SoulCalibur stories
Frosty Faustings XI early results, streams ft. NuckleDu, Punk, HookGangGod, LostSoul, Cloud805, ChrisG, LordKnight, PepperySplash, MarlinPie and more
Update: This story is being updated with live results as they occur.
Frosty Faustings XI is taking place this weekend — or to be more specific, this Friday and Saturday — in Illinois.
This is a pretty huge event with more than 1200 entrants total, so the competition is going to be off the charts for several of the games present.
Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate both have over 200 entrants, while BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Soul Calibur 6, Under Night In-Birth EXE: Late[st], Tekken 7, Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition and the event's Mystery Tournament all have over 100 entrants each.
Besides these titles, you can also expect tournament play to be streamed for Skullgirls: 2nd Encore, Street Fighter 3: 3rd Strike, Vampire Savior (Darkstalkers), Windjammers, Super Smash Bros. Melee, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars, Pokkén Tournament DX, King of Fighters 14, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R, BlazBlue: Central Fiction, Melty Blood: Actress Again Current Code, Super Sailor Moon S, Fighting EX Layer, Super Street Fighter 2: Turbo, Injustice 2, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Killer Instinct.
Players set to attend include NuckleDu, REC|Punk, NRG|HookGangGod, LostSoul, UYU|Cloud805, EG|NYChrisG, BC|LordKnight, 1UP|PepperySplash, PG|MarlinPie, Teresa, Disrupt|Shadow20z, BjornSonOfBear, FF|ElvenShadow, Jona, FOX|Dekillsage, TS|Arturo Sanchez, Mr. K, Hotashi, NRG|Supernoon, Brian_F, Disrupt|Joonya20z, BxA|Blaze, ITS|ShinBlade, ITS|Mak, UYU|BeautifulDude, Foo, JodyThaGreat and many, many more.
Streaming is being done at BG Callisto, Low Kick Tournaments, Team Spooky, Will English IV, rs Blackrose and Unrivaled Tournaments.
PC mods can improve upon Soul Calibur 6's already impressive character creator by pitting Batman vs. Wonder Woman and Dante vs. Vergil
We've already seen how awesome of a tool Soul Calibur 6's custom creator can be through people's creations. What if I said there was a way to go one step beyond?
While custom character creators are not available for games like Street Fighter 5, it's possible to mod the appearances of fighters since the game can be played on the PC. Soul Calibur 6 is apparently not immune to this.
RajmanGaming HD has uploaded a few videos that showcase what's been done already. We get to see these characters fight it out.
First, we see Dante and Vergil from the Devil May Cry series attempting to solve their sibling rivalry. They really hash out their issues with one another using their swords.
Next, we see a very heavily armored Batman going up against Wonder Woman from the D.C. Universe. While Batman is using nun-chucks, Wonder Woman utilizes a sword and shield.
Hit the jump to check out the videos.
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In case you forgot, Click Burgundy's fighting game art is still absolutely top tier
It's always a good day when you realize you haven't perused Click Burgundy's art page in a while and get to see all the new pieces he's done as of late.
Today we see more than a few new fighting game illustrations featuring characters like Baiken, Menat, Ibuki, Sodom, Mai, Kage and plenty others.
The characters showcased hail from all parts of the fighting game realm as Marvel vs. Capcom, Street Fighter, BlazBlue and even Super Smash Bros. are represented amongst others.
I'm especially intrigued to see how people respond to Alpha Ken, who is well made but does seem a little bit odd for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Perhaps I can no longer see Ken Masters without the scarring stare of Street Fighter 5 Ken piercing through?
In any case, please give the gallery below a look through and let us know which of these beautiful works are your favorites and why.
Update: What was the best new fighting game of 2018? See the results of the poll to see where your favorites placed
Update: Check out the results of the poll after the jump to see what everyone voted for as their favorite new fighting game of 2018.
The fighting game community finds itself older, wiser and more storied as we've made it through yet another year of punching, kicking and blasting each other to oblivion.
We're taking a look back over 2018, specifically at the new titles we've been able to get our hands on. From Dragon Ball FighterZ back in January to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in December, it seems there's been something for everyone regardless of fighting game taste.
Those that enjoy fighting with multiple characters got BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and SNK Heroines Tag Team Frenzy. Fighting EX Layer brought us a more modern take on the Street Fighter EX series, Soul Calibur 6 offered a fresh arena for 3D players and Omen of Sorrow and Blade Strangers appealed especially to the indie crowd.
We've also included the Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition update, as it brought not only new characters, but new game mechanics, modes and a visual overhaul that made for a significantly different experience than vanilla Street Fighter 5.
We've included these nine titles in a poll below so you can vote for your favorite title of 2018. Feel free to share the details of your choice in the comments, and expand with any further reasoning you used to arrive at your conclusion.
Frosty Faustings currently has more Soul Calibur 6, Guilty Gear Xrd and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle entrants than EVO Japan
Frost Faustings is returning in 2019 for its eleventh run, and will take place on January 18th and 19th in Elmhurst, Illinois. Though on-site registration will be available, RaphTx shared the current numbers for the 20+ titles that will be featured at the event, three of which are outpacing one of the most anticipated fighting game events of the year.
As pointed out by Steve "AceKingOffsuit" Jurek "Frosty Faustings has larger fields for Soul Calibur 6, Guilty Gear Xrd, and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle than EVO Japan. This is wild."
We still have 24 days before registration ends for EVO Japan so there is a chance that later comers will boost up the number of overall participants, but the event has had a few rain clouds pass over it since the completion of the inaugural run in January of last year. Though entrant numbers in 2018 were strong, (over 2,000) the event lost more than a million dollars.
Speculation as to precisely why final reports ended up in the red blames a last minute change in venue paired with a free entry policy. Said free entry policy is likely a result of Japan's anti-gambling laws, which prohibit fighting game tournaments from operating with the traditional model wherein participants pay entry fees that go into a prize pot for top placers.
When the 2019 game line up for EVO Japan was released back in mid December, many FGC members were taken aback by the fact that neither Super Smash Bros. Ultimate nor Dragon Ball FighterZ was to be featured. Smash Ultimate is the currently the leading title for Frosty Faustings with over 250 entrants, and Dragon Ball FighterZ ranks 5th with just over 170.
This year's EVO Japan will be held in Fukuoa, which is over 670 miles (1080 km) from the event's 2018 home city of Tokyo. You can view the current numbers (as of the morning of January 7th) for both Frosty Faustings and EVO Japan (as shared by Anime FGC News) by clicking the thumbnail here:
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Kumite in Tennessee 2019 results
Update: This story has been updated with final results.
We've just barely entered the new year, and we already have a slew of events upon us.
Kumite in Tennessee is one of them, and as you'd expect, it's taking place in Tennessee — more specifically, Franklin, Tennessee.
With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Tekken 7 both having over 100 entrants, and Soul Calibur 6, Dragon Ball FighterZ and Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition all being above 50 entrants each, respectively, this is going to be a pretty loaded event.
The games being played besides the aforementioned five are BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Injustice 2, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat XL, King of Fighters 14, Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite, Killer Instinct and Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2.
Some of the notable players attending include Lil Majin, Disrupt|Shadow20z, BC|Biohazard, CuddleCore, SB|JB, W2W|KnowKami, Neon, Pokchop, BC|HoneyBee, MnT|Trungy, SperoGin, KoDee, TS|Arturo Sanchez and of course many more beyond that.
Streaming is being done at Team Spooky, VG Boot Camp, NYC Furby, HXC Gaming Events and TNEA Live.
Smash Conference United results
Update: This story has been updated with final results.
Smash Conference United is happening this weekend in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
This is mainly a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate event, for which the tournament has almost 350 entrants, but there are a bunch of other games being played as well.
The event also features Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. 64, Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition, Tekken 7, Soul Calibur 6, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Guily Gear Xrd REV 2, Under Night In-Birth EXE: Late[st] and Dragon Ball FighterZ.
Besides this, it will also houst Doubles events for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Super Smash Bros. Melee.
Some of the players set to attend include Tempo|ZeRo, Liquid|Hungrybox, FOX|MKLeo, FOX|Mew2King, GRV|Dabuz, Liquid|Salem, eU|Samsora, MVD, Myran, Dyr, AMG|8BitMan and many more.
Streaming is being done at MVG League and G-Force Gaming.
The Pinnacle 2018 Results
Update: This story has been updated with final results.
The Pinnacle 2018 was a tournament that took place in Canada this weekend.
Due to being so close to New Year's, it actually wrapped up on the Saturday.
Although we weren't in time to get a live post up for the event, we decided it'd be fair to have a results post up for it.
Some notable players who competed at this tournament were FOX|Justin Wong, UTGS|CeroBlast, TGS|Captain L, CACAW|BigD, Binchang, HB|ZomBmu, though there were of course many more as well.
Games played at the event included Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tekken 7, Street Fighter 5: Arcade Edition, Dragon Ball FighterZ, BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Soul Calibur 6 and Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2.
Stream archives can be found at The Gaming Stadium, Canadian Joysticks and Mountainside Games.
Soul Calibur 6 developers discuss the focus of the next patch that will launch in January 2019
Not too long ago, the developers of Soul Calibur 6 held a live stream that had them discuss the future changes that are coming to the game in January 2019. Keep in mind that the entire stream was in Japanese.
Luckily, Azwel on Reddit has transcribed some details about the video to the best of their ability. They provide a disclaimed that all the information present might not be 100% accurate as their Japanese isn't perfect and the audio wasn't always clear. Still, this individual clearly put a lot of effort into making the information available to everyone (the video was over two hours long).
Evidently, this could be a fairly large balance patch. Apparently the contents of this patch was delayed in order to prioritize development on 2B.
It was noted that the developers' aim is not only to keep things balanced, but also to keep everyone within certain design philosophies. It sounds as though specific combatants are not encouraging specific play styles as intended.
According to the user, the patch seeks to make every combatant strong, viable, and fun.
Hit the jump to check out the list of transcribed changes.
Here's how our Soul Calibur 6 tiers sit at the end of 2018
It's the end of the year as we know it, and I feel fine. The community has seen several major fighting game releases in 2018, numerous balance changes, a plethora of major tournaments, and about as much excitement as any fan can handle.
With the end of the year mere days away, we here at EventHubs have decided to take a look at where the tiers sit for major fighting titles as a means of putting a stamp on 2018 as it comes to a close.
Today's game under the microscope is Bandai Namco's 3D, weapons-based fighter, Soul Calibur 6. Since its October 2018 launch, the latest entry in the Soul Calibur series has seen steady tournament play, as well as continued developer support as new content and updates have already started rolling out within the first few months of the game's life.
Though Soul Calibur 6 has not received the "World Tour" treatment like other games under the Bandai Namco umbrella — such as Dragon Ball FighterZ and Tekken 7 — we recently learned that Tekken series chief producer Katsuhiro Harada is now the head of the company's Fighting Game eSports Strategy team. This could potentially bring further hope to the idea of Soul Calibur 6 seeing its own major tournament circuit in 2019.
The last time we took a look at Soul Calibur 6's tiers was about a month ago. Back in late November, characters such as Ivy, Nightmare, and The Witcher's Geralt saw themselves at the top of the Soul Calibur 6 tier list.
Let's take a look at the latest tier chart for the game.
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Harada states that Dragon Ball FighterZ, Tekken 7 and Soul Calibur 6 will have continued tournament and community support from Bandai Namco
Going into 2019, it was becoming unclear where some of the biggest fighting game titles would stand from community and eSports perspectives with a number of players announcing plans to step back from competition and events having tournaments cancelled or games not showing up on the lineup at all.
Katsuhiro Harada, known as the long-time director and producer for the Tekken series, released an open letter to the fighting game community to address these concerns where he announced that he has become the leader and supervisor of Bandai Namco's Fighting Game eSports Strategy team and that support for all three of their major titles will continue into next year.
Dragon Ball FighterZ, Tekken 7 and Soul Calibur 6 will all feature "as many official tournaments as possible" in 2019 with continued support for smaller / community events according to Harada.
The letter also states that Bandai Namco are also dedicated to finding ways to assist community activities in the future with Harada asking anyone looking to hold a tournament to contact their regional Bandai Namco office.
These statements come after Dragon Ball FighterZ was revealed to have been left off of EVO Japan's main lineup and has had multiple community events cancelled which has EVO's Joey 'Mr. Wizard' Cuellar worried it might be "one and done" for the world's largest FGC event despite DBFZ having the highest viewership peak of EVO 2018.
Many in the community have been pointing towards Toei Animation or perhaps another entity in control of Dragon Ball's rights for the current issues and questions surrounding FighterZ's current competitive status which the prior company has since said they "have no knowledge of" impeding anything in that regard.
You can check out Harada's full letter in the screen-cap below or the text after the jump.
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Best Funny and Cool Moments of 2018 released by LiangHuBBB features unending combos, mind boggling mix ups, baffled reactions, and more
January 1st is rapidly approaching. That means that we'll soon be looking back at 2018 as we enter the new year.
LiangHuBBB recently uploaded a compilation that lasts for nearly 27 minutes. Essentially, these are the best "Funny and Cool" moments of 2018 highlighted in one video.
Many games are featured during the video. These include Street Fighter 5, Injustice 2, Street Fighter 4, Soul Calibur 6, Tekken 7, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and more.
As a quick warning, there are a number of hype moments that have some NSFW language in them. Notably, the combos are unending, the mix ups will cause some double takes, the glitches are hilarious, and the everything is stylish.
Of course, there are also the type of moments in fighting games that... can't easily be explained. You really have to see them to believe them.
My personal favorite moment featured showcased SonicSol's reaction to having Falke's bo staff attack whiff punished. While it's a common thing for a character's hurtbox to be attached to their attacks — even if it's a weapon attack — this is hilarious all the same.
Be sure to let us know which moment was your favorite from the video after the jump.
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If Bandai Namco get more characters in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC, who might we see?
With the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC coming up, I've taken it upon myself to launch this new article series which analyzes each 3rd party company currently present with playable characters in Super Smash Bros.
We'll take a quick look at which characters they currently have in the game, how long they've been in the series, and any other interesting distinctions on a company-by-company basis.
Then, it's time to look over what other major franchises they have available which might be a good fit for Super Smash Bros., or simply fit the criteria of being important to gaming history or to specific genres.
Right now, there are five 3rd party companies who have playable representation in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and we're going to look them over one by one.
Bandai Namco have been the most loyal ally to Nintendo when it comes to Super Smash Bros. development, but we've been told they will receive no special treatment. Maybe it's time for a second character from the company, though...
With that, let's dive straight in and have a look at what more Bandai Namco have to offer the Super Smash Bros. series.
Interested in learning 2B in Soul Calibur 6? Here's some gameplay footage from Kayane, Maximilian Dood, and more to get you started
A few days ago, 2B was made available as a downloadable character for Soul Calibur 6. She can be purchased individually for $5.99 or you can get the season pass — which includes 2B — for $29.99.
Will 2B end up being a strong character in the meta for Soul Calibur 6? Her combos are certainly flashy.
If you're still on the fence about acquiring this guest character, it might help to observe some footage of what she is capable of.
Kayane is a particularly experienced Soul Calibur player who has clearly been hopeful to see 2B join the fight. A number of her matches have been uploaded to YouTube.
YouTube content creator Maximilian Dood has also uploaded footage of him experimenting with 2B. Finally, Xuses created a compilation that shows different players and play styles behind 2B.
Overall, she seems like a fighter with access to a lot of combos, unorthodox movement options, mix ups, and pressure tools as her hit strings incorporate long sequences of attacks. Here's a combo from Kayane to get things started:
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Soul Calibur 6 Version 1.11 patch slated for January release to re-adjust characters like Voldo, Azwel and Raphael plus online games locking up
Fighting game patches appear to be more and more common now with a near constant slew of updates, balance changes and bug fixes on the horizon to keep the community on their toes and on the lookout for things that they feel should be fixed next.
Soul Calibur 6 already saw one update this week — that was briefly recalled due to a bug — with Version 1.10 which brought with it a number of balance adjustments for a large portion of the game's cast plus support for the new DLC character 2B. Now we know that the next patch is also coming in the near future as well.
Bandai Namco announced that the Version 1.11 patch will be coming to Soul Calibur 6 at some point in January 2019 to essentially re-adjust a number of characters and their moves that already saw changes with the 1.10 update along with bug fixes it introduced.
Among the characters slated to see more balance adjustments / bug fixes are Voldo and Azwel for their special stances plus others like Raphael for his Reversal Edge and Astaroth as well.
The previous update is rumored to have added / changed a file in the fighting game's code to include alleged references to Cassandra Alexandra and Amy Sorel as the next DLC characters coming to the title.
You can take a look at the current for patch notes for Soul Calibur 6 Version 1.11 after the jump which includes temporary instructions for avoiding the game locking up during online matches.
Rumor: Cassandra and Amy may be the next DLC characters coming to Soul Calibur 6
Leaks and data-mines have gotten to the point where they seem almost unavoidable for the fighting game community with people like X-Kira finding out what content is coming to Street Fighter 5 over a year ahead of time in some cases and DLC character references having been left in the files for Dragon Ball FighterZ after its release.
Soul Calibur 6 is currently slated to receive four DLC characters with the second of them, Nier Automata's 2B, having released just yesterday on December 18, and now we may know the identity of the final two remaining fighters set to come with the game's Season Pass.
It appears as though data-miners have reportedly found references to Cassandra Alexandra and Amy Sorel in the game's files in a section contained with other characters who are either playable or feature character models in the game which neither currently do according to Avoiding the Puddle.
Both Cassandra and Amy are mentioned in the code after 2B which was said to be part of the Ver. 1.10 update to Soul Calibur 6 that has them listed in a file as 'DLC2' and 'DLC3' respectively.
A number of longtime series characters like Hwang, Cassandra, Amy and Lizardman were featured in Soul Calibur 6's Story Mode which led some fans to think that they may be more likely to receive a spot on the roster pre-release or perhaps make it in as DLC since they featured new art and voice work.
This is all still only a rumor at this point and has not been officially confirmed, so this should all be taken with a grain of salt for the time being. You can take a look at the alleged lines of code that reference Cassandra and Amy after the jump.
Nier Automata's 2B is now available in Soul Calibur 6
Guest characters have been a staple of Soul Calibur titles for over 15 years now, but it's been rarer to see them included as DLC options for the newer titles up to this point.
Soul Calibur 6's new DLC character, Nier Automata's 2B, is now available across all platforms with PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC for those who have the Season Pass or wish to buy her individually.
2B is the second guest character to come to the game after The Witcher's Geralt of Rivia, and she is also Soul Calibur 6's second DLC character with Tira plus two more fighters to come who have yet to be announced.
The futuristic YorHa android fights using a variety of weaponry found in her game of origin including her signature swords, spear and fist weapons which she can instantly switch between to keep the opponent on their toes and guessing. 2B can also use her Pod companion to shoot and use certain skills — she even comes equipped with a second Critical Edge that causes her to self destruct with the opponent, and it blows off her skirt like Nier.
Her release comes a day after Soul Calibur 6 saw the Version 1.10 update drop for the game which adjusts a number of character creation and online systems along with other bug and general fixes.
2B is now available on all platforms for $5.99 USD as standalone DLC or part of Soul Calibur 6's Season Pass for $29.99. You can check out some gorgeous 4k screenshots of 2B in action in the gallery below courtesy of PC Master Race along with her full move set in action after the jump via Games in HD.
