Leona Heidern (Arcade Version)

[Kane317]

The tricky part isn't the shortcut itself if you ask me. Ash's DC links seem fine to me; it's the Moon Slasher itself that has a strange cancel window much like Heidern '02 UM.

[Ash]

i always had a hard time with leona's drive cancels. i was under the impression that you really had to buffer full charges. kane would probably know better than i would though lol

Oh yeah oops, yeah I meant db, ub+P, f+K

Yes you have to do full charges. Need to do db~du+P -> f+K - this way you don't lose the back charge.

did you mean db~uf+P? if you did, it makes sense now. totally forgot about command overlap on charge moves

I think he meant, c.db~ub+P~f+K.  I conditioned my MoonSlashers to end in ub+P now, even if I'm not canceling.  Don't do uf+P coz you get that lame overlap where it does MoonSlasher [DC], Baltic Launcher (c.b~f+P).

Oh yeah oops, yeah I meant db, ub+P, f+K

[MrZaKaGi]

It's been a while but what can Leona do against Raiden?

Yeah if I played the game regularly over the past months I would have put some info up myself lol.

I can do Leona's HD combo in the corner now and have 1 burning question.

can execute the grand saber.

but is

really possible? Kept on trying that to see if there are any potential variants but the special doesn't pop out. Otherwise it might actually be good midscreen HD combo material.

Whats her mid screen HD combo then.

[a11111357]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrQG1pBFCsM&feature=player_embedded

[Kane317]

Sorry to double post.

I can do Leona's HD combo in the corner now and have 1 burning question.

can execute the grand saber.

but is

really possible? Kept on trying that to see if there are any potential variants but the special doesn't pop out. Otherwise it might actually be good midscreen HD combo material.

Whats her mid screen HD combo then.

Sorry for the late reply.  I'll have to dig up some old KCE videos of her doing her midscreen HD (it might very well be in this thread), but to answer your question you cannot perform her Grand Sabre (c.b~f+K) cancels by ending it in df, only forward works.   EDIT: Found it in this thread, here's one and you can scan the thread for the rest.  I'm not entirely sure which strength they use but it's just a combination of her Moon Slasher and her Grand Sabre: http://youtu.be/IbaQPmPr9RU?t=3m46s

As for Raiden, the universal answer is to rush him down hard the first 10 seconds or so and then you just have to be very careful.  Use those instant-overhead vertical D mixups and try to get him cornered.  If you're hyperjumping with him in the corner he cannot dropkick you.  Also, if you know he's going to GCCD into dropkick make sure you make your jump attacks super deep so the GCCD will fail and he'll waste his charge, good luck =)

[Rex Dart]

Personally, I think Leona is the hidden high-tier in XIII. There's more of an input-barrier to using her effectively, but once mastered, she can hang with Andy and Kyo.

The biggest fault I can find with her is that she doesn't build meter very quickly, and she definitely needs it to keep her options open. Also, her movelist is pretty unconventional compared to most of the XIII cast, which makes her a tough match-up for some characters.

[Kane317]

Great punish for just a counter hit.  I agree, I think Leona has a lot of potential to be explored as well.

[Rex Dart]

Also from a CD. Leona is just too cool.

[Kane317]

You can never get sick of her HD combos.

I figured I'm going to compile a bunch of videos like I have in Duo Lon's thread eventually...

[omegaryuji]

You know, part of me wants to go for one KOF without having Leona on my main team, but she's always just so fun and solid...not to mention being one of the most stylish female characters in any fighting game (and I really need to spend some time in training mode before I can do anything real with Duo Lon *laughs*)

Anyway, I'm looking to check my understanding about something (more of a general system question, but it relates specifically to Leona, so I thought it fit better here).  If I do cr.B, cr.B, (or cr.B, cr.B, cr.A), then react to it being blocked with a slightly delayed []~ +B and try to buffer in a drive cancel to []~ +C, the []~ +C will only come out if the []~ +B hits, right?  The intention is to make a staggered block string to bait the other player into not blocking, and since []~ +K seems to be safe on block and (I think) drive cancels only work on hit, it should leave you in a good position afterwards either way.

Her HD stuff looks good, so I'm not sure how useful that would be compared to doing <block string>, delayed cl.D (hit confirm for HD), <big damage>, but at least until I can work on the execution for HD combos, it would be something to do with drive gauge.

[t3h mAsTarOth...!]

man i really like how Leona looks in XIII... i might end up putting her on my team to have an all out Ikari team... at the above post... i think you'll be better off with hit confirming into Moon Slasher... then drive cancel that into Grand Saber... cause you can connect a Grand Rafale after that... if you want to use Drive meter... or you are better off staying with cr.B, s.B, f.B... it's safe on block and you can hit confirm it into X caliber or V Slasher...

[omegaryuji]

I figured I'm going to compile a bunch of videos like I have in Duo Lon's thread eventually...

Trying to lend a hand...I think I got all of the video links posted in this thread:

5/22 KCE vs U-Rushia:
Leona vs Kula/Yuri (players: Yanagi vs name I can't read)
Leona vs K'/Kyo/Leona (players: Animesomurie vs name I can't read)

4/24 KOF XIII Carnival (player 1 is Animesomurie, can't read player 2's name):
Leona vs K'/Leona

Japanese event, not sure about more info for this video
Leona vs Kensou/Shen
Leona vs Shen
Leona vs Ash/King
Leona vs Kula
Leona vs Shen
(following links are using the MMCafe nicovideo redirector...don't know how to do timestamps with that, so I noted the times in text)
Leona vs Benimaru/Shen/Iori (@1:43)
Leona vs Shen (@6:15)
Leona vs Shen/Iori (@9:55)
Leona vs K'/Kim/Iori (@12:50)
Leona vs K'/Hwa/Iori (@16:35)
Leona vs Iori (@22:00)

Youssef vs Frionel (not sure which is which)
Leona vs Yuri

Training mode videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gLryGm0HfM#t=0m25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrQG1pBFCsM&feature=player_embedded

I'll try to remember to look through Game A-cho's youtube channel when I get a chance to see if they have any Leona footage in their XIII videos.  EDIT: Would you believe that in all of their videos, not once did I see Leona get played?

[omegaryuji]

Doublepost to link some more videos from KCE vs U-Rushia matches:

Leona vs K'/Elizabeth (players: Marichan vs Taiyaki)
Leona vs King/Kula (players: Marichan vs Myuu)
Leona vs Ash (players: Marichan vs name I can't read)
Leona vs Kyo/Kula (players: Marichan vs name I can't read)
Leona vs Shen (players: Haregaro~ vs name I can't read)
Leona vs Elizabeth (players: Ohiki vs name I can't read)

[4leaf]

hyperdrive combos that i found to have the most damage. combo starts with j.C d.C hd d.C. all mid screen combos. sorry if any of these have already been posted before.

1meter
moon slasher A hdc grand sabre B x4, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre D x2, slash sabre (850/843dmg)

moon slasher A hdc grand sabre B x5, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre D, vslasher (830dmg)

2meters
ex moon slasher hdc grand sabre B, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre B x3, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre D x2, slash sabre (918/911dmg)

ex moon slasher hdc grand sabre B, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre B x4, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre D, vslasher (898dmg)
-no ex moon slasher and end with ex vslasher (890dmg)

3meters
ex moon slasher hdc grand sabre B x2, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre B x2, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre D x2, slash sabre (978/971dmg)

ex moon slasher hdc grand sabre B x2, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre B x3, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre D, vslasher (958dmg)
-one ex moon slasher and end with ex vslasher (958dmg)

moon slasher A hdc grand sabre B x4, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre D hdc neomax (896dmg)

4meters
ex moon slasher hdc grand sabre B x2, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre B x3, moon slasher A hdc grand sabre D, ex vslasher (1018)

5meters
(see 4 meter combo)

i noticed that although A and C ver moon slasher do the same damage by itself, the damage scaling for C ver is worse during a combo. it seems also that both ver of moon slasher do less damage if the hit lands close to the top rather than close to the ground (if that made any sense). i close with grand sabre D rather than B prior to a dm because it lifts up the opponent higher which makes it easier to do a dm. It also gives more time to cancel to neomax.

[4leaf]

Training mode videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gLryGm0HfM#t=0m25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrQG1pBFCsM&feature=player_embedded

I'll try to remember to look through Game A-cho's youtube channel when I get a chance to see if they have any Leona footage in their XIII videos.  EDIT: Would you believe that in all of their videos, not once did I see Leona get played?

the full screen combos from the 2nd link looks like it does more damage with 3 and 4 meters although it looks like he started off with ex moon slasher to ex grand sabre which would make it a 4 and 5 meter combo. i'll try and duplicate the combos tomorrow.

edit: the full screen combos did start off with ex moon slasher to ex grand sabre.