Original post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/forhonor/co...r_new_players/
Nobushi Guide for New Players
Rep 50 nobu here. I play mostly Dominion.
First, open up this spreadsheet and try to soak it in. There is a lot of useful information about the speed and damage of attacks (of all classes): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...Kgc/edit#gid=0
First and foremost: Nobushi players are VERY VERY easy to parry, so expect EVERYONE to constantly try to parry every attack you launch. But this obsessive thinking CAN work to your advantage. It can be very frustrating once you hit the mid tier, but also very satisfying once you learn how to mind **** people.
Nobushi really shines in Dominion matches where her incredibly long range and high damage can be effective. She also has a kick that can put a lot of pressure on enemies.
500ms attacks are generally considered to be "safe" and are not easy to parry unless they are expected. Anything slower than that, 600, 700, especially 800, are really easy to parry.
Unfortunately, Nobushi's only 500ms attack is a BASIC side light (right or left). Use it to poke holes at people's defenses and keep them on their toes. DO NOT follow up with another light attack because the 2nd combo attack is 600ms and super easily telegraphed (you WILL get parried). After hitting them once with your light attack you can follow up with a kick every once in a while, but do not use the kick every single time you can (see more on this later).
I like to hold left or right guard depending on who I'm up against. As soon as I see them start to lose focus on the guard I'm holding, I'll poke them with it. You can also feint this 500ms light attack directly into hidden stance (just click for do a light attack and immediately hold down the hidden stance button.) NOTE: this is one of the few feintable light attacks in the game. It can really mind **** people... the reaction window between the normal light attack and a hidden stance feint is 100ms! the fastest in the game! Works great against parry-the-world players. Does not work against dodge attack assassins or kenseis. Highlander can also be a problem because they like to crushing counter and it will hit you before you can recover.
If you don't know this already, hidden stance has dodge I-frames (I-frames means you are invulnerable for a few split seconds). You can dodge ALMOST anything with hidden stance with good timing. Even a regular shield bash from conq or a shoulder smash from a warden (looks funny too!). If you manage to hidden stance dodge their attack, hit them twice with a light attack (guaranteed) and let them FEEL THE BLEED. Hidden stance counts as the start of a combo, so the double light works right off the get go. Give it a try against dummy bot in practice mode and you'll see how this works.
Cobra strike (her light dodge attack) can be really good if used properly. If I'm holding a left guard, I will dodge to the right and light attack, which makes you poke from the right without changing your guard. They don't see the guard change this way and it can be sneaky if done properly. It is a 600ms attack though, so expect it to be parried if you spam it too much.
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE how to CANCEL YOUR RECOVERIES. Nobushi is one of the only characters able to completely cancel some of her recovery durations with another attack, dodge, or kick. You can do some scary fast, crazy counters if done correctly. Just FYI, you CAN NOT CANCEL THE RECOVERY OF A LIGHT ATTACK IF YOU ARE BLOCKED (and this isn't listed anywhere in her move list, so it is kinda tribal knowledge). But you CAN cancel the recovery of most heavy attacks even if you are blocked. Just go into practice mode and play with the combos against a bot. And remember, dodging is a good way to cancel a recovery. Which leads to my next point:
Sidewinder form (her dodge heavy) is a good finisher. You can dodge cancel a recovery and immediately throw this attack. By itself it is easy to block or parry as a basic opener because it has really poor tracking and range, but if you use it to cancel the recovery of another attack it can do some stupid good damage if they are bleeding. Good for finishing someone off who's getting beat on by one of your other combos.
Remember: Nobushi does extra damage to targets that are already bleeding. Even bleeds from other classes. So if they are bleeding, always try to get in a heavy. Your bleeds don't stack (but they will with someone else's). If you are constantly poking them with bleeds and light attacks you are missing out on damage because the bleed is just refreshing on duration but not adding much damage. But if you smack them with a heavy when they are bleeding, they are going to seriously feel it. Works great in dominion. Enjoy the execute.
Nobushi's kick is pretty good now, but don't rely on it too much. You can use the kick after HITTING with a light attack (won't work if blocked!), or ANYTIME after a heavy (even if you are blocked!) Most good players expect the kick now though, so don't use it after every combo. But it works great in dominion on targets not prepared to dodge it. If you manage to wall bang someone with it (kick them so they get stunned against a wall), use a side heavy instead of the light attack. Especially if they are bleeding. The timing is tight, but the wall stun is long enough for you to get in a side heavy.
Against assassins use similar strategies as most other characters: feint a heavy and see if they dodge attack, then parry. Other than that, I do not recommend playing aggressively against assassins. They will simply dodge attack just about everything you can throw at them. Nobushi is slow and telegraphed and very easy to dodge attack, if not parry. One on one with an assassin can be very annoying. You're best bet is to catch them in a cooldown or to parry them. Use your zone against assassins every now and again, but just don't spam it. It will catch an early or late dodger.
And please... PLEASE don't zome spam attack in dominion with friendlies around... seriously.. just don't do it. The zone interrupts EVERYONE, even your own team.
If you parry someone, the rule of thumb is to always follow with a viper's retreat (the backwards light attack that pokes them from far away). It is a guaranteed bleed attack for 26 damage and can be used at ANY range. So if you heavy parry another nobushi, and even if she's far as **** away, the viper's retreat will STILL HIT.
If you manage to parry a light attack, the stun is longer, and you can actually get in a heavy attack or sidewinder, but the timing is tough. Honestly, just use the viper's retreat until you're practiced up and ready to try some harder moves.
If you guard break someone, always, ALWAYS top heavy. It is guaranteed and does a **** ton of damage. If they are bleeding it can do over 50 damage. Nobushi has one of the hardest hitting top heavies in the game (especially if they are bleeding) and unlike other heavy hitters, she CAN get the top heavy on a guardbreak since it is only 800ms.
Have fun with the poke poke.
Centurion is kind of a pain, because he is built around parry punishing, and as everyone knows, Nobushi is one of the easiest characters to parry in the entire game because she is so heavily telegraphed in her attacks. However, Centurion is not without his weaknesses. There are several attacks in his chain that can be blocked, can be dodged, and many will throw guard breaks in there which can be counter guard broken. Parrying Centurion is not an ideal situation.
Shinobi can't really lock you down with anything other than his one attack that stabs you to your knees and gives him a few free hits. Amusingly, shinobi is one of Nobushi's best match-ups and one of her only opponents where she has over a 50% win rate against, at like 53% or something. That just goes to show you how poor of a position she is in in 1v1 match-ups. Anyway, shinobi is very vulnerable to several things: First, your side lights are 500ms which means they are going to be good against his reflex guard. He might deflect you but that happens, and second, the thing that hurts him the most, is hidden stance. Knowing what you can and cannot use hidden stance against is huge. Also, using hidden stance to cancel against him is big.
Valk has a leg sweep that is pretty nasty for noob-stomping, but like Nobushi's kick which is equally noob-stompy, it can be dodged with a little practice, as can all of her moves. Struggling against her as a new player, especially as a new Nobushi player, is very understandable. She has quick attacks that don't always do a lot of damage, and a fairly varied kit. Once you learn her moves a bit more though, she is not really that dangerous to Nobushi.
I have created a discord for nobushi mains young and old to come to learn and sharpen their Naginata's. If you need help or want to help other nobushi mains please join!
https://discord.gg/4HuGadp
I think it should be added that doing a light into hs isn't all that grand against someone who can play against nobushi as even if they fall for it they can faint it and block your next attack or simply let it go and get free damage in an example being cent. Another thing to add is her dodge attacks dont dodge and while with good practice it can be useful in this regard if I remember correctly its about as hard as a deflect but not nearly as rewarding/useful. Next when kicking someone into a wall you should just do a heavy from whatever gard your where on before kicking (top gives the most damage so I try and keep my gard at top when I go and kick someone into a wall) and after parrying a light you should try and always do a top heavy once your comfortable with parrys. A few side notes vipers retreat can be used at almost anytime and can be used as a surprise or punish something like a storm rush. Blocked heavys from hs is a free kick unless it is another nobushi (it's about the only time swift recoil is useful). Learn how much stamina her moves take this is almost the most important thing about her your most likely dead out of stamina. I was going to put some info on how to use her in 1vX but this is long enough already.