From: Dion Adrian Madrilejo <[email protected]>
Newsgroups: rec.games.video.arcade
Subject: [TK3] Xiaoyu Strat. FAQ ver. 4.0
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 1997 12:39:08 -0400


Ling Xiaoyu Strategy FAQ ver. 4.0

Copyright 1997 Dion A. Madrilejo

Any unauthorized use of this FAQ in a print or electronic publication
without express written consent will be prosecuted (Or at least flamed
liberally.)

--------------------- History ---------------------

v0.5 First publication of this FAQ
v1.0 Lots of text redone
    First vs. guides added
    Table of contents added
v2.0 Pulled stuff about hopping out of the AoP out of the FAQ
    Follow-ups to AoP->breakdance sweeps/scissor kicks
    Added Questions section
    Little tidbit about facing Eddys added
    Credits added
    FAQ locations added
v2.5 More anti-Eddy stuff added
    Dodging section added
v4.0 More stuff added to the Dodging section
    Costume descriptions added
    Rewrote the vs. section to be less wordy
    Added a lot more characters to the vs. section

------------------ Key ------------------

The move notation in most (if not all) TK FAQs is like this

u/b  u  u/f        1     2

b    N    f

d/b  d  d/f        3     4

1=left punch  2=right punch
3=left kick   4=right kick

lowercase letter = tap (i.e. f for tap forward)
UPPERCASE letter = hold (i.e. F for hold forward)

x+y = press x and y simultaneously
x,y = do x then y
x~y = do x then quickly do y (usually refers to button taps.  The buttons
should be pressed about as quickly as if you were drumming your fingers on
them.)

------------------ Table of Contents ------------------

*Why?
 -Reasons why to play Ling
*Where?
 -Where you can find this FAQ
*General Tips
 -Core Xiao moves
   -Storming Flower
   -Art of Phoenix
   -Turned-away Vert. Hook Kick
 -Dodging
*Vs. Guides
 -Eddy
 -Paul
 -Jin
 -Lei
*Miscellany
*Things to do

--------------------- Why? ---------------------

This FAQ exists because no one at the time had yet to create a suitable
playing guide for our gal Ling ;)

In case you get into any arguments over who to play in TK3 here's some
ammo as to why Ling's the way to go:

-She's cute (Well; during the actual match anyway): I personally don't
like her portrait but at least she looks good during the fight.
-Best win pose: How can you beat a girl doing a handstand splits?
-She can taunt: 1+3+4, 2+3+4 or counterhitting with the Storming Flower.
-She's a University of Michigan fan: Her 2P outfit shows that she, like
Shun Di in VF2 and 3, is a Univ. of Mich. fan.

--------------------- Where? ---------------------

Here are the places that legally carry this FAQ:
(If you find a place that carries this FAQ ...WITHOUT... proper credit
being given; please let me know and if you're carrying this FAQ without
notifying me, read the copyright notice at the beginning.)

Tekken 3 Professional Players
http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~mxavier/TEKKEN3/TK3.HTM

Tekken Information Center
http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Heights/7811/

Dion's World
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dmad

-------------------- General tips --------------------

When playing Ling there are three things you really need to have down to
dominate with her:

-The Storming Flower
-The Art of Phoenix
-Her Turned-Away Vert. Hook Kick

== The Storming Flower (d/b+1) ==
The power and usefulness of this move is nearly as amazing as Paul's
Death Fist. It's fast, counterhits virtually anything and when it
counterhits it smacks 'em so far away you can usually get a running
shoulder charge in much like Paul. Also since it's only a tap really you
can react a lot better with it as opposed to a Death Fist.

USE- Former Paul players are pretty much ready to go so they can jump to
the CAVEATS part. For the rest of you...you've probably seen Paul players
death fisting like madmen. The good ones will counterhit death fist ->
shoulder charge with perfection and sometimes finish a round in under 10
ticks. The trick is to, well, understand your enemy. You need to have a
feel for which moves take long to execute and/or retract. When they throw
a slow move; smack 'em with the SF. As for which moves you should SF,
that's something you can only get down with practice. Of course the fact
that the SF has some pretty insane priority doesn't hurt either (I hit
people out of charges and Hwoarang out of many of his kicks all the time.)
I'm not sure about this bit but I think she ducks a bit when she dashes in
to SF and thus some high attacks will wiff and thus allow you to
counterhit more effectively.

CAVEATS- Do NOT go nuts with this move like many a Paul. You cannot use
this move with wild abandon because 1) it has a short reach and 2) it has
horrible recovery time. You MUST know the range of this move to make it
deadly for them. If you wiff (which will happen, especially when ppl will
charge in and stop just outside of the SF range) you will eat it...HARD.
If you want to SF with maximum safety go for the Hydrangea->SF canned
combo (u+1+2,2,1) Although it's fairly hard to hit with all the hits and
the actual SF rarely hits at all.

== The Art of Phoenix (d+1+2) ==
The sheer usefulness of this stance is just that side of amazing. It's
nigh invulnerable since just about everything wiffs above her head
(Except for sweeps) and you can retaliate in ANY situation with relative
safety.  There's also the mentality that people have that funky stance =
vulnerable so they tend to do stupid things which you can capitalize on.

USE- There are many things you can do from the AoP but you'll probably go
for the following:
1+2 Double forearm bash: Decent damage and it juggles. Go for this when
they wiff a heavy attack over your head like Paul's death fist.
3 ankle kick: Good for poking and stuffing fast rushers like Law and you
don't come out of the AoP after execution.
u/f+4,4 scissor kicks: Comes out fairly quick and good against people who
try to smack you out of the AoP with a low attack.
d/f+4,4 breakdance sweeps: If they wiff high but it's not a heavy attack
do the sweeps since they come out fast.
4~3 ground scissor sweep: Good reactionary move since it executes even
quicker than the breakdance sweeps although you really can't follow it up
except with the prone ankle kick.
u/f+3 and u+3,3 pop-up kick and pop-up side kicks: Great surprise value
and you land on your feet after execution. I have yet to get the second
side kick to connect although it does keep people from rushing in if you
wiff the first kick. The straight pop-kick has a lot of lag if you wiff
it so make sure of your range before execution.
1+3 or 2+4 throw: It's the fact that you can dodge safely and throw that
makes the AoP so sickening to your opponents. Basically you knock them
away, AoP, and when they come in, wait for them to do just about ANY move
and you roll out of the way and throw them.  However good players and
those who you've played a lot against will realize that you are going to
throw and will go for the break (and sometimes get it.)  When they start
doing this, mix it up by holding down right after the button press to just
simply roll out of the way without the throw.

Also remember that any attack coming from a low position (Including the
AoP) can go straight into the TA uppercut->VHK (2,4) A fairly impressive
string of hits since it looks like you're just dismantling your opponent.
You can also tack on the 2,1 turned away punches before the VHK. HOWEVER,
there is some pretty ugly lag between the TA uppercut and anything
following it, therefore...an aware opponent will see the oppourtunity and
kick you in the back or something more hideous.

CAVEATS- Do not hang out in the AoP for long periods of time at close
range since people will only stupidly try to hit you high for a short
period of time.  Pauls will sweep or tile splitter, Leis will rave spin,
Nina's will double-palm, etc, etc.

== The Vertical Hook Kick (Turned Away 4) ==
Right behind the SF; her VHK is almost like Jun's f+2 uppercut in TK2.
When not working on slapping people silly with the SF, work on getting to
the VHK and following it up.

USE- Basically you need to get your back to your opponent to use this.
You can do this via Butter the bread (d/f+1),the turning slap (u+1), or
just by turning around (b+3+4) but the usual way to turn is via the
Raccoon Swing (f,f+3) although abusing the Raccoon Swing->VHK can get you
swept so mix it up with the other ways to turn around. When you do land
this move (which will hopefully and happily happen often) you can follow
up with an SF (Hard to time but capable of 45%+ damage with the raccoon
swing start) or use these followups:
1,2,SF
1,u+1,f,F+3+4
1,u+1,2,1,4
Some people also swear by using the four-hit flurry for juggle hits but I
have yet to connect well with it. *shrug*

MISC- Remeber that when you're turned around you can insert two rev.
punches (2,1) before the VHK but you have to be pretty close to do it but
it looks really cool when you land all the hits.

== Dodging ==

This is where things get silly. While Xiao already has an impressive
arsenal of attacks, you're bound to get in a rut and your opponents will
know what you're going to do so how do you make things interesting for
your opponent? Dodges.

The three dodges you will probably be using are:

The dive roll (f+3+4)
The cartwheel (f+1+2)
The skyflip (f,F+3+4)

If you're familiar with the way dodges work in VF3 then you should
understand most of the basic mechanics but for those of you who aren't
familiar let me explain.

Dodging is basically what turns a 3-D fighter from just being a 2-D
fighter with a nifty graphics engine into a full 3-D game. A term which
you'll need to know is "tracking". Tracking is basically the ability of a
character to continue to face you as they execute a string of attacks.
Generally a character's ability to track depends on how far away you
start your dodge, what kind of move your opponent is doing, and if you
opponent is attempting a string of moves.

In TK3 characters have a great tendency to move in a linear direction
when attempting any sequence of moves, be it a "canned combo" (e.g. like
the hydrangea->SF combo) or a 10-string. However there are certain cases
where their sequence will not necessarily travel in a straight line,
usually this occurs when you attempt to dodge at too far of a distance
and you only end up being slightly off-axis from your opponent as opposed
to directly to the side or behind you opponent which is where you want to
be and thus you end up recovering from your dodge attempt just to eat the
rest of their combo.

The essence of working the fast-get-you-into-VHK-position dodges (the
cartwheel and dive roll) is getting a feel of what you opponent is going
to come at you with and then dodge right before execution; it sounds a
lot easier than it looks since if you dodge too early, you're only off
axis and not in a position to do much of anything.  If you dodge too late
then you get smoked by their attack as you execute.  However a correctly
timed dodge is a thing of beauty since you just schmoovely slide around
your wildly swingly opponent and launch them into the air with a high
damage VHK.

You have probably noticed that not all attacks execute in a straight
line. These attacks are the bane of a dodging character since these
attacks occur in a horizontal circular arc, they have the possibility of
smacking you clean out of your dodge no matter which way or when you
dodge.  Many characters have fairly quick circular attacks which will
stuff your dodge.  Characters which are "fairly" easy to dodge are
Hwoarangs and Laws (Especially buttonmashing types.)

Lastly; never underestimate a good 'ol sidestep.  While not as damaging as
a VHK juggle. Xiao's side and back throws are still heavy hitting and just
as satisfying to land on your opponent.  The timing's just about the same
as the dodges so throw them in to mix up your offense even more.

The Dodges:

The cartwheel (f+1+2)
Fast and it looks good. Dodges into the screen when facing right. This is
the one I use the most because it seems to execute a little quicker than
the roll.

The dive roll (f+3+4)
Good for variation and it can move under high circular attacks however
she jumps into it high.  I usually get tagged out of this dodge.

The sky flip (f+F+3+4)
Frankly, this is an insanely useful move.  It gets you the hell out of
the way, can put you facing away and behind your opponent for a VHK, AND
it can hit for some serious damage, _AND_ it can be a really cool looking
throw.

To clarify; the flip is a completely different beast depending on if
you're facing towards or away from your opponent.  When facing towards
your opponent, she does a single flip in the layout position and is only
dangerous coming down where she will do decent damage as if you're
connecting at this point they're 1) flat on their back 2) trying to get
up or 3) in the middle of executing a move.  It's when you're facing away
that the flip becomes an evil, evil move. She does the same full layout
flip motion...but...at the top of the arc she executes a rather nice
looking full twist.  The upshot of this extra bit of motion is that she is
dangerous coming down AND going up.  The other great thing about the
turned away flip is that it also works as a throw if you have the range
down.  You need to land it basically right on their head but if you do,
it's a great looking throw where she kneels on their shoulders and smacks
'em in the head.  The damage works pretty much like King's
frankensteiner; it can land cleanly for minimum damage but usually the
initial landing occurs while they are executing a move so you get some
really good damage for the counterhit.

CAVEAT: The only significant problem with the flip is that it's slow on
the execution and should not be done at close range.

(Ed. notes:
#1  For extra style points try finishing off your opponent with the sky
flip throw.
#2  Shoulder charges have insane amount of tracking so if you're going to
try to dodge; turn around and go for the flip throw instead.)


------------------ Vs. Guides ------------------

== EDDY ==
Problems:
-Hard to predict attack levels
-Lots more range than you
-Storming Flower doesn't hit him when he doing a handstand or when he's
on his butt
-Lots of circular attacks make it hard to dodge around
-Does way too much damage

Solutions:
+A lot of his strings have a fast high or mid hit and then a whole bunch
of sweeps for juggle damage.  Block high and then low as they flail about
on the floor then sweep.  Sometimes you can use the VHK to scrape them off
the ground, not great damage but take it anyway.
+Since you really can't dodge down the sides, skyflip to either get
behind him or if he's spinning towards you, you can skyflip onto his head
for good damage.
+Well timed flapping wings (d+1) can stop many a rush or hit a prone
opponent.  If you're brave and you can get close enough try for the
phoenix wings (f,f+(1+2)) for better damage.
+If they're handstanding and just waiting for you to come in at them then
try the (f,f+4) thrust kick.  Great damage, kicks him literally right in
the ass but telegraphs horribly.

== PAUL ==
Problems:
-1 or 2 hit kills possible and likely depending on relative skill levels.
-Does _WAY_ too much damage (Of course that's his appeal isn't it?)
-Sweep->elbow cheese or tile splitter cheese when you try to get up.
-The  (d+4) sweep

Solutions:
+Learn the range of the sweep and stay out of it.  However do not
necessarily rush in after they wiff it since they can easily stick a
nasty elbow in there.
+Same advice and caveat for the tile splitter execept that the falling
leaf combo (tile splitter->sweep->elbow) does more damage.
+DO NOT WIFF ANYTHING.  If you do you WILL take a death fist to the face.
+Stay away from the Hydrangea->SF since good Pauls will easily reverse
the last hit.  Either vary your timing of the SF (There is a small window
of delay possible) or just do the first 2 parts and don't do the SF.
+Dodge around the double jump-kick.  However I've noticed that the Paul
in question can kick themselves right out of range of the VHK.
+Learning how to block the 10-strings are vital.  Figuring out which way
to block the 9th hit depending on the string is very important since if
they tag you with the 9th hit then they pretty much get a free death
fist.
+If they start to sweep->elbow as you try and get up; don't get up right
away.  Yes I know this sounds really simple but it took me awhile to get
the idea.

== JIN ==
Problems:
-Fast and decent damage
-Good poking ability
-10-string with an unblockable 10th hit that comes out of nowhere.
-Appears to have some invulnerability on his DP recovery.  Can also kick
mid or low after the DP.
-Hell sweeps come out of nowhere.

Solutions:
+Learn to recognize the beginning of the 10-string and dodge around it.
+The Hell sweeps are quite blockable; high(?), low, low, low, high.
+Learn to recognize what Jin will do if he's ending the 10-string with
just the normal DP (Quite blockable) versus the electric DP (Not
blockable.)  If they go for the unblockable either sweep or get the hell
out of the way.
+Like with Paul, avoid the Hydrangea->SF combo since they can and will
reverse the SF.

== LEI ==
Problems:
-The punch rush is damn fast and can end with a kick either low or mid.
-Can go into a high-damage stance from just about any move.
-FAST sweeps.
-Prone Leis cannot be hit hard in a normal way.

Solutions:
+Many a Lei will go prone at a distance and wait for you to try to sweep
them.  Remember that the skyflip does some great damage so if they're
prone and you have the range, go for it.
+Watch for the low sweeps.  If you can stick and move outside of their
sweep range, great.  Otherwise learn to anticipate and recognize the
starting animation of the sweep.

== HWOARANG ==
Problems:
-High damage attacks
-good attack speed
-Insane juggle damage

Solutions:
+Hwoarang's attacks fortunately come in a straight line.  Dodge around or
over and counterattack.
+Watch those low kicks.  Your opponent will sneak them in and hit you
with either a heavy attack or his super juggle kick.
+You can AoP under a lot of his stuff and retaliate or just throw if you
AoP under a rush.

== LAW ==
Problems:
-FAST
-'Low kick->flipkick while you're getting up' cheese
-'2-inch-punch'

Solutions:
+Many a Law will come at you with an extremely fast rush which will keep
you pinned down.  Stuff their rush with either a dodge or just low punch
or sweep them to get them off your back.
+Don't wiff heavy attacks at close range if your opponent is likely to go
for the 2-inch punch.
+Watch out for the Dragon's Tail (d/b+4) since it is damn sneaky and will
stuff dodge attempts.

== KING ==
Problems:
-Ali Kicks
-100% multi-throws
-HIGH damage attacks

Solutions:
+DO NOT WIFF A DAMN THING.  Wiffing against most players isn't horribly
bad; wiffing against a King player is suicidal.
+Stay out of throw range.  Much easier said than done since yet again you
are badly outclassed in terms of attack range.
+Use the AoP since it allows you to attack in close and stay out of range
of his really deadly attacks like the multi's and the clothesline.
+Learn how to break the multi's.  There is a reference out there on
breaking out of specific parts of the multi's.

== NINA ==
Problems:
-Multi-throws
-Double palm
-Nasty juggle ability

Solutions:
+Learn how to break the multi-throws.  Yeah that's a simple answer but
it's true.  The standing arm break multi-throw can be broken with the
punch buttons but as of this update I don't know how to break the leg
break multi-throw.
+The double palm CAN hit you out of the AoP so don't hang out in front of
her in it.
+Watch her kicks; the low ankle kicks come in fairly quick so be aware.
+You can usually punish a blocked double palm with a Raccoon Swing->VHK
since the double tap for the swing will get you within range to connect.

== YOSHIMITSU ==
Problems:
-Nasty spin kick
-10-hit string ends with 4 sword swipes
-Fast kicks

Solutions:
+You have to be just a little sneaky here.  Yoshis can get that HEAVY spin
kick to counterhit you out of many moves so don't be predictable and if
possible, come in low.
+There's a fair pause in the 10-string before he swipes with the sword.
Not enough for anything big but room enough to stuff their string with a
punch or kick.
+The sword stab has some pretty serious range.  Recognize the wind-up
animation and if you're close enough smack him else sky flip out of the
way.  If you go for the smack then use a fairly quick attack since the
stab comes out a lot quicker than you might think.

== BRYAN ==
Problems:
-SERIOUS damage dealing
-Shin kicks
-The (d/f+3) sweep

Solutions:
+Bryan can deal A LOT of damage quickly BUT most of his heavy attacks come
in high or mid and the really damaging stuff has some pretty serious
wind-up so AoP under things and go for your quick attacks.
+Watch out if they're going for the sidestep since Bryan can hit you with
a HEAVY punch although it comes in high/mid.
+Watch for his (d/f+3) sweep.  It'll most likely come if you wiff a
Raccoon Swing or the (f+3) crescent kick.

== HEIHACHI ==
Problems:
-Death fist
-Wiffing = death
-The (B+2) backfist

Solutions:
+Just like with Paul and King...DO NOT WIFF ANYTHING.  Heihachi has so
many ways to punish a wiffed move it's silly.
+BEWARE THE BACKFIST.  This move is just sick; basically it's an
electrified spinning backfist but it comes out at waist level and it hits
_LOW_.  At best you get staggered and they can sneak in an axe kick or
some flash punches.  At worst you get knocked clear across the screen and
take a shoulder charge if you get up.
+You can usually get a Raccoon Swing->VHK in after things like his side
thrust kick which have OK push-away value but horrible recovery.

------------------ Miscellany ------------------

My current personal best time against the 'pooter is 4'00"00 although the
current best Xiao time on the machine I've been playing on is 3'30"00.
Any tips on shaving the completion time down any further would be
appreciated.

For those that care her costumes are:
Any punch button: 1P costume. Pink baggy jumpsuit with a BIG 'ol yellow
bow.
Any kick button: 2P costume. Blue top with yellow trim, black shorts and
blue boots with yellow trim. U of M outfit.
Start button: This is only available 5 days(?) after Gun Jack becomes
playable. Japanese schoolgirl outfit with a blue bow in front, a short
skirt (which apparently comes with A LOT of starch) and legwarmer-like
kneesocks.
My current fave not because of the obvious reasons but rather she has
MUCH slicker looking win poses although for those that are wondering; she
only does the handstand if you beat the game.

If you are facing a Jin player and you both pick their school outfits
then you fight in the school playground. Very neat.

------------------ Questions ------------------

------------------ Things to do ------------------

-Finish up the vs. guides
-Detailed moves breakdown

------------------ Credits ------------------

NAMCO.............................for making a fun 3-D fighter

SurfBard..........................four-hit flurry VHK follow-up

Justin Pierce.....................VERY detailed move FAQ which I use as
                                 a checklist for moves to try and test
                                 for usefulness

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