Ok, do NOT copy my stuff without my permission. I spent a lot of time doing
research and getting info from many of the top players that I don't want some
scrub to just come along and all it their own. This should be for your own
personal use and be used to help you get better, or get better at defending
against a Paul player.
What's new? Changed some "shady" information. Added more setups. Also, it
has come to my attention, that some readers just can't take the truth. And
if I list some weak setups, and call them scrub setups...they get angry like
I am insulting them. One would have to wonder, if they do fit into that
category, shouldn't they change? The truth hurts doesn't it? I'm going to be
up front. If you fall into the scrub category, then it's because you are.
Why should I lie and call you "l33t"? Answer, I won't.
============================
"Da Intro":
Ok, here is my Paul FAQ. You're not going to find the list to all his moves
here. You aren't going to find a complete or even an in depth list of his
Juggles. What you are going to find here are the tools you need and the tools
he has to be successful. How you use these tools is up to you and your
creativity, but I will mention some classic setups and mind games to help
lead you in the right direction.
============================
Table of Contents:
1. Abbreviations and Button Notations
2. Frame Rates
3. Moves and Analysis
4. Juggles
5. Wall Game
5. Snake/Hayashida Stepping
5. Credits
============================
Button Notation:
(brief note, I will not include any notations or abbreviations that are not
present in the moves and strategies I will be presenting)
1 - Left Punch
2 - Right Punch
3 - Left Kick
4 - Right Kick
f - tap forward
b - tap backward
d - tap down
u - tap up
n - pad in neutral position
F - hold forward
B - hold backward
D - hold down
U - hold up
'/' - A combination of the two directions (d/f = diagonal down and forward)
'+' - To be pressed simultaneously
'~' - To be pressed immediately after
QCF - Quarter Circle Forward
QCB - Quarter Circle Back
SS - Sidestep
SSR - Sidestep to the right
SSL - Sidestep to the left
SW - Sidewalk
WS - While rising
iWS - Instant while rising
CH - Counter Hit
oki - The art of attacking someone on the ground attempting to get up
============================
Frame Rates:
So what is a frame rate? Well all moves in this game are executed in a
certain number of frames. Each frame corresponds to 1/60th of a second. So,
an 8-frame move takes 8/60 of a second to execute. Why is this important?
Because some moves are slower than others. Some moves you do puts you at a
frame advantage (a good thing), and some moves you do put you at a
disadvantage (not a good thing). Knowing these, should give you the proper
judgement of when to and not to use a move. Just to tell you, the fastest
jabs are 8 frames. So really even if you have a frame disadvantage, unless it
is 8 frames, you aren't going to get hit so it is completely safe. So now
that you know what it is, on to the good stuff!
============================
Moves and Analysis:
(included here are moves that should be used in Paul's aresenal)
***Throws***
d/f+1+2 - This is a 1+2 break so it's relatively difficult to break. I
personally like this throw the best because of where it leaves the
opponent. It puts you excellent position of oki. It's pretty fast
too at 11 frames.
ff+1+2 - Same break as above. But 1 frame faster. I'd probably suggest this
throw when near a wall because if/when your opponent hits the wall,
that's just more damage, and puts you in an excellent position to
take control of the match. It is the fastest throw Paul has, so
keep that in mind.
b+1+4 - Ok, so you are getting throw happy, and your opponents all of a
sudden realize the only throws you are doing are 1+2 throws. What
better way to surprise them than to do this? It's a 1 break which
is quite rare in and of itself. Quite fast as well at 11 frames.
Doesn't really help you much advantage wise, but you do get to see
your opponent fly, and that's always cool.
F+2+4 - A 2 break throw. You get decent oki options from this just as you
do with the d/f+1+2. So look what you have here, a 1+2 break, a
'1' break, AND a '2' break throw, how confusing is that? To top
that off one of his 1+2 break throws and this throw all put him in
good position for oki.
***1 hit Pokes***
1 - Simple Jab . It hits at 8 frames. Off of hit, you get a +5 frame
advantage, and off block it's a +2 frame advantage. So all in all
you can't lose with this move. Use it.
f+1 - This version is at 10 frames, but you get a small increase in
advantage both off block and hit for doing this verion. Not bad.
Not bad at all. But what I will say, is don't get cocky and be
you have 1337 mixups with 1 and f+1...no...
2 - Jab that hits high. It does more damage than a simple 1, but it hits
at 10 frames. A +0 advantage off block and +6 advantage off of hit.
Though a tad slower than 1, still a VERY GOOD jab to use.
d/f+1 - The punch hits mid and is 13 frames. +0 on block and +6 on hit. It
doesn't take a genius to figure that freaken Paul's '1' and '2' all
hit high. So this is an alternative. Let them duck, hit them with
this. His poking game is just that damn good.
WS+4 - Such a great move. And yet another great poke to add to Paul's
Arsenal. It's fast at 11 frames and is completely safe on block at
only -6 frames. Off of hit, it's quite advantageous at +6 frames so
as you can see very good move. The best use of this is probably
QCF+4. Huh? Paul has a QCF+4? Well not exactly. For buttons in which
he does not have a true QCF move for, the QCF acts as an iWS. So
yeah, good stuff.
***Special Arts***
1,2 - The properties for this are as if the first two jab's properties
were combined. You can't go wrong with this combination. If they
block the first hit, the second will come out any retaliation. So
it's comletely safe. Know this sequence. Paul's one of the dirtiest
jabbers in the game, and almost all the characters will have
trouble with a jabbing Paul.
1,4 - It begins with an 8 frame jab hitting high, then a kick hitting low.
Off of the blocked kick, Paul has a -10 advantage. Meaning characters
WILL do something to him. Fortunately, being only at -10, counter
attacks aren't lethal. Off of hit, the 4 gives you a small +1
advantage. The move doesn't really sound too good, but it's really
one of his staples in terms of mixup. Because of the dominace of
1,2, occasionally mixing this in will often cause the 4 to connect.
On top of that, since the 4 puts you low, the classic setup that goes
with this, is the WS+2 that follows afterwards. Often after eating
the low 4, your opponent will try to attack, and many times the WS+2
will either go under their attack or out prioritize them. Giving you
a very decent juggle that will be explained later. Just don't abuse
this. The thing is if your opponent sees you do it once, they should
know how to handle it when you do it the second time. But then again,
some people never learn. There are other setups you can do, for
variety. From the crouch position after the '4', you can do u/f+4
and Paul will instantly jump with a jump kick launcher. This tactic
work at times, and is an OK change up to WS+2 if you find them
attacking with moves that will out prioritize WS+2. Something else
you can do is just a simple WS+4. Has plenty of range, safe on block
and will interrupt most moves as well. u/f+4 is really a risk/reward
type move.
f+1+2 - The move is a slow 20 frames. So do not just do it out of the blue.
It should really only be used as a juggle ender. And it will be
explained later. I'd just like to comment that this is the BEST
juggle ender you can possibly do with Paul.
d+1+2 - It can be a decent gift or the greatest curse. As far as speed goes,
this move is decent at 12 frames. Off of block it gives you an ugly
-18. But that number is a bit decieving since it pushes the opponent
far enough away that they won't hit you with a slow 18 frame move.
It's very glitchy as well, which sometimes works in your favor or
can cost you the match. My suggestion for this move is to either do
it as a wall push or oki (risky). If not in those two situations,
limit your use of this, people have a tendancy to over abuse this,
and end up getting abused. For the oki, there are better things than
this. But it will most of the time hit the ground opponent if they
attempt to move. It also hits grounded opponents on an inclined
slope. As I said before it's risky; your best bet is against the
wall. The nice thing about this move other than being for walls, is
that it catches sidesteppers. Sidestepping a lot is not a good idea
because d+1+2 will hit you. An example is Lee. If people tend to do
SS+2 a lot, you can beat them to it with this move. Simple as that.
When using this move oustide of those situations, use it as a
defensive tactic. You may find at times your opponent has all the
momentum, think about this move during those times. It has a tendancy
to break that momentum. Just to clarify why it is risky...the move
misses ALOT even when it seems like it should hit. Also, and common
instances, you will be in the back turned position just asking the
opponent to launch you for nasty damage.
f+1+4 - Kinda similar to the d+1+2, but Paul does a slight SS to the left.
In terms of speed, much much slower in exectution at 20 frames. Off
of block, you're also at a -17 advantage. So why the heck am I
including this move? Well, Paul does side step and so it does tend to
evade moves, virtually guaranteeing that it will hit. You can even do
a double SS with this by SSL, f+1+4. Much better at evading and does
tend to track enough to hit the opponent. It can also be done off of
hayashida stepping which I will include later. It hits people on the
ground trying to move as well, but there is better oki that I will
mention later. Don't get too cocky about using this move and trying
to 2xSS, it's unsafe, and people will punish you. I'd say always
leave it as an option. Know your opponent's attack patterns, then
adapt this move to it if you can.
QCF+2 - The Infamous Death Fist.
People that try to abuse this will get destroyed. The move is
relatively fast at 13 frames, but the disadvantage is scary. It's a
whole -17 frames. At close range, some characters have a guaranteed
launcher off of block (Hwoarang's b+3 anyone?). Don't get me wrong,
this is a good move, but hardly anyone uses it right. You go to the
arcade and you see scrubs go 1,2,qcf+2. No. The reason it's dangerous
is mainly because of two different factors. The first is if you hit
them into a wall (by a deathfist), you will be able to connect with
another one. In addition to that, if you do a far wall push, you
can get as many as 2 deathfists. Can you say OUCH? I can, OUCH! The
second? Deadly mind games. Right now seems like a good time to
introduce the term PDF (psychic deathfist). What are Paul's two most
feared moves? The death fist and his JF. One hits low the other mid
(and both do way too much dmg). What would you do if a Paul just
dashed in towards you (perfect distance is just within touching range
of the d+4)? Would you think Deathfist? If you do, you eat the JF.
Would you think JF? Ouch, looks like you just ate the deathfist.
This is the reason why it's good. Because you have another option
with another damaging move that hits on a different level. The mixup
here, technically puts the deathfist a few frames safer. If that
makes sense. Other than the PDF and the wall game, the deathfist
shouldn't really be used unless you see an opening. Of course, if you
can't do the JF, then...well...I don't know what to say. Off of a
low parry kick, death fist is guaranteed, so keep that in mind. Hmm,
there is one more thing about the death fist, but should I cough it
up? I guess I will. Paul has what's called an instant death fist. Yes
you read that right. INSTANT death fist. Ok, so how do you do it? In
short it's u~u~n~f+2 or d~d~n~f+2. Yeah, the notation looks
incredibly strange. But really you get just that, an instant
deathfist off of side walk. No need to go into the QCF motion. Once
you practice for like 5 minutes, it becomes really easy. Just a note
though, don't think that this is some advanced way of doing a
deathfist. The truth is that it helps in hiding the exectution of
the DF, but if they block it, it's still the same disadvantage. Note
on the PDF/JF mixups. To be able to do it is one thing, to do it
effectively is another. Very few, and I truely mean very few can do
this well.
d/f+2 - 15 frame punch so it is relatively slow. But it's also safe on block.
That doesn't mean you start using it like you use 1,2. The best
property about this is that it juggles. Juggles you should do off of
this will be explained in a later section. It has some "tech crouch"
frames, meaning that it'll go under some high moves, but it requires
some timing, so play around with it.
WS+2 - The other juggle starter. It's 15 frames as well but at a very scary
-18 on block. This move you have to set up for. Such as what I
mentioned for the 1,4 move.
b+2+4 - Paul's reversal. All I can say is know it, and know how to use it,
but don't get comfortable with it because they will chicken sooner
or later.
d+4:2:1+2 - The most usful of his jf's. The one used in the PDF mixup. Timing
is difficult at first but really, once you get the rhythm down,
it's a piece of cake. At close range it trips. At farther range
it doesn't trip but does about 10 more dmg or so. LEARN THIS JF.
For those that don't know where to start, you can either go to
www.tekkenzaibatsu.com or www.catlord.com and download the Paul
JF. You can hear the button presses to get an idea of the timing.
There is one important thing you will notice while doing the JF.
It does more damage if you don't trip them opponent. If the d+4
just knicks them, then the next hit acts as a CH so it does more
damage. This is the range you want to work in staying in when
practice the pdf. NOTICE I DID NOT INCLUDE THE JF WITH THE D+1.
DONT DO IT!!!!
ff+2:1 - Not too useful. For those talking about mixups with ff+2,2, all
I can say is that you're a scrub. This move is useful when your
opponent is against the wall, and possibly in a juggle if you
want to be fancy. It's guaranteed if an opponent springs up from
the ground, so that's another situation where you want to think
about using this move. Just doing it by itself is fine since it
is completely safe on block, and the first hit hits mid. But
just don't use it like '1,2' thinking it's is a "cooler" version
of it.
***Okizeme***
d+1 - Ahh the newbs hate this. They never learn, and always try to roll.
So if they keep rolling, keep d+1 them. They suck. Be warned it does
miss in some cases, know when.
SS+3 - The move of all Paul Oki. This move is awesome. It always hits the
opponent if they are on the ground an in range (d+1 has a tendancy
to miss). It deals a healthy dose of damage and has great hit
properties especially when the opponent is in the process of standing
up. Don't try to do this every time though as sometimes it will be
too slow to hit. It's at 19 frames so know when to use it and when
not to.
As I said for people trying to spring up from the ground you can get a
ff+2:1 on them.
============================
Juggles:
(juggles here begin with the juggle starter, how you get to that starter is
up to your own imagination)
WS+2, d+1, SS+3 - This juggle is not guaranteed. But it's very difficult to
actually escape the SS+3. For the damage it does, it's
definately worth taking the risk. As far as I know, this
is Paul's most damaging combo from WS+2 without walls. So
do it. The alternate to this, if you find your opponent to
be escaping it every time (most likely due to your
slowness), is to do ff+3,4,4 after the launcher. Does a
tad bit less damage, but all is guaranteed. Back to the
original juggle. How is it not guaranteed? Well if the
opponent quick gets up from the d+1, they can block low.
Are you thinking what I am thinking? They block low eh? So
then what's stopping you from SS then pulling out a death
fist instead of a 3? Nothing is stopping you! Hit that
ducking opponent with the deathfist. This practically
forces them to just lay there and eat the SS+3. In other
cases, they may just try to roll back, reducing the damage
SS+3 does. If you can catch them trying to do that, d+1
them, which can lead to another d+1. So really, if they
want to take the least damage, they should be smart and
lay there.
d/f+2,1,1,f+1+2 - You can do 1 punch, or you can do 3 punches. It's really up
to you but f+1+2 is probably the best juggle finisher in
this case. It smackes the opponent to the ground giving you
oki options as well. It's a good idea, that always after a
f+1+2, you should follow it up with a d+1. SS+3 may work
but will most of the time be too slow.
u/f+4,1,2,1,ff+2:1 - This looks pretty flashy. I like flash, which is why I
play other more flashier characters. Not really a logical
juggle to do though. I do have to come up with an excuse
as to why I would include it in my faq, so I'll give you
some BS, that is actually pretty true. The juggle covers
lots of ground. It's a great way to get your opponent
close to the wall where Paul can intimidate the utter crap
out of his opponents. It's REALLY easy too. Just remember,
the '1' jab does NOT have a -20 recovery. I see people
missing the last part because they are doing the f,f motion
too slow, missing the elbow. The u/f+4 can be used as an
alternate in the JF/PDF mixups. In the sense that insead
of doing a PDF, do un u/f+4 instead. It'll do more damage,
but u/f+4 is more risky. Risk/Reward...keep that in mind.
============================
Wall Game:
Paul has a pretty mean and quite damaging wall game. So what's the deal with
the walls? First, in case you didn't know a wall push is (f_d_u_b)+1+3.
Depending on how far away you are when you execute the wall push determines
what kind of advantage you get when your opponents hit. If you are near a
wall, and you push your opponent into the wall, you have approximately a 12
frame or so advantage. So as you can see, all you can really do is 1,2 or
some crap like that. However if you are just far enough away that the
opponent gets hit by the wall at the very end of the push, your character
actually begins to recover earlier. So you effectively gain 4-6 frame or so
in recovery. This is also true for side wall pushes. It's very important
since those 4-6 frames allow Paul to pile up on the damage. Actual frame
rates for these are still shady. So here's what you can do.
Far Wall Push or Side Push:
d+1+2, f+1+2, d+1 - It does 65 dmg, and potentially more if your opponent
doesn't know what to do after the d+1. With this particular
one, you can play some mind games in terms of what you do
after the f+1+2. But for guaranteed damage, just finish this
off.
d+1+2, QCF+2 - You do about 8 more damage with this compared to the above
so both are decent options.
Reverse Wall Push (1+3~b):
QCF+2, QCF+2 - There's no doubt that getting a reverse wall push, that this
is the most damaging option (to my knowledge). Damage is
around 80 so that's already more than half a life bar. The
thing is, I hesitated putting this on here. The new players
have a tendancy to see something of high damage, and then
try the whole match to make it happen. Which is not what you
want to be doing. If you happen to get a reverse wall push,
go ahead and do it. If you don't, don't try the whole match
to get one.
You obviously can't be wall pushing people every day, so what's another way
to pile up the wall damage? Hit them into the wall. All I can say is, if you
deathfist them into the wall, do another deathfist. And if you have the
timing down, go for the d+4 JF instead. Same goes if you d+4 JF them into
the wall. Go for another one if you have timing otherwise just deathfist
them. It's takes off just way too much damage. d+1+2 is best used in this
situation if you know it's going to hit. Once they get a wall stun from d+1+2
you can do a free DF.
Snake Dashing - The notation for this is QCF,u,QCF,u...and you keep going. In
short it's a crouch dash chained into a sidestep. Looks
pretty weird on the screen, but it is useful. Just how
useful is up to you. IMO this is the harder of the two steps
to actually use well. Judging from the notation, you should
already know by now, that it is very easy to incorporate a
death fist into this movement because of the QCF motion. We
all know that wherever there is a deathfist, there is also a
d+4 JF around the corner. So use it as a mixup from snake
dashing. Also, remember the poke about QCF+4? You should go
for a few of those too in your snake dashing. Throw mixups
comming from this are HIGHLY effective. The tendancy for
snaking is that you are either directly in front or on the
side of the opponent, giving you a plethora of more throwing
options. Perhaps the situation where it is the most useful
is in the Oki game. Which is something you should think
about. The SS motion in this should key you into the fact
that SS+3 will work well. But as we all know, a mentally
competent opponent will adapt to this. Mix it up with either
d+1 or even a deathfist for people trying to get up quick.
Force them into a situation that they will HAVE to eat
something, so they might as well eat the least damaging one.
Regardless, you are forcing them to take damage. Ok, enough
said about this, you think of your own stuff.
Hayashida - This is arguably the best of the two Paul has. The notation
how to do this is QCB,u,QCB,u...repeat. The trick to this,
and why it's easier than snake dashing is that you can't
jump backwards in this game. So just doing a half circle
from down to up will be sufficient. Just keep repeating it,
and you'll see results. Remember, you can only do this
movement by SS upwards. Just keep that in mind. It's far more
evasive than snaking, and you can also incorporate some of
the same mixups you have from snaking in this as well. Paul
seems to SS more so than back dash which is the main reason
why you can incorporate the Snake mixups since he stays a
decent distance from the opponent. Just to hightlight some
moves to think about in this motion...f+1+4 works best in
this situation. Hayashida practically forces the opponent to
whiff something. And as long as your opponent whiffs, f+1+4
will surely hit in many cases. The JF/PDF mixups are
indeed fair game as well. I'd just like to say to those that
are thinking of QCB+1, it could work, but QCB+1 has worse
tracking than d+1. Just keep that in mind.
============================
Credits:
Thanks to guys at TZ for their knowledge. Namely USMCOgre. He's helped
everyone out alot. I have to give props to JOP for giving some more advanced
strats. Thanks to Shinjin for flaming everyone. Classic flaming indeed...
Also thanks to all the UW crew (cheeze city) for giving me good comp.
Especially when I experiment with new characters and you guys still end up
cheezing...ok, no thanks to the UW crew...
To get a good idea of how Paul should be played, I suggest you visit
www.sdtekken.tk. The Paul plyer there is USMCOgre, and you can see how
Hayashida and Snaking look like and how they are good. Just remember, those
are EXHIBITION matches. So players are playing to be stylish, while still
trying to win. So don't try to pick up that stylish stuff, if you can't win
without the style. (ie don't do WS+2,QCB,3,2,1 that you may see Ogre do).
Finally, thanks for GameFAQS for hosting this and making me convert all my
tabs to spaces.
