Strengths
+ Crazy nice speed.
+ Damaging combos.
+ Very good at giving his opponent little room to breathe.
+ Has a lot of tools to setup good mix up tactics.
+ Causes massive amounts of chip damage if used correctly.
Weaknesses
- Doesn't have abusable projectiles, all of them are only good in certain situations.
- Fairly low stamina.
- Weak game in the air aside from combos.
- Really only 1 useful Hyper move.
- He always needs a good assist with him and is not very good by himself.
A (2) next to an arrow means to hold the joystick in that direction for 2 seconds to 'charge' the move.
With moves that charge by holding back or down, you can use the diagonal positions to charge up as well. For example, if you're holding back, you can jump backwards or block low and still maintain your charge.
• Running Sword Slash (Ame no Murakumo) •
Strider dashes at his opponent and slashes at them with his sword. The strength of the button pressed controls the distance of this move.
But it's a pretty useless attack... it has long startup time and you combo into it at all. Its also very unsafe.
or
(In the air)
• Air Dash Slash •
Executing this move makes Strider slice at his opponent. Depending on the button you press, his Air Dash Slash will fly at the following angles.
or
(Punch version can be done in the air)
• Long Sword Slash •
After a brief windup, you do a Sword Slash that can hit from a LONG ways away. The Punch version is done with Strider standing, Kick makes him crouch.
The Punch version is the only one that can be done in the air.
This is an OK attack, but you can't combo with it at all, so it's not that good. Considering Strider is all about speed and combos, this move's properties keep it from being very useful.
or
• Teleport •
Light attack buttons make you teleport to the left side of the screen, Hard attack buttons to the right. It doesn't matter which side you're on.
The Kick version puts you lower to the ground, Punch a bit higher up.
This is very useful. Helps you get closer, and coupled with the Super Orbs, this is sets up some good stuff.
• Illusion Kick (Vajra) •
Strider breaks apart into multiple illusions and reforms quickly coming back at his opponent with a flaming kick. Light Kick always reforms on the left, Hard Kick reforms on the right side of the screen.
It's kind of useful. Quick and it's handy when you have your Orb Super activated, although it's mostly just a situational move.
• Animal Summon •
Light Kick summons a cyborg panther which hits midrange. Hard Kick summons a cyborg eagle which swoops in high.
Both of these can be used as a free chip damage trap with your Orb Super if you set it up right. The eagle is good to use if you snapback a character or if a character gets KO'd. When the next character comes out you can bring out an eagle to limit their opportunities.
• Summon Fireball Robot / Throw Fireball •
Makes a small robot start hovering around you. If you repeat the command after wards, the robot will turn into a fireball and hurl itself at the other fighter. You can throw a fireball when you're airborne, but you can only summon the robot when you're on the ground.
• Eagle Bomb Drop •
An eagle carrying a bomb attempts to drop it on your enemy. Light Kick drops it closer to you, Hard Kick drops it farther away.
Useful for Orb Super setups against big bulky characters. That's really it.
• Wall Cling •
Strider jumps backwards and grabs on to the wall. Light Punch jumps to a shorter height than Hard Punch.
After grabbing on to the wall, you can move up or down, or press in the opposite direction of the wall to jump off. Pressing Punch will make you strike with your sword, and pressing Down + a kick button will make you slide down quickly.
Also just pressing a Kick button will make you leap from the wall and do a arcing kick attack. Hard Kick travels forward the most distance, while Light Kick travels almost directly down.
Not a very useful move though.
(In the Air when close to a wall)
• Wall Jump •
(In the air)
• Double Jump •
You can also use the diagonally-up positions to Double Jump in those directions.
• Super Orbs (Ouroboros) •
Summons two robots that spin around you. They will shoot out projectiles whenever you press a Punch button. The spinning robots can also hit your opponent if you're in very close range.
This is one of the best Hypers in the game in most situations. It chips, is damaging, quick and does just about everything you want it to do. Really, this is the only Hyper you should be using.
• Hyper Running Grab (Ragnarok) •
Makes Strider run after his enemy and attempt to grab them. If he does he'll attack them multiple times. Even though this is a grab, it can be blocked.
This is very unsafe unless you combo into it, and the damage is alright. But it's almost never used because the Orb Super is just soooo much better.
• Hyper Animal Summon (Legion) •
Summons tons of cyborg panthers and eagles who rush at the other player very quickly.
Only one use for this though, chip damage. If you need to chip someone out, this works, if not stick to your Super Orbs.
• Rolling Slide Kick •
Most players usually go with Strider's B or Y assists. His Illusion Kick can be used to set up some Hyper moves and sometimes combos, while the Y — Eagle Animal Summon — can work to pin a fighter coming in from after a snapback or K.O., or just provide chip damage.
Type | Partner Assist | Variable Counter | Variable Combination | |
A | Ground Type | (H) Running Sword Slash | (L) Running Sword Slash | Hyper Animal Summon |
B | Variety Type | (H) Illusion Kick | (L) Illusion Kick | Hyper Animal Summon |
Y | Projectile Type | (H) Animal Summon | (L) Animal Summon | Hyper Animal Summon |
Note: The dash and letter after a fighter's name is the recommended assist.
Sentinel-Y / Strider-B or Y / Doctor Doom-B
Known as team Clockw0rk, this is typically the most popular and effective team with Strider. Doctor Doom's assist is the best thing to go with Strider because it hits multiple times and you can combo into it while still keeping them on the ground. Sentinel is there to build meter and deal big damage.
Storm-A / Strider-B or Y / Doctor Doom-B
This team is good just because its all about decent speed. Storm is quick and is the best at building meter, she also has good combos, so she's a welcome addition to the Strider/Doom group.
BlackHeart-B / Strider-B or Y / Doctor Doom-B
BlackHeart can meter build and is also a very good character at the art of bugging your opponent. He is also ideal for being able to do his Hyper when you want to bring out Strider's Super Orbs.
Strider/Doctor Doom is usually a MUST in every Strider team. It's a very good coupling.
Contributions to this guide by FC and RagnaroK.