit Potemkin with. Chipp Zanuff ------------ Chipp is the fastest character in the game, as well as the most mobile (he has a teleport as well as triple jump.) However he also takes the most damage by far. His special moves are pretty fast though, as well as cheap. The problem with Chipp, to your advantage is that his moves are somewhat useless. The Alpha blade will be his staple as well as rushing combos. Venom is really out paced in this battle, so keep the defensive and hit hard; notably with the Dark Angel. It does huge damage against him regardless. Baiken ------ Toned down from the first game, but nonetheless still very powerful in the right hand. She is a counter character who can counter with some very nasty stuff. Her dashing move has an autoguard, so she might be able to run through a stun edge and do some heavy damage. She has an overdrive counter too. Keep to Stingers from afar, and Double Morbids from midrange. It will probably do enough hits to over come the auto guard. Her air attacks are pretty darn powerful, so don't match her up there. Faust ----- This guy is hard. His scalpel can reach full screen and does huge damage. He might be slow and have weird moves, but they have incredible range, priority, and damage. Try heading in close and outspeeding him. His overdrives are weird in the sense that they can damage Faust and heal the opponent. The Ball Formation is somewhat feasible here, given Faust is a pretty large target. The problem is that Faust does have some weird moves, so you need to know in advance what they look like, how they hit and how the player plays. Anji Mito --------- Hmm this Neikki Basara look alike is actually quite powerful. His butterfly move, despite how slow it is, can be quite tricky to avoid. His special moves are pretty powerful and high priority, and his giant fan move is pretty invincible. He has incredible recovery time, so he can counter your counter against his moves. He has a move where it can travel through attacks, so watch for that. Anji is pretty slow though, so abuse the Dark Angel for all it's worth. Johnny ------ How is this guy not cool? He is a very powerful character. He isn't very mobile, but his moves are damn powerful. His game revolves around hitting you with coins and then smacking you with a multi-hit Mist finer. His HS is godlike and easily abuseable. Up close he can take you to school with his Mist finer. It is near impossible to approach him even, since his Mist finer comes out instantly and has little recovery. If he does go close, back away or he will try to pin you down and hit you with coins and his mist. His Overdrive is damn incredible too. The only way I can figure is to go full screen and projectile him to death. If he does start on an offensive, he will mix up knockdowns with coins on the ground, or the mist and HS and Mist Finer. The Ball formation can be used depending on how the opponent plays. If the other player takes a defensive approach, try to set up the Ball Formations. Other wise, keep on the defensive and try to avoid him. Johnny is probably the least mobile character. Jam Kuradoberi (Cranberry) -------------------------- Jam is a powerful attacker. Her moves can combo easily, and her special moves are darn powerful. Her main weakness is that she has short range, but given her speed and ability to power up her attacks, it is not something for Jam players to worry about. The Carcass Raid is a great tool for defense. Jam's flying kick comes out fast and is a great special move, so expect it coming often. The recovery is pretty slow though, so try to counter that as hard as possible. Testament --------- Testament players like to summon beasts from behind you. Jump in close to avoid them, since he always some delay in all moves. He does have a counter though, but if you stick to him and pressure him a lot, he should fold. Using Stingers or Charging up is a bad idea since he can just summon beasts from behind and nail Venom every time. The Double Morbid is a great move in this battle. Dizzy ----- As difficult as the final boss maybe to beat, she is actually hard to use. Nonetheless she is still extremely powerful. She has very strong normal moves, and can combo into quite a lot of stuff. Her overdrives, as you can tell, are deadly. Keep away and stay defensive once she has a full tension gauge. The motions for her overdrives are quite hard to pull off though. ========== IX. Combos ========== Coming soon . . . ============= X. Miscellany ============= Story ----- Although he works as an assassin, his mind is pure and he has trouble hiding things from others. His actions are calm and scientific, but his thoughts are more on the romantic side. Raised in a cold environment, he has few desires in life other than to preserve his own while he searches for some meaning to his existence. His hatred of murder comes from the heart, and taking human lives outside of work is tough for him to bear. Orphaned at a young age, Venom was taken under the wing of a group of assassins. However, his sensibilities hindered his growth as an assassin. As time passed, he pondered the meaning of his existence. Before long, the organization saw him as worthless and ordered him to be executed. However, just prior to his execution, Zato, the new leader of the organization, recognized Venom's talent and spared his life. Venom pledged his loyalty to Zato out of deep gratitude for saving his life and giving him his raison d'etre. Zato soon fell out of favor, though, and rumors of his disloyalty abounded. Venom, who had served as Zato's right-hand man for many years, knew that this slander was not true, but the evidence against him was very strong. As doubts continue to rise, Venom receives some information regarding someone thought to be Zato, and departs to investigate. Win Quote: ---------- Special Intros: --------------- Versus Millia: Versus Zato: Chats. Stage: ------ Named "Nirvana" it is a weird surreal place. Think of it as a scene from "Alice in Wonderland." It is a ballroom checkered floor with arches in the background, but with a giant demon nailed down with spikes. There is a pentagram that is glowing and spinning underneath. The stage is shared with Zato-One, but it is named "Hell." Aside from that, there are a few minor differences. Venom's theme is "A Solitude that Asks Nothing in Return." It is the same name for both Arcade and Home Console Tracks. Comments: --------- -Nifty Guy. Hard to use. -I love his sound track. ===================== XI. Notes and Credits ===================== -Guilty Gear X is Trademark and Copyright property of Arc System Works Co., Ltd. and Sammy Entertainment Inc. 2000, 2001. -Story information from Official Guilty Gear X site http://www.guiltygearx.com -Mr. Jeff Veasey at Http://www.Gamefaqs.com for hopefully hosting this FAQ. -W.W for our Guilty Gear X matches and your button mashing Sol. -N.H for I will ask for you in return. -If, for any part, I may have borrowed or referenced information that originally stemmed from your work, PLEASE do notify me and I will immediately remove or a credit the work from this FAQ. This document Copyright 2002 by Kenny "kenshi" Tam, and may not be duplicated or reproduced (in part or in full) for profit without the explicit permission of the author. Chances are it will be rare if anyone would want to use this crappy FAQ. This document is supposed to appear on http://www.gamefaqs.com. http://www.psxcodez.com http://www.DLH.net http://www.gamespot.com