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I’ve seen a fair few Viking and Knight ideas so I figured I'd gander a go at a Samurai, so I had an idea for a character partially based off of the Highlander in that the character has 2 combat styles, but rather than offensive defensive it would be short swords and bows.
Akuto (Rogue in Japanese)
Hybrid
Highly Technical, Harrasser
Hard
Can be Male or Female
HP: 100 (for reference, Shinobi has 110, most heroes have about 120)
General Gear: Japanese inspired archer’s hat (like the Nobushi’s basic hat) with light, clothing like armor; a Wakizashi (short, almost dagger like Katana), and a Yumi Shortbow.
Customizable Parts
Armor
-Head/Hat
-Chest/Quiver
-Arms
Weapons
-Yumi Bow
-Wakazashi Blade
-Wakazashi Handle
Hero Specific
Renown - Earn more Renown by assisting or saving Heroes, and defending objectives to unlock your feats in a match.
Revenge Mode - Boosts Damage and Health. All Attacks are Uninterruptible. Parry and Throws knock enemies down. Attacks are Auto-Parried on activation.
Weapon Switch - Holding Guardbreak will make the character switch to the other weapon
Ammunition - The bow requires arrows to be effective, only 8 can be held in the Quiver at a time, full ammo is restored on respawn, half ammo is restored on takedown
Moveset*
Weapon Swap
H-GB
With Yumi (Shortbow)
Has no guard stance, no reflex guard, no deflect, this is intended as a harasser mode, not a constant mode, can still CGB unless using Find the Mark and has not fired, as the kneeling and aiming counts as a heavy startup
Rain of Feathers(!)
Standard firing of arrows
[Li] or [He]
Li-DMG: 8
He-DMG: 12
After firing a shot there is a few hundred ms window for the reload in which the enemy can GB the Akuto for free, meaning don’t try to shoot your opponent point blank, they can dodge it and get free damage.
Find the Mark(!)(?)
Akuto takes a knee and aims for the target
H-He
Can be held but drains stamina, arrow is not fired if stamina runs out. The idea is to hold the draw to bait the opponent to dodge early so you can hit them during recovery.
DMG: 15
Rain of Feathers’ Heavy can be chained into Find the mark, but Find the Mark cannot chain back into Rain of Feathers, as the Akuto must stand back up.
Slide
D,D
Double dodge similar to Shinobi (but no smoke bomb or anything), used to create distance and harass, can not attack during animation but can lead into Rain of Feathers on standing back up, or lead directly into Find the Mark’s kneel. Can Weapon Swap during Slide. Can slide in any direction, can be GBed during the slide and cannot tech out of it. Can use Slide to cancel out of H-He with either weapon available.
With Wakizashi (Shortsword)
Has a reflex guard and a deflect
Glinting Flurry
Li, Li, He
Li-DMG: 12
He-DMG: 20
Weighted Strikes
He(?), He(?)
Both can be delayed to add more variable timing and make parrying more difficult
He-DMG: 22
Fastest release being 700 ms, latest being 1500 ms
Calm Before the Storm
H-He(?), [Li]
Li’s direction must change to continue chaining
He-DMG: 24
Li-DMG: 10
Their Own Worst Enemy
De, Li(!)
Akuto deflects under the opponent’s weapon and slides behind them, slicing while passing like the Orochi “Toro Toro” Execution
Li-DMG: 16
Sleight of Hand
H-He, GB
Heavy Chain Finishers can be soft canceled into a GB in case the opponent should try to dodge or deflect instead of parry it.
Slide
D,D
Double dodge similar to Shinobi (but no smoke bomb or anything), used to create distance and harass, can not attack during animation but can Weapon Swap during Slide. Can slide in any direction, can be GBed during the slide and cannot tech out of it. Can use Slide to cancel out of H-He with either weapon available.
*Moveset Key
Li -Light
He - Heavy
GB - Guardbreak Input
D - Dodge Input
De - Deflect
H- - Held input
[ ] - repeatable in chain
(!) - unblockable
(?) - Variable release timing/Wind up
XX-DMG - Damage
Feats
Tier 1
Bounty Hunter
Deadly
Speed Revive
Tier 2
Smoke Bomb
Revenge Attacks
Chilling Stare
Tier 3
Sharpen Blades
Nukekubi
Larger Quiver (Increase Quiver size to 10)
Tier 4
Arrow Storm
Nail Bomb
Slippery
Starting Executions
Account for Drop
Akuto pulls the Wakizashi out and slides backwards while switching to the bow, quickly turning and firing while kneeling, aiming for the head but however shooting the opponent in the throat. The Akuto lets out a displeased sigh and returns to neutral as the opponent falls over.
Which Hand?
Akuto pulls the Wakizashi back and quickly tosses it back and forth between hands, the opponent trying for a moment to follow it with their eyes before the Akuto lunges in, plunging the blade into their chest. Akuto pushes them off the blade and returns to neutral.
Faster than You (5k Steel)
The Akuto pulls out the Wakizashi and the opponent tries to swing at them. The Akuto dodging under and behind the opponent, stabbing the blade back into them.
No Running (7k)
The Akuto pulls the Wakizashi out and switches to the bow as the opponent tries to run, the Akuto quickly fires a shot into the opponent’s lower leg to slow them, and then fires another arrow into their back, between the shoulder blades, to get them in the spine.
Starting Emotes
Free-Roam
Arrow Twirl
Akuto takes an arrow out of the quiver and twirls it between fingers in a sort of flourish before putting it away, returning to neutral
Warrior’s Remorse
Akuto drops current weapon while falling to knees, making sounds of distress before hitting the ground with left hand, picking up weapon, and standing back up into neutral
That was Close! (3k steel)
Akuto twirls an arrow before tossing it up, tries to catch it but misses, the arrow thudding into the ground right by his/her foot, the Akuto wincing as if being hit before looking down and being visibly relieved, fetching the arrow and putting it away before returning to neutral.
What a Mess (5k steel)
Akuto stretches a bit to unwind, raising arms overhead and tilting side to side a little, unfortunately spilling a couple arrows, bending over to pick them up a couple more arrows fall out and the Akuto picks them up as well with a sigh before putting them in the quiver while standing up and returning to neutral
Akuto Coin Toss (7k steel, Coin Toss Emote)
Akuto, bow in left hand (regardless of weapon player had chosen to use, this is for the purpose of the emote) takes a coin out of a back pocket with right hand, tossing it up before quickly shooting an arrow at it, sending it flying away, returning to neutral after watching it for a second. Does not actually consume or grant ammo, switched back to weapon player had equipped if canceled or animation finishes.
Archery Champ (7k steel, sport emote)
Akuto draws back an imaginary arrow, staring down along the bow for an uncomfortable 5 or so seconds of silence before letting the invisible projectile fly, a sound effect of a crowd celebrating plays as if the arrow hit a perfect Bulls-Eye, Akuto nodding approvingly.
Combat Emotes
Proper Respect
Akuto crosses hands in front of self at about waist height, regardless of weapon held, and gives a small bow to the opponent before returning to neutral
Come On Then
Akuto adjusts stance to be standing practically sideways towards the opponent, using either the Wakazashi or Arrow (depending on Equipped Weapon) and gesturing a little “Come at me” sort of wave with it.
Knife Juggler (3k steel)
Akuto takes the Wakazashi (either off back holster or simply moves arm back a little) and tosses it up in the air with a spin, catching it by the blade before tossing it up again and catching it by the handle before returning to neutral.
Archer’s Swagger (5k steel)
Akuto opens arms wide, stepping forward some and laughing at the opponent in a challenge to provoke them, stepping back before returning to neutral.
Now time for the Important part, How to Fight
As the Akuto
As an Akuto you have tiny health, your goal is to stay level headed while baiting your opponent into mistakes.
Fighting with Yumi Bow
While the bow is an unblockable weapon, ammo is limited and damage is not high, this is not a weapon to 100 to 0 another player, it is to be used to either pick off stragglers/fleeing targets, or to harass in team fights or even solo fighters. Arrows must be drawn back and fired, during the reload the opponent can get a free GB so use Slide to keep your distance and get a more advantageous position against groups. The arrows can be dodged and so the opponent can get a free GB during the reload, they cannot however GB you if they get hit by the arrow as they will be in recovery from the hit, so use Find the Mark to bait for dodges and then hit them during the recovery of it. Find the Mark is the only move that can be feinted/canceled in the ranged moveset, but must be done so before the arrow is loosed. Find the Mark can also be canceled by another slide but at the cost of a fair bit of stamina, say about 40%. (Please don’t ask me how much exactly, I don’t know full stam values/costs but I can guess at rough percents) When out of arrows slide and switch to your melee before getting back in the frey.
Fighting with the Wakazashi
The Wakazashi will be your main combat tool. While the bow is a plenty exciting weapon concept, this is still a (mostly) melee based fighting game. The Wakazashi moveset is designed to have only one unblockable which is the deflect. Instead of relying on constant unblockables (you have ranged mode for 8 of those) the Wakazashi heavies have variable timings so you can bait your opponent into trying to parry too early. Also, to note, the Glinting Flurry Li Li He chain works more along the lines of the Centurion Li Li He chain in that you do not get a guaranteed second light, but all attacks in the chain can be done from the same or a different side. Heavy finishers if the Heavy input is held can also be soft canceled into a GB to catch a dodging opponent and allow a bit more mixup with the kit. If getting double teamed be sure to use slide to either escape or at least get to a better position, the Akuto is very much a glass cannon.
Fighting against an Akuto
with Akuto using the Bow
The bow is intended has a harassment tool, yes, and while it only has a limited supply of ammunition you do not want to get turned into a pincushion regardless of the character you play, especially if all shots Find the[ir] Mark. Like with the Shinobi thrown Kusarigama, the arrow can be dodged. Your goal should be to try to stick close to the Akuto as possible, as their defense with the bow is practically nil. If you see the Akuto take a knee while in ranged mode do not dodge immediately, as this is a bait for them to land a shot, instead walk towards them while being ready to dodge, as attempting a GB during the kneel of Find the Mark or reloading/standing afterwards is free a guaranteed. Chasing them down will prove difficult for some characters, but it is intended to keep the Akuto alive, if they slide backwards chase them, if they try to slide to your side, throw a GB to catch them like a Shinobi.
with Akuto using the Wakazashi
Even without their bows the Akuto are still just as much of a warrior as everyone else on the battlefield. They lack an Unblockable to force an opening but they love to bait for a parry attempt they can punish so be on your toes, because if you let them chip you down to 1 HP they’re probably keeping one last arrow for you. They can soft feint the final heavy in a chain into an unblockable so be sure to try and catch them before they get too far into it, but be wary of the variable timing possible on their he he chain. They have small health so stay on top of them so they can’t put the pressure on you.
Sorry for any typos, typed it up in a Google Doc on my phone.
Thanks for the read,
RGC
Member
Crap, missed a part!
Lore/Trailer Speech: "There are those among the Samurai who live outside of the Villages and reaches of the Empire. They spend long days honing their skills in the Mire, waiting patiently for the right moment to strike at their foes; keeping to themselves and acting as distant protectors at our borders. Akuto, masters of the Yumi bow and the Wakazashi blade, they lie in wait for the perfect moment to strike, and when they do, the enemy won't know what struck them down.
