This is going to sound silly but i was playing gladiator and have a good grasp on the character, love his aggression and ability to bring the fight to anyone so it's never a staring contest. But I was fighting a lawbringer recently who had an amazing defense and was even able to block my start up lights to enter a mix up. Made it impossible to do anything against him because of that shove and shut down block. Even tried shield bash and toe stabs. He would dodge around and bash me to enter his chain. If I escaped I couldn't attack again since those shoves drained my stam. I had to resort to gladiator zone to open him up and even then my next attack would be blocked repeating the cycle. What should I have done against this law bringer who could block anything I do and dodge any unlockable? Oddly enough my teammate who was a warden was able to beat him with shoulder bash mix ups, I did not have that luxury as far as I know.
If you're fighting a Lawbro like that, your zone attack is your best option, though if he gets used to it he'll be able to dodge just as easily as toe stab. Remember, your zone attack as Gladiator can be feinted on the second hit, so you can start your own mixup from there. Say into a toe stab or guard break. When they start trying to counter that strategy, that's when your other offensive options can come into play.
It's by no means a perfect solution, as some people are just REALLY good with their reactions and are incredibly skilled, but if this Lawbro was getting opened up by the Warden 50/50, you shouldn't have too much trouble opening him up with Gladiator's 50/50 tools. That being said, it could also be that this particular Lawbringer is just really experienced with the Law vs. Glad matchup and not so much vs. a Warden. In any case, I hope you're able to figure it out!![]()
There is nothing that cannot be defended against in this game.
Your zone attack should be the foundation of your offense. If it lands, you get easy free damage. Don't worry about following up and comboing unless you have an abundance of stamina or your opponent has a weak defense. Instead, let the fight go back to neutral, play defense while your stamina regenerates, and keep using your zone attack intermittently until they learn to start dodging it.
Once they start dodging your zone attack, you have to start adapting to them
If they are dodging proactively/predictively, then mix neutral guard breaks in with your zone. The guard breaks will catch their dodge attempts and create a threat that incentivizes them to stand still and eat the zone.
If they are skilled enough to dodge it reactively, just pay attention to what they do after their dodge (Dodge attack, wait for parry, Guard break, etc)
Once you have a good idea how they will attempt to cash in on a successful dodge, make a plan to feint and counter them.
This is what offense is in this game.
Fast, minimal risk attacks and 50/50 mixups. Gladiator zone is one of the very best moves in the game because it does both of those things very well.