The King of Fighters XIII/Hwa Jai/Strategy

Spacing

Far Range

• Drink!

Mid Range

• If drunk, then dp+D beats basically everything and gives you a very scary combo with just 1 drive.

• Far D is an extremely fast, good range poke which deals good damage and has great blockstun. Abuse it.

• Standing B has great reach and can be cancelled into d/f+B for a combo or for pressure. It's very safe and abusable.

• d/f+B covers great distance and can go under some pokes, as well as being safe on block and cancellable even if it was not cancelled into.

• cr.D hits very far, comes out very quickly, is completely safe and best of all puts Hwa very close to the ground. This means that many pokes will go straight over him while he's attacking!

• qcf,hcb+C has full invulnerability and deals tons of damage. It can be used to beat anything that telegraphs too much, such as a fireball.

• qcb+BD is invulnerable to fireballs and grants a hard knockdown+crossup, as well as being completely safe on block.

Close Range

• st.A and st.B hit crouching opponents and cause low hitstun while remaining safe. These can be used for pressure or to mix up into a throw with qcf,hcb+A.

• qcf,hcb+A is 1 frame, so if anyone is ever too close... feel free to grab them and then cross them up with forward jumping j.D immediately after.

• cr.B, cr.B, st.B can lead to some serious damage and allows for very easy confirmation.

• qcb+B is -1 on block, so it's punishable by characters with instant grabs (Benimaru, Vice, Elisabeth, Raiden, Goro, Clark, etc.)

• qcb+D gives advantage on block, but can be interrupted in the startup if predicted. It can be combod after with either qcf,hcb+A instantly or a tight link with close C.

Cornered Opponent

• j.C/D, j.qcb+B, is far easier to connect reliably in the corner than midscreen, making Hwa's hyperhop pressure much stronger when the opponent is cornered.

• get ready to deal absurd damage if you connect anything at all!

Cornered

• if you're sober, you have grab DM to get you out of most situations. Use C version to beat projectiles, if the enemy gets too close use A version.

• if you're sober and have 0 meter, you can still get out of hyperhop pressure with dp+B which has some very minor invulnerability.

• C+D guard cancel gives you plenty of time to drink if you have meter to spare and really need to have your invulnerable D shoryu available to you. Turn the fight to your favor at the cost of 2 meter!

• cr.D puts Hwa very low to the ground and can beat many pokes or even jump-ins

• if you're drunk, then D shoryu is absolutely your best tool for getting yourself out of the corner. Just wait for something telegraphed (most safe specials have some startup time) and then dp+D and drive cancel to a j.qcb+B, and then qcb+Bx3 into qcfx2+B/D if you have the drive for it. The meter will build itself from the combo!

Crossup Setups

• cr.Bx2, forward hop j.D

• cr.B, close C/D, hyperhop forward j.D

• cr.Bx2, s.B, hyperhop forward j.D

• far D at max range, superjump forward j.D

• far D at min range (or close D at max range), hyperhop forward j.D

• qcf,hcb+A, wait briefly then superjump j.D (meaty)

• (drunk) anything into d/f+B (from close range), qcb+D will cross up crouching opponents and allows for you to link qcf,hcb+A very easily afterward, or close C sometimes.

Meter Options

With No Meter/No Drive

• Standing and crouching B and D are all extremely long range pokes with great advantage on block (particularly stand D). Use these pokes to gain meter and pressure the opponent. These kicks are all cancellable except for standing D.

• Down/forward+B is completely safe at nearly maximum range, and even gives Hwa advantage on block at the maximum range. A great mid-range poke, as it's cancellable even outside of combos.

• Standing A hits crouchers and recovers extremely quickly. It can also be used to set up frametraps by delaying slightly between multiple standing As.

• Jumping CD is extremely strong air-to-air (one of the best air-to-air normals in the game, easily), and it can also cause massive blockstun or even cross up. Abuse it.

• Qcb+B is actually unsafe on block against certain characters. It gives Hwa a -1 frame disadvantage, meaning that characters with instant command grabs can punish it every time. Be aware of which characters can and cannot grab you after qcb+B. Against characters with instant grabs, d/f+B should be your blockstring ender in most cases.

With 1+ Meter/No Drive

• Grappler mode! Don't forget that you have an extremely high damage grab DM. You can still be a frightening opponent without being drunk, and with 0 drive. Try to stay close enough to grab.

• It is not recommended that you drink if you have no drive. Hwa is truly at his strongest when he has at least 1 drive and he's drunk. Save the meter.

• You still cannot be zoned with 1 meter. qcb+BD is invulnerable to projectiles and completely safe on block. It's an extremely low-risk, high-reward move against zoners.

• You can still combo after j.CD or st.CD non-counterhit with dp+BD for a healthy amount of damage.

With No Meter/50%-100% Drive

• If you're drunk and you have no meter, but 50%-100% drive, then you're perfectly fine. Feel free to start a combo with 0 meter as drunk Hwa, you'll have 1 or 2 meter by the end of it for the combo ender.

• If you're sober, try to poke and pressure your opponent to the corner, as Hwa can still achieve over 450 damage with 0 meter and 1 drive in the corner without being drunk.

With 1+ Meter/50%-100% Drive

• Make some space and take a drink. Now you're ready to start dealing damage. Any jump-in combo should be ending in over 700 damage from anywhere if you land the hit, so long as you have the 4-6 seconds required left in your drink state.

• While drunk, dp+D has extended reach and full invulnerability, and can be an extremely strong combo starter. If your opponent tries to do anything telegraphed (fireball, slow attack, etc) then give them the dp+D and turn it into a full combo.

• Usually your combos should end in qcfx2+B/D, and not the EXDM. The damage increase with the EXDM over the standard DM is not particularly high (do it if it'll give you the kill with its 100 extra damage), but if you end your combos in qcfx2+B/D instead of qcfx2+BD you'll almost always have enough meter to drink after your qcfx2+B/D combo ender and then still go for a meaty attack (recovery is indeed that quick).

Tips

Frame Traps and Links

• (L) = Link, can be a frame trap as well.

• "(n) frame gap" = The amount of frames that opponent has to counter a frame trap.

1.) st. A > far C - 4 frame gap between st. A and far C.

2.) st. A > cl. C - 3 frame gap between st. A and cl. C.

3.) st. A > cr. C - 3 frame gap between st. A and cr. C.

4.) st. A > cl. D - 4 frame gap between st. A and cl. D.

5.) cr. A > far C - 3 frame gap between cr. A and far C.

6.) cr. A > cl. C (L) - 2 frame gap between cr. A and cl. C.

7.) cr. A > cr. C (L) - 2 frame gap between cr. A and cr. C.

8.) cr. A > far D - 4 frame gap between cr. A and far D.

9.) cr. A > cl. D - 3 frame gap between cr. A and cl. D.

10.) cr. A > cr. D - 4 frame gap between cr. A and cr. D.

11.) st. B > st. A - 4 frame gap between st. B and st. A.

12.) st. B > cr. A - 3 frame gap between st. B and cr. A.

13.) st. B > cl. C - 4 frame gap between st. B and cl. C.

14.) st. B > cr. C - 4 frame gap between st. B and cr. C.

15.) cr. B > far C - 3 frame gap between cr. B and far C.

16.) cr. B > cl. C (L) - 2 frame gap between cr. B and cl. C.

17.) cr. B > cr. C (L) - 2 frame gap between cr. B and cr. C.

18.) cr. B > cl. D - 3 frame gap between cr. B and cl. D.

19.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > st. A - 2 frame gap between low air dp+B and st. A.

20.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > cr. A - 1 frame gap between low air dp+B and cr. A.

21.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > st. B. - 2 frame gap between low air dp+B and st. B.

22.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > cr. B. - 1 frame gap between low air dp+B and cr. B.

23.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > far C. - 2 frame gap between low air dp+B and far C.

24.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > cl. C. - 2 frame gap between low air dp+B and cl. C.

25.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > cr. C. - 2 frame gap between low air dp+B and cr. C.

26.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > far D. - 4 frame gap between low air dp+B and far D.

27.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > cl. D. - 3 frame gap between low air dp+B and cl. D.

28.) Low air dp+B (+3 on block) > cr. D. - 4 frame gap between low air dp+B and cr. D.

29.) Lowest air dp+B (+4 on block) > far C. A - 1 frame gap between lowest air dp+B and far C.

30.) Lowest air dp+B (+4 on block) > far D. A - 3 frame gap between lowest air dp+B and far D.

31.) Lowest air dp+B (+4 on block) > cr. D. A - 3 frame gap between lowest air dp+B and cr. D.

• There is a visual difference between low air dp+B (+3 on block) and lowest air dp+B (+4 on block). Lowest air dp+B (+4 on block) creates more push back between Hwa Jai and his opponent. It can be a bit difficult to tell the amount of push back is created by low/lowest air dps at mid-screen, but it is easier to tell the difference at the corner.

Best Team Position

• This is debatable, but with the high damage that Hwa can put out with nothing but 1 drive and 0 meter while drunk, having 1 meter and 1 drive puts Hwa at nearly his maximum potential. This makes him ideal for the middle spot, though he's quite acceptable as a battery or anchor.

• Hwa can build meter very quickly as a battery, but being able to drink at the very start of the round puts you in a favorable position right off the bat.

• With 1 meter at his disposal, Hwa gains an extremely strong grab option. As a battery he lacks this option for the first portion of the round.

• As an anchor he will almost always end the match with meter and drive to spare since he builds so much during his actual combos. This means that if he had another character still behind him (if he were on 2nd instead of 3rd), the character following Hwa will almost always have some meter and drive to work with.

Playing Against Hwa Jai

• stay in close range as much as possible while Hwa is sober, since it's risky for Hwa to drink with an opponent in range to punish.

• stay as far away as possible while Hwa is drunk, since any random hit can be turned into an absurdly high damage combo, but Hwa is on a timer.

• be aware that Hwa's drink DM has invulnerability until Hwa throws his bottle away, at which point he can be punished briefly.

• DO NOT FORGET that Hwa has an extremely high damage instant grab DM which gives him a mixup afterwards. Try not to get too close.

• DO NOT FORGET that Hwa can grab you from halfscreen for over 300 damage at the cost of just 1 meter. Don't do anything terribly slow, or you're inviting a huge punish.

• Hwa's D shoryu gives him massive damage, but it's also completely punishable. Try to bait it out with quick attacks, since it has a slight startup time on it.

Character Matchups

Andy Bogard

Ash Crimson

Athena Asamiya

Benimaru Nikaido

Billy Kane

Chin Gentsai

Clark Still

Duo Lon

Elisabeth Branctorche

Goro Daimon

Hwa Jai (Mirror Match)

Iori Yagami (Claw)

Iori Yagami (Flame)

Joe Higashi

K'

Kim Kaphwan

King

Kula Diamond

Kyo Kusanagi (XIII)

Kyo Kusanagi (NESTS)

Leona Heidern

Mai Shiranui

Mature

Maxima

Raiden

Ralf Jones

Robert Garcia

Ryo Sakazaki

Saiki

Shen Woo

Sie Kensou

Takuma Sakazaki

Mr. Karate

Terry Bogard

Vice

Yuri Sakazaki