AMY Character Guide Soul Calibur 3:Arcade Edition ----------------------------- version 0.002 by Porcupine Introduction ============ This guide is intended to help others, and also myself, use Arcade Edition Amy to her full potential. First things first, Arcade Edition Amy is nothing like console Soul Calibur 3 Amy, who is just a skin for the Rapier class. She has some moves that look similar to things that Raphael had in Soul Calibur 2 or has in Soul Calibur 3, but in almost all cases there are subtle changes. Usually Amy will have lower damage and worse frame recovery on block. Some of the similar moves actually have totally redone animations as well, if one has an eye for subtlety. Amy also has many new moves which are unique only to her. Amy's sword is much shorter than Raphael's and the effect on her reach is significant. She is overall more of a medium-reach character, while Raphael is one of the longest-reaching characters. Her neutral stance is slightly different from Raphael's, and she does not do the fancy-pants bobbing back and forth that Raphael does, but this is only relevant to aesthetics as it has no real effect on gameplay. Amy also has a new 2P costume in Arcade Edition. Like Raphael, Amy is a left-handed fencer. I currently consider Amy to be one of the weaker characters in the game. Her fighting abilities are pretty good, but her damage is very low. On average her moves do 20% to 30% less damage than correspondingly similar moves that other characters have, so she must fight an uphill battle to win. Amy can actually seem quite strong at mediocre levels of play because she is fairly convenient to use, but at higher levels more of her weaknesses will become apparent. In this guide I will focus on what I consider to be a high level of play, and discuss everything with that in mind. Sidestepping in SC3 =================== Other than her low damage, Amy's greatest weakness in SC3 could be a weakness to being stepped. However it is hard to say how significant this is, because sidestepping is no longer very evasive and effective in Soul Calibur 3 compared to the previous games. Soul Calibur 2 had something called the Avoid system, which essentially allowed any Vertical move to be stepped automatically as long as step was attempted. Soul Calibur 1 did not have the Avoid system but stepping speed was twice as fast as in SC2 and SC3, therefore it was not necessary. In Soul Calibur 3 there is no Avoid system and characters step at roughly the same speed as in Soul Calibur 2. Many verticals now hit step well in a particular direction. Horizontals are pretty much the same as in SC2. Good horizontals hit step perfectly, while poor horizontals may only hit step in a particular direction, essentially being no different than verticals in Soul Calibur 3. A main focus point in learning to use any character in any Soul Calibur game has always been to find the best moves, and the correct balance for using them, to simultaneously deal with the three main forms of defense: the sidestep, standing guard, and crouching guard. In Soul Calibur 1 and 2 this generally meant you needed some damaging vertical mids, some lows/throws, and if possible some lower-damage horizontal mids. If a character did not have decent horizontal mids he had to make do with either horizontal highs or rely only on throws and lows to hit steppers. Good characters in SC1 and SC2 tended to be those who had good horizontal mids. This is not always the case in SC3. Good characters can also be those who have powerful vertical mids that can hit SC3's poor step. The ideal character has damaging mids that hit step in both directions. A less ideal character, but one that is actually almost as good, has some good verticals that hit step in one direction and other good verticals that hit step in the other direction. If these verticals are damaging enough, and you alternate your mids randomly between them, stepping becomes somewhat pointless for your opponent since he is just as likely to step a vertical in the wrong direction and get hit, as he is to step in the right direction and punish the whiff. In the movelist that follows, each move will be crudely esti-rated on its step hitting abilities, separately for each step direction, as follows: A+ = completely unsteppable A = almost unsteppable except in very rare or lucky cases B = becomes unsteppable with around +3 to +6 frames of attack advantage C = becomes unsteppable with around +7 to +10 frames of attack advantage D = still steppable even with +11 frames of advantage F = can always be stepped, even with the late slow part of 8-way siderun A move can roughly be considered to hit step sufficiently well in the given direction to be counted upon if it rates a B or better. Some players say that sidestepping evasiveness has been improved for Arcade Edition compared to console. I have done extensive investigating into this without being able to come to a definitive conclusion. At most, I would say that any global improvement in step in Arcade Edition is relatively minor. However, Arcade Edition Amy has by far the most evasive step in the game, so Amy players should be well aware of this. Her step moves the fastest, her body is the thinnest, and she also has a unique head bobbing animation as her step begins which makes her step a cut above the rest. Actually Talim has the head bobbing animation too but her step speed is relatively slow and her body is weirdly fat when stepping, even though Talim is skinny at other times. Nevertheless, even Amy players should use caution when stepping, and realize that even she is limited by the drawbacks of SC3 steps. On the offensive end of things, I would say that Amy's vertical mids are quite good and also directionally hit step well. So perhaps it's not fair to say that Amy is weak against step. Her horizontal highs and mids are a bit weak but most characters don't need them as long as they have sweeping verticals, which Amy does seem to have. So then why do I think Amy still wishes she had better horizontals? It's because of Amy's secret best move, namely 2B+K. It's not her best staple move, but it's quite possibly her best unique move. 2B+K is a reasonably fast low that does abnormally huge damage and is relatively safe on block as well. With this move Amy could potentially make up for her general low damage and vault herself into upper-mid tier status. Unfortunately 2B+K is totally linear and easily stepped. Fighting with her directionally-tracking verticals is safe against step but does nothing to actually deter step, so that strategy is incompatible with the usage of 2B+K. To deter step Amy needs horizontals that hit both directions at once, preferably horizontal mids, but she is lacking in this area. General attack philosophy ========================= So Amy has 2 choices, the way I see it. Fight using mixups consisting of directionally-tracking vertical mids, throws, and horizontal lows, and just accept her 20% to 30% low damage penalty. Or she can try to surpass her damage limitations by looking to the unusually high damage and safety of her 2B+K low, and simultaneously protect 2B+K with lots of horizontals. But although Amy has decent throws and surprisingly good horizontal highs, the partner that 2B+K wants most is a good horizontal mid, which Amy is sadly lacking. 3A is about the best she can do and it's not very damaging. What I end up doing is fighting the first way most of the time, and adding 2B+K to the mix in situations where the enemy is unable to step, such as when they are getting up off the ground. Grounded enemies can sideroll to avoid 2B+K but they probably can't punish afterwards so that's fine. Amy can also try the tactic of occasionally delaying her attacks, at the cost of risking getting interrupted, to mess up the opponent's step timing. When you delay your attack like this, it can be okay to use 2B+K as a low without simultaneously mixing in horizontals to stop step. I guess maybe that's good enough. Many of Amy's basic tools are fairly solid while the same cannot be said for certain other low tier characters. I think she's a mid tier character at best, but among the bottom three characters in the game at worst. But don't let this discourage you from using her. If you are a significantly better player than your opponents you can probably still beat them with Amy. My winning percentage with Amy is around 90% to 100% against almost everyone in my area. I also forgot to mention that Amy is very good at getting ringouts. Usually I do not focus much on ringout tactics, but for Amy I make an exception. Since her damage is so low and she is so good at getting ringouts, a significant percentage of her wins will often be due to them. Amy is especially dangerous on small stages with open walls. Movelist ======== Please realize that determining framedata and damages for all moves can be difficult in the arcade, even in the Training Mode, so there may be numerous errors in these numbers, but I've done the best I can without having to use an infinite supply of quarters. In general, unless I mention otherwise, moves give negative frames on block but are safe, and give positive frames on hit. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AA, 13-frame execution (i13), high, high, 8 damage, 12 damage...natural combo, 20 damage total, vs step to Amy's left - A+ both hits, vs step to Amy's right - B first hit, A+ second hit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic AA, but try to avoid using too much because the damage is low even by Amy standards. Also horizontal highs should be avoided in general in SC3 as there is less need for them. Looks exactly like Soul Calibur 2 Raphael's AA except slightly faster. Mainly useful for punishing certain unsafe moves on block. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AB, 13-frame execution (i13), high, low, 8 damage, 10 damage...natural combo, 18 damage total, vs stepleft - A+ first hit, vs stepright - B first hit, -17 frames on block, -3 frames on hit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amy does a linear low stab instead in this alternative string variation. It's just like SC3 Raphael's AB except faster and it combos naturally. I don't recommend ever using this though. It does less damage and recovers worse than AA, plus the first hit alone is not completely reliable at hitting steppers. There's no mixup potential with the second hit so an alert opponent has no reason not to try to block the second hit low. This is basically a cheapo move that you can do once every 30 matches or so hoping your opponent forgot about this and gets stabbed low. You can also use this against mediocre opponents if you have to, but you should strive to fight at the highest level you can and avoid this kind of thing in general. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6A, i15, high, 10 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exactly like SC2 Raphael's 6A. I did actually use this move on occasion with SC2 Raphael since his AA lacked a natural combo and the second hit could even be 2G'ed or Guard Impacted after blocking the first hit. Amy's AA is totally superior to 6A though, so never do it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3A, i16, mid, 14 damage, vs stepleft - A+, vs stepright - A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New move. Amy's main and only real horizontal mid. Decent range, slightly less than plain A or B range. This move would be really good if it did 21 damage, which is the average for this type of move that some other characters have. Unfortunately it's 30% weaker than normal and I don't think Amy can survive off of 3A. Tech crouches weakly, only just before hit frames. I don't normally use this move at all, but if your opponent is giving you abnormal problems via step then feel free to start using it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2A, i13, special low, 10 damage, vs step - A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New 2A-type move. Amy does a funny little spin with her body to do it. Range looks deceptively bad but it actually has okay range for a 2A. In general I have always disliked 2A's whether in SC2 or SC3 so I stay away from this. It can be useful during frame disadvantage situations though as a TC'ing interrupt, but the damage is low so I still wouldn't normally use it. Feel free to use it in endgame low-life situations though. Recovers crouching. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FC A, i13, special low, 10 damage, vs step - A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Same as 2A. I think both count as TC but I am not 100% sure. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1A, i16, low, 18 damage, vs stepleft - A+, vs stepright - A, -19 frames or worse on block, roughly +1 frame on hit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New move. One of Amy's best moves yet also her most overrated move by far. Fast, with quite a long range and a fairly good TC that's active reasonably early on. What people don't realize is that this move is unsafe as heck if it's blocked. Most characters can punish for 60 damage. Try to stay away from 1A and throw instead whenever possible, since throws do more damage and are equally unsafe if crouched. However, since Amy is often out of throw range, 1A is sort of better than throwing in such situations because you do not need to risk running in first. But even in those situations you should run in and throw sometimes too. Basically, if within throw range usually choose throw over 1A. But if out of throw range you should do 1A about as often as you try to run in and throw. Of course, that's in addition to the mids you should always be unpredictably mixing in. 1A looks like it recovers crouching but it does not. Unfortunately 1A does not hit grounded opponents, that's too bad. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4A, i21, high, 18 damage, vs stepleft - A+, vs stepright - A, -14 on block ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looks exactly like SC2 Raphael's 44A, with the same excellent auto-step to Amy's left. Can be used both defensively as a stepping move, or offensively as a horizontal high to hit steppers. On CH, causes a stun that guarantees 8A+B for a total of 48 damage. Excellent in Soul Calibur 3 since hitting a stepper counts as a counterhit. I don't use this move often though because I don't fight with highs for offense normally, and although the auto-step of 4A is faster than normal stepping the damage reward is low so doing 4A in defensive situations is too dangerous in my opinion. Still, this is a nice move to have. In character matchups where 4A is safe on block you could consider using it for offensive purposes, to hit step. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 66_33_99A, i50, mid, 30 damage, vs stepleft - C, vs stepright - B ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On normal hit, combos into 33B, 66B+K, 236KK for a grand total of 83 guaranteed damage. Unfortunately this move is totally worthless it's just too slow. Amy starts out with a mini-forward run motion that looks similar to her 236 crouch dash then switches into a forward-leaping horizontal mid. Since it is so slow naturally this move has humongous range. The main way to possibly hit someone with this is to start out really far away, farther than the Round Start distance, then do it with frame advantage and hope the opponent thinks you are running in to mixup and tries to hit you with a slow move. In which case the opponent could get counterhit by 66A. Another way to get 66A to maybe hit is post-GI, since it could bait out a whiffed GI and punish for 83 damage. I would personally rather twitch to bait out some whiffed Guard Impacts though, and check and punish manually with 3BA, as that is safer. I advise against using 66A unless the round has gone badly for you and you are desperate. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22_88A, i17, high, 26 damage, vs step - A+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A spinning high that has excellent range and is fairly quick. For a move of this type it does good damage considering it's Amy. Can be useful in long range situations to cover step and cover your run-ins, although if possible it is still better to avoid highs in SC3 altogether and instead fight with directionally-tracking mids. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11_77A, i20, mid, 22 damage, vs stepleft - D, vs stepright - B ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A horizontal mid attack that looks like SC3 Raphael's 3A. Although this move might be useful for SC3 Raphael, I don't think Amy needs it in most matchups. This move isn't that fast, has low damage, and hits step directionally at best. Although verticals, 3B and 66A+B are usually sufficient for medium and long range coverage of step to Amy's right. However against characters who have a quick sidestep you may find 66A+B and possibly 3B to be insufficient right-step coverage. In that case, start using 11A when the situation calls for it. But don't completely abandon 3B either. If you have enough frame advantage and are close enough, 3B and especially BB are guaranteed to hit right-steppers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44ABA, i27, mid, mid, guard-breaking high, 18 damage, 11 damage, 26 damage, vs step - A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First two hits look just like SC2 Raphaels 22_88AB. Second hit and third hit also happen to look just like Amy's 66BA. However the B does not launch so don't do the last A as it usually whiffs regardless of whether the B hits or was blocked. The last two hits naturally combo together for 37 damage in the rare instances that the last A doesn't whiff, furthermore as long as the last hit connects the enemy is stunned and 66A+B is guaranteed afterwards to tack on an additional 20 damage. On counterhit, all three hits combo for 53 damage, or 50 in the case of a run counterhit, and the A won't whiff because the B attack will launch in this case. If you react quickly you can check to see whether 44AB has counterhit or not, and input A only if you see a counterhit spark. I don't really like this move, it's just too slow and furthermore Amy's version has poor range, unlike Raphael's. However the damage is pretty nasty if it hits a stepper. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BB, i14, mid, mid, 10 damage, 20 damage...natural combo, 30 damage total, vs stepleft - C first hit, C second hit, vs stepright - B first hit, D second hit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic BB, looks exactly like SC2 Raphael's BB except faster. An excellent move, like most characters' BB are in Soul Calibur 3. Tracks well to Amy's right, so it complements the left-tracking 33B nicely. For mids, you can fight well alternating between 33B and BB, as this covers both directions of step on a conditional guessing basis. It's also a nice even mix of a fast and slower mid which neutralizes the threat of being interrupted as long as you have frame advantage. One thing to be careful of is that since Amy's sword is so much shorter than Raphael's, the second hit of her BB will often whiff even if the first hit connected. To prevent this you need to make sure you do your BB from close enough, something which SC2 Raphael never had to think about. Also, Amy's BB will not hit ground even though Raphael's did, because her sword is too short to reach the floor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6BBB, i13, high, high, mid, 10 damage, 5 damage, 25 damage...first two hits are a natural combo, 15 damage total, all three hits combo on counterhit, 42 damage total, vs step - C, 3rd hit unsafe on block, with negative frames on hit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It has a new animation which is neither what Raphael has had, nor what console Amy had. But it's still the same type of move. Not sure how useful this move really is though. I don't think it is possible to reliably check for the CH spark on the first hit and react in time to input the last B, so you just have to guess. But doing the last B is really risky, yet that's where the majority of this move's damage comes from. Plus you get negative frames afterwards even on hit. 6BBB could be useful as a defensive move to interrupt the enemy's slower moves during frame disadvantage situations, while 6BB could be used as a punisher after blocking certain marginally unsafe moves. I'm not sure on the recovery of the first hit alone. If it's just about neutral on block, as is the case for both SC2 and SC3 Raphael, 6B alone could be a useful poking tool. Though probably not at only 10 damage, considering you risk getting punished for 60 damage everytime you do a high. After 6BB you can also do a special cancel into the 236 crouch dash however I don't see any use for it. It's also very difficult to do, as the timing for inputting 236 is very strict. The motion must be input in the very tiny window after the first hit has ended, but before the second hit reaches hit frames. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3BA, i19, mid, low, 20 damage, 26 damage...natural combo, 47 damage total, vs stepleft - D first hit, B second hit, vs stepright - B first hit, A second hit, first hit -14 frames on block, second hit safe on block ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of Amy's staple new moves. It tech crouches very well and so in most frame advantage situations is uninterruptible. Depending on how well the enemy knows how to punish 3B on block, Amy can completely replace BB with 3B. So in those cases Amy's basic mids should consist of alternating 33B and 3B combos. Plain 3B causes a lift crumple stun and combos into many things. The most damaging and best followup in my opinion is 3B into 8A+B for 45 damage. However 3B is unsafe on block against many characters. So when doing 3B, Amy must mix randomly between choosing 3B or 3BA. After blocking 3B, the followup A is not interruptible and will beat out any attempt to punish 3B. However, the followup A can be either Guard Impacted or jumped over with a jumping attack. So 3BA is punishable in a sense as well. That is why Amy must mix her 3B between the two versions, plain 3B or 3BA, to protect itself on block. If you can enforce a protective guessing game after 3B then it is a staple move and should be used over BB in any situation where it can't be interrupted, as well as when BB is not in range. 3B is not a long range move but it has fairly decent range. However a problem could potentially arise if the opponent has reflexes which are both fast and discerning enough to quickly see the differences in the recovery animation of 3B vs 3BA and choose the correct punishing action every time. I suspect this to be possible, as 3B's recovery is fairly long and looks quite different from 3BA. There is also quite a bit of time between the 3B and the A followup. It's actually long enough that I think if Amy's 3B is stepped, the A followup may not hit in time to prevent her from being juggle-punished by someone who punishes immediately. If you ever encounter an opponent who can react and punish 3B no matter which version you do, then I advise you to dump the use of 3B and survive as best as you can without it. One more thing, 3B is great for ringouts. One of the reasons why Amy is so good at ringouts is because many of her good moves also happen to ringout as an added bonus. Other characters may have great ringout moves but if they are not good moves otherwise, their usefulness is limited. The lift crumple stun of plain 3B can ringout on its own, as can the followup A hit. Also, if a plain 3B hits and the opponent is now near an edge but not yet ringed out, follow it up with 236KK instead of 8A+B. The stun induced by 3B is very long and 236KK does combo into it. The crouch dash will rub into the enemy a little and push them closer to the edge, and if they reach the edge itself the last two kicks will perform a ringout. As a last note, 3B doesn't hit ground well, if at all. Although it does hit enemies who have been hit with Amy's various stuns and are crumpling down, it will not hit an ememy who has completely fallen and is either lying flat or rolling around on the ground. Against grounded enemies being played by crafty human players, switch to 6K instead of 3B. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2B, i18, mid, 20 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just like SC2 Raphael's 2B. This move is probably useless as 33B is superior. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1B, i17, low, 15 damage, vs step - C, -16 on block, roughly -2 frames on hit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just like Raphael's 1B except it recovers exactly 1 frame worse. This move isn't that bad. Although linear, it is much safer than 1A and has pretty good range as well. If you want to you can throw it in on very rare occasion either in long-range situations or against grounded enemies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4BB, i19, high, mid, 16 damage, 18 damage...natural combo, 34 damage total, vs step - D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looks the same as SC2 Raphael's 4BB but it's a natural combo this time around. Forces crouch on block or hit. On counterhit, 4BB causes a stun and can be followed up with 66A+B guaranteed for a total of 58 damage. I can think of two uses for this move. One is as your post-duck high punisher. The other is as a ranged counterhit-fishing move. At long range though I would normally prefer 33B to look for counterhits, and enforce my right to dash in when I have frame advantage. But 4BB can work in situations where you are pretty sure the opponent won't step or crouch, such as when against a Siegfried who is continually attacking and looping through his stances in an overly aggressive manner. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 66BA, i19, mid, guard-breaking high, 20 damage, 30 damage...natural combo, 44 damage total, vs stepleft - D first hit, C second hit, vs stepright - C first hit, B second hit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First hit is a head bonk sort of chop, kind of like Raphael's 66B. It has decent but not good range, slightly more than Amy 3B, slightly less than SC3 Raphael's 66B, and way less than SC2 Raphael's 66B which had amazing range. 66B by itself causes a ground bounce juggle, and is best followed up with 33B for a total of 38 damage. 66B by itself is safe and forces crouch on block. Unfortunately it has little pushout and the opponent could recover directly in throw range, so the forced crouch is not too helpful. 66BA does the best damage but it sucks because the forced crouch after blocking 66B always causes the followup A jumping twirl to whiff. The only exception I've seen to this is against Astaroth, who is so huge that he can still get hit with the guard-breaking A. But I think Astaroth can also cause the A to whiff by holding 2G, so the second A is probably worthless. It could potentially hit someone who has stepped the first 66B hit, but most likely only if they stop stepping and try to punish too early. An extremely fast punishing response to a whiffed 66B can also interrupt the A. If the followup A does hit alone, it causes a stun and can be followed up with 66A+B guaranteed for 50 total damage. I don't normally use 66B but it does have an interesting ability. It has a built-in cancel into a special sidetwirl that is done by holding 2_8 anytime before 66B's hit frames end. The sidetwirl doesn't have any special moves built into it, but it serves to make 66B fairly safe against being stepped and punished. Unfortunately you pretty much have to guess and input 2_8 without being able to see if your move was stepped or not, and if it wasn't the sidetwirl will only hurt you, as you won't be able to combo anything after the 66B hit, and you will recover worse on block as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 33B, i18, mid, 22 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is Amy's best staple move. It's new, it's a silly girly-looking launcher but who cares what it looks like, it is awesome. You might feel stupid doing it again and again but this is the move you should generally be using most often. It tech crouches almost perfectly so it is uninterruptible in most frame advantage situations. It hits steppers going to Amy's left very well, is safe on block, and has stupendous range and speed. It hits ground, siderollers to Amy's left, and in most cases backrollers. On hit it launches them higher than any of Amy's other jugglers, so it can combo into two moves that none of her other jugglers can work with: 66B+K and 6B+K. 33B also uniquely launches the enemy quite a way backwards, which will send the enemy closer to the edge, and can also create a ringout on its own. In most character matchups, follow up with 66B+K, 236KK, which is all guaranteed. The 66B+K aerial hit will knock the enemy even further back and also create a special groundslam stun. The 66B+K hit can also ringout. Oftentimes the 66B+K will fail to ringout but slam the opponent onto the very edge, in which case the 236KK will ring them out. The whole sequence does a total of 52 damage, which is good damage for Amy. There is some debate as to whether 33B, 66B+K, 236KK is really a combo. I've done a lot of testing on this and so far it seems that only a few characters can escape the last two kicks by teching to Amy's left. Talim can get out reliably, but she has always been skinny and able to escape some ground combos that other characters couldn't. For example Soul Calibur 2 Talim's 1A+B, 44B combo. Another Talim could dodge the second hit reliably by teching to the attacking Talim's left. So against Talim, or against anyone else who is getting out of your 33B, 66B+K, 236KK combo, instead use 33B, 6B+K. It will do 46 damage which is not much less, and the wakeup is still fairly good. I am not sure on the wakeup that 236KK gives. It ends in a slam stun which gives the best possible wakeup, but most slam stuns can be Just Frame teched. I have never seen anyone Just Frame tech the last hit of 236KK but no one really tries. I would try but I cannot because no one else here uses Amy. Surprisingly Mitsurugi is the only other character that I've tested so far that is able to tech the 236KK, however it doesn't work too reliably for him. It seems to be affected by how close and how off-angle the initial 33B hits him. It could also be affected by how early or late Amy does the 66B+K, as this juggle allows for several frames of leeway with that input. Against the other characters 33B, 66B+K, 236KK seems to be very reliable. You can often actually see a left-teching enemy start to move, but the kicks will still connect. When doing 33B, 66B+K, 236KK make sure you do it right. The 236KK is actually a special cancel of 66B+K. It's one of the special properties of 66B+K, which looks and is very similar to console Amy's 66B. In console, Amy could only go into the 236 crouch dash after a few select moves that had the 236 cancel. In the arcade, Amy's 236 crouch dash can be done at any time, but a few moves such as 66B+K retain the special cancel. If you do 66B+K, 236 too slow, then you'll just be doing two separate moves and the kicks can be teched. You should input the 236 either before the 66B+K reaches hit frames, or immediately afterwards, do not wait until 66B+K is nearing the end of its recovery period. I've also seen people claim that 33B, 66B+K, 33B is a combo. I tested it and it's not even close to being one, the last hit is easily teched. After 66B+K the only thing that has a chance to combo is the special 236KK cancel. Although decent players should already know this, let me give some advice on how to conveniently execute diagonal double-tap moves such as 33B. 33B is not only Amy's staple mid mixup, it is also her staple punisher after she has stepped something. You normally step by double-tapping sideways 22_88 just before an attack reaches you. You can also step from neutral by holding 2_8 just before an attack reaches you. Afterwards, if you see that you indeed stepped something, immediately roll the stick to the appropiate direction 3_9 and hit the attack button. That way you will instantly perform either 33B or 99B and punish. I should also give some tips on stepping at this point. After starting either the 22_88 step or the 2_8 hold step, if no attack comes, don't just continue holding 2_8 and think you are still stepping. The fast part of your step wears off after about 20 frames, after which you enter the full 8-way siderun state, which doesn't have a very fast sideways motion to it. Almost any attacks, vertical or not, can hit you in this state. At this time, either stop stepping and block, or re-step. However you cannot re-step in the same direction until roughly 40 frames after your previous step, so you do risk a tiny period of vulnerability every time you do this. You can re-step in the opposite direction at anytime however, so zig-zagging back and forth at about 30 frame intervals is another alternative tactic for continual stepping. This method will keep your evasive speed higher on average, but instead you risk getting hit at the instant you change directions. So in practice what you do when you want to step continuously is to randomly either choose between zig-zagging or re-stepping the same direction, unpredictably at all times. This prevents your opponent from reliably identifying a weak point in your step to strike in. You will also look like a crazy person and some opponents will be intimidated. In Soul Calibur 2 my stepping technique was even more wacky. Because of the Avoid system, I often chose to zig-zag back and forth continuously at 20-frame intervals. You just vibrate back and forth but because of the Avoid system you would still dodge verticals very reliably. In Soul Calibur 3 though doing that is suicide because pretty much anything can hit you. The other way to execute 33B easily is by running forward first, then circling to the diagonal and hitting the attack button. However this is only best used when you are really far away and want to run forward for a tiny bit before doing 33B. You can also use this method against grounded enemies since you usually have plenty of frame advantage to waste. You can also do this post-GI hoping that your run instigates whiffed re-GI, but that trick only works on some people. At all other times it is best to just double-tap 33 and do it the regular way. Diagonal double-taps are hard on some controllerpads, but since Amy only exists in the arcade that's not an issue. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22_88B, i38, mid, 24 damage, vs step - D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Auto-stepping move. It might be tempting to say this move is useful because with the weakening of SC3 step, characters with good auto-stepping moves such as Siegfried 66B or Xianghua 66A+B have a significant advantage in battle. However this isn't a good stepping move so it's worthless. It doesn't do big damage and it is slow enough that it is no different than a manual step followed by 33B. It's also not very quick to evade, Amy's regular step evades faster. Amy 4A could still have some use though, because her 4A evades faster than her normal step. In situations with really bad frame disadvantage around -10 or so, it may be better to use Amy 4A rather than try a manual step. But with the bad risk-to-reward ratio of Amy 4A, it's probably just better to forget stepping in such situations and just settle for blocking. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22_88B~g~A, i60, high, 18 damage, vs step - A+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amy can cancel her 22_88B sidetwirl into a special crouching motion that looks just like what SC2 Raphael did when his special B+K evade worked on an incoming high. Afterwards Amy can either do nothing or do the special A or B attack that comes out of this stance. On hit, this move will combo into 66A+B for a total of 38 damage. I don't see any practical use for this move though. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22_88B~g~B, i60, mid, 28 damage, vs step - D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Has amazing range, but is useless. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44_11_77B, i34, mid, 25 damage, vs step - F ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Backstepping move, Amy's version of Mitsurugi 4B or Xianghua 44B-type of stuff. Doesn't step back very far though, and has pretty bad range on the returning stab. I tried to use it a lot before but now I'm pretty sure this move is worthless. If you want to backstep, just backstep regular instead. On counterhit, if you continue to hit B afterwards this move gains a special followup. It will be immediately followed up with 4B+K,B which can combo for 75 damage total. However the combo may be escapable by extremely quick mashing because the 44B stun is mashable. On normal hit, 44B produces the same double over stun but the opponent should mash out. If you try to follow up 44B with 4B+K,B on normal hit, the 4B+K will come out too slow and whiff, so follow up with 33B or other things instead. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- K, i12, high, 8 damage, vs stepleft - A+, vs stepright - A ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just like SC2 Raphael's plain K, except it does crappy damage. I would think 2A to be superior to this move in most situations, the only advantage K has is a tiny bit more range. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6K, i19, mid, 18 damage, vs stepleft - D, vs stepright - C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New move, looks like a funny kick to the crotch. I consider this move to be a juggler in the same sense that Amy 3B is. It causes a forward crumple stun on hit and can be followed up with 66A+B guaranteed for 37 damage total. Perhaps 8A+B could be used on large enemies but it flies over most characters who crumple forward. Use 6K instead of 3B on grounded enemies who like to stay down as it hits ground and sometimes right siderollers as well. 6K is probably also your best post-duck throw punisher. 37 damage is not really acceptable ducked throw punishment, but it's the best Amy can manage. The AI thinks that 6K, 236KK is a combo. I'm not certain it is right, but if it is then you can do this for a ringout near the edge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3K, i15, mid, 14 damage, vs step - C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A new move, Amy doesn't have the same funny looking kicks as console Amy. This one is a linear side thrust kick. Doesn't seem useful for anything, which is the case for half of the 3K's in the game, so don't ever use it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2K, i15, low, 8 damage, vs stepleft - A, vs stepright - A+, -14 on block, +0 on hit, +4 on counterhit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A major change to Soul Calibur 3 is that all the characters' quick low boomph kicks have new uniformized frame data. The low boomph kick framedata is now a lot worse than in SC1 and SC2. Boomph kicks tend to be marginally unsafe on block to quick punishment. Whether or not they can actually be punished tends to depend on matchup, and the speed of the opponent's quickest attacks that can be done from a full crouch. However in Arcade Edition all boomph kicks are safer by 1 frame because the weird console SC3 phenomena where attacks that punished at exactly 15 frames caused a funny counterhit is gone. A 15 frame attack is now blocked, and a 13 or 14 frame attack will punish with a normal hit. This is actually a global change to the game that affects all moves that recover crouching. They are no longer susceptible to being punished with a counterhit on the exact 1st frame after recovery. So in practice most boomph kicks are now just barely safe in most character matchups in SC3:Arcade Edition. They are still a lot weaker than before though, as they only recover with neutral frames on hit, which is almost like negative frames since the kicker recovers into a crouch. They also execute slower at 15 frames, while in comparison all throws have also gotten newly uniformized frame data for SC3 and now execute faster, also in 15 frames. In the previous Soul Calibur games the boomph kick was the de-facto low in my opinion. They were more important than throws and if I had to choose only one low or throw to survive off of I would always go with my boomph kick. The boomph kick for most characters should be your most commonly used low, even with some characters that might seem surprising, such as Mitsurugi. But in SC3 things are different. For console SC3 I would say boomph kicks are totally worthless until the opponent is near death. Instead, throws should be the most relied upon "low" for most characters in SC3. This might seem unsafe, but actually since stepping has been powered down in SC3, vertical mids are safer than before, and in turn throws benefit indirectly from this newfound safety as well. Despite the loss of the low boomph kick, SC3 favors offense more than the previous Soul Calibur games. Although boomph kicks have been significantly improved for Arcade Edition I think the same rule applies. Throws are still better than safe boomph lows in SC3:AE, however they are a bit more comparable with each other. Characters with unusually damaging boomph kicks, or those who are very susceptible to step, should consider using some boomph kicks over throws. Amy's boomph kick is decent relative to many other characters'. 8 damage is tied for the lowest in the game but it's not especially low for Amy's general level of damage. Still, the damage is low enough in comparison with her throw damage that I choose to rely upon her throws rather than her low boomph kick. But against grounded enemies, or against opponents who are giving you abnormal problems with their sidesteps, Amy could mix in some safe low boomph kicks alongside her throws and 1A lows. 1A should not be considered to be similar to 2K. 1A is better thought of as being a long-range throw with weak damage, because 1A is about as punishable when low blocked as a crouched throw. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FC K, i15, low, 8 damage, vs stepleft - A, vs stepright - A+, -14 on block, +0 on hit, +4 on counterhit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Same as 2K. I think both count as a tech crouch. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1K, i16, mid, 16 damage, vs step - D ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exactly like SC2 Raphael's 3K. This is also a rare tech jumping attack that actually gets off the ground fairly early. In most cases though I would prefer 9B or 9K if I wanted a tech jumping attack, they get off the ground instantly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4KK, i18, high, high, 12 damage, 10 damage...natural combo, 22 damage total, vs step - A first hit, C second hit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This could have been a great staple high, but the second kick is totally linear and has almost no tracking ability. Even if the first kick hits a stepper, the second kick tends to whiff. If the first kick counterhits, not only does 4KK combo but it also induces a stun that guarantees 33B afterwards for 38 damage. On CH, 4K by itself also induces a stun that guarantees 2K afterwards for about 18 damage total. Since hitting step counts as a counterhit now, plain 4K could be a useful horizontal, but I think 22_88A, 4A, and AA are better highs. The AI thinks that CH 4K, 1B is a combo. If true, this would do a little more damage and make plain 4K a more usable move. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 66_33_99K, i19, high, 22 damage, vs stepleft - A, vs stepright - C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A spinning kick that could have had potential but it's just too easily stepped. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 22_88K, i30, high, 26 damage, vs step - F ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A long-range, linear, high, side thrust kick. Amy takes a step forward prior to executing the kick that is why the range is good. Causes the stun where you land on your butt on normal hit, and pretty much anything can hit or launch afterwards, except that this stun is mashable and the opponent has all day to do it. This move is useless to me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 44_11_77K, i40, mid, 34 damage, vs step - A+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If it weren't so slow that it is useless this would have been a great move. On hit it can combo into 66A+B for 55 total damage. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sliding, i21, low, 25 damage, vs step - B, -20 frames or worse on block ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sliding is great now in Soul Calibur 3, some players consider it a major part of the overall game. You have to run forwards for approximately 40 frames then hit kick to initiate Sliding. Know the time and distance well so that you can slide as often as possible at the smallest possible window of opportunity your opponent's actions allow. Why is Sliding so great now? It is still massively unsafe and will be juggle punished on block. However they now do twice as much damage as before since most characters' Sliding can combo into a followup attack. For Amy, the best guaranteed followup is 33B for a total of 42 damage. About half the Sliding animations for Soul Calibur 3 have been redone as well and are unique to their character. Amy's Arcade Edition slide is unique, not the same as on console. It doesn't have the mini-hop of the generic Slide, as is the case for most of the new sliding animations. This is bad because you lose the fully functional tech jump of the standard Slide animation. But on the other hand I think most of the new Slides tech crouch earlier, and they are also much harder to see and block on reaction, so I actually prefer most of the new Sliding animations. Also since Avoid is gone in SC3, Sliding is now very hard to step. It's still possible but attempting to step Sliding is inconsistent now. The defender will almost always have enough frames to step since the attacker has to take a long time to start running, but the specific timing at which step is attempted is still critical to determine whether the slide is dodged or not. But even the step timings that work can be chaotic. It may work if you step at a particular good timing, but not work if you step 2 frames later, yet work again if you step 2 frames later than that. This is because dodging lows tends to be dependent on the particular animation state of the stepper's feet at the instant of impact. Whether a slide is successfully stepped or not can be a matter of luck. It's also influenced by character matchup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A+G, i15, high, 50 damage, vs step - A+ B+G, i15, high, 45 damage, vs step - A+ left sidethrow, i15, high, 55 damage, vs step - A+ right sidethrow, i15, high, 45 damage, vs step - A+ backthrow, i15, high, 60 damage, vs step - A+ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amy's throws do relatively decent damage considering her overall low damage. Your standard throw mixup of A+G or B+G should be considered to do roughly 24 damage on hit on average, since throws should always be broken half the time
even after they have hit. Don't think of throws as doing their full damage,
that is the wrong way to think against a good player. Even after a throw has
connected, a player has 13 additional frames during which to break throw. A
break done in the first 3 frames will give the breaker a +6 frame advantage
afterwards, a break done in the next 7 frames gives the attacker a small +2
frame advantage afterwards, and a break done in the last 3 frames causes the
defender to fall backwards on his butt and gives the attacker +5 frames
afterwards. Don't feel embarrassed if you fall on your butt though, the
disadvantage is not much worse than the normal break because you fall away to
relative safety. As long as you get a break in you should feel proud of
yourself, even if you guess wrong and input the wrong break.

On whiff, all throws recover at around -30 frames and should be punished for
big damage. Generally speaking, most whiffed moves recover at around -25 to
-30 frames, but a few abnormal moves recover as fast as -15 frames on whiff,
while other moves take forever to recover. Whiff recovery is not always
proportional to block recovery because all moves induce their own unique
blockstun durations.

Make sure you break all throws that connect upon you and punish all throws that
you crouch. This is one of the basics of Soul Calibur that separate the top
players from the regular ones, and it's now more critical than ever since
throws dominate Soul Calibur 3. If you have bad reflexes and cannot throw break
on reaction, then use the mashing method. Hold G to stand and guard, and mash
either A or B while holding G, in case you get thrown. Don't twiddle between A
and B because if you accidentally hit A+B it counts as neither and furthermore
immediately closes your throw breaking window in case a throw did hit you. The
weakness of this method is that you can't do it while stepping, but in Soul
Calibur 3 stepping sucks anyway so this method is more accessible than ever to
those with bad reactions. So you have no excuse not to throw break.

Decent reactions are necessary though to reliably punish crouched throws with
a damaging move. You generally have to guess to crouch throws, but you react to
punish if you see that you guessed right. Unless you are superhuman, in which
case you can even crouch throws on reaction and be invincible.

Although throws have always been good at hitting step, throw tracking has been
globally improved for Soul Calibur 3. They are now unsteppable. If you do see
them getting stepped it will have been via the 2_8 hold version of stepping,
because that version does not move diagonally forward like the 22_88 version.
The 2_8 hold version of step can dodge throws and other short range moves since
it actually moves backwards slightly. To prevent your throws from being dodged
via 2_8 hold, simply throw from a little closer. The weakness of 2_8 hold steps
is that they don't move at all for the first 5 frames in console SC3, so they
are slow to start. The 2_8 hold step lag is less in SC2 and arcade SC3, only 3
frames. SC1 did not have the 2_8 hold step. Another related thing, all move
tracking has been globally improved slightly in SC3. This is actually just a
return to SC1 mechanics though, as SC1 also had better tracking on everything.
SC2 is the weirdo game in this area. But throw tracking has been especially
improved just for SC3. If you go back to SC1 you will laugh at how easily most
throws are stepped in that game, it's even easier than in SC2 since SC1 steps
are the fastest in raw speed.

Amy's throws have really bad range, the worst in the game. Make sure you run
close enough before you throw. Don't let the bad range stop you from using
them. Her throws are all totally different from console. B+G switches positions
with the opponent, useful to know for ring management. None of her normal
throws ringout, but her sidethrow on the opponent's right side can perform a
reverse ringout to Amy's back. For frontal "low" ringouts, use Sliding or
perhaps 2B+K instead of throws.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WS A, i19, high, 22 damage, vs step - A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Slightly slow compared to the average WS A and it's a high, so I don't really
use this move. FC A+B is superior from a crouch.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WS B, i15, high, 18 damage, vs step - C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A linear high, but this move is useful because it's a good post-duck punisher.
On hit it causes a dizzy stun that can combo into anything and any launcher,
but the stun is mashable. SC3 has a lot of stuns and it's important to know
which ones can be mashed out of so you don't get hit with broken fake combos.
To mash out of stuns, hold G then move the stick in a 360 motion. Make sure you
either end up in standing Guard or crouching Guard, as desired, since after
escaping a stun you tend to find yourself on the receiving end of a solid mixup
in practice.

On hit, I advise following up with 6BBB which will all combo because the SC3
stun system causes followup hits to all turn into counterhits after a stun.
Total damage will only be 44 damage though because subsequent stun hits quickly
reduce in damage, but 44 damage is still Amy's largest possible post-duck
punishment. This is assuming you can get away with it, because a skilled
opponent should be able to mash out right after the WS B. The CPU does it all
the time at higher levels, and I've done it against the CPU Amy also. Against
better opponents you will have to punish ducked highs with 4BB or 6K instead.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FC 3B, i23, mid, 25 damage, vs step - D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy leans backwards a bit then does a funny looking stab at a slightly upwards
angle. This is like SC3 Raphael's WS B except slower. I don't see much use for
this. Causes a fallback stun on hit but nothing combos afterwards.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FC 2B, i15, mid, 14 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just like SC2 Raphael's FC B except executes 1 frame slower. Use to punish
certain lows on block, such as some characters' low boomph kicks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FC 1B, i23, low, 25 damage, vs step - D, -16 on block
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long range low stab, just like SC2 Raphael's FC 3B except it recovers slower
and is unsafe on block. I would only consider using this if I found myself
recovering in a crouch, with plus frames, at medium to long range. I would
never even consider crouching manually to get to this move.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FC A+B,A, i18, mid, mid, 12 damage, 12 damage...natural combo, 24 damage total,
   vs step - A+ both hits
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks like SC2 Raphael's FC 3AA except both hits count as mid, and it lacks the
followup B. On counterhit causes a stun afterwards, but nothing is guaranteed
because the move itself takes too long to recover. The Training Mode says stuff
afterwards is a combo but the Training Mode readouts are not reliable when it
comes to ground combos because it doesn't understand teching. Most of Amy's
combos are ground stun combos so I've had to test everything in VS play. FC A+B
is a solid offensive move for when you find yourself recovering in a crouch,
but it's probably not worth it to crouch manually to get to this move.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WS K, i17, mid, 20 damage, vs stepleft - C, vs stepright - B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New move, it's a pretty far reaching vertical mid kick. Not a bad move out of
crouch. Your other useful offensive mids bufferable when you recover into a
crouch blockstun are 6K, 66B, 6B+K, and FC A+B. When you recover into a crouch
after executing a move that recovers crouching, you can immediately buffer in
8-way run moves such as 33B as well. If you wish to do any other standing mids
after recovering in a crouch you must do them unbuffered with good timing. Also
be aware that if you recover in a crouch blockstun, you cannot execute 8-way
run moves such as 33B until you fully stand which takes a number of frames.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6A+B,A, i18, mid, mid, low...natural combo, 41 damage total, vs stepleft - C,
        vs stepright - B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just like SC2 Raphael's A+B,A. Could have been a fairly solid mid but the first
hit has super ultra terrible bad range, even worse than SC2 Raphael's version.
I never use this move but maybe it is worth remembering.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2A+B, i30, low, 20 damage, vs stepleft - A, vs stepright - B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Typical slow ranged low. Follow up with 33B afterwards for a guaranteed 36
damage total. Rings out and safe on block. Unfortunately this move is worthless
like all slow lows have always been. It's a bit tougher to read the animation
than the average slow low, but it's still possible. You can demolish slow
reacting players with this but I urge Amy players to learn to fight at a higher
level and avoid using this move. Concurrently, learn to react well and reaction
block any slow lows your opponents try, in turn. You should never be hit by any
low that is 24 frames or slower because you were guarding and didn't identify
it in time to block low.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8A+B, i28, mid, 34 damage, vs stepleft - D, vs stepright - C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A vertical leaping mid. Looks a lot like SC2 Raphael's 236B except it is a bit
slower. May combo on hit with 2K for a total of 40 damage but I'm not positive
on that. I don't really see a use for this other than as a combo followup. It
might be fun to do 8A+B and 2A+B mixups though since they are both slow. That
was probably the original intent.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4A+B, i67, unblockable mid, 45 damage, vs step - F
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy's basic unblockable, I think it is the same as SC2 Raphael's. On hit it can
be followed up with a guaranteed 66A+B for a total of 63 damage. Like most
unblockables this can be canceled by holding Guard, but a recovery animation
will follow. About as useful as the average unblockable, i.e. worthless.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
66A+B, i27, mid, 26 damage, vs stepleft - D, vs stepright - C, -12 on block
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A new move. A tech crouching, but slow, long-range dashing mid that sends the
opponent spinning high into the air behind Amy. Follow up with backturned B+K,
then a final 66A+B for a grand total of 65 damage. Too slow for mixups, but I
use this on occasion from long range during frame advantage situations, to try
to counterhit the enemy and protect my right to dash in. It also has some
ability to hit steppers to Amy's right, but I wouldn't stake my life upon that
working. When at long-range and in need of a step-covering mid to Amy's right,
I look to 66A+B first but if it doesn't work then 11A will have to do. This is
a weak area of Amy and if possible try not to be pushed out of 3B range, since
3B is her longest range good vertical mid that can cover steps to Amy's right.

66A+B is slightly unsafe on block but in most cases will recover out of AA
range so is safe in practice, especially when executed from farther distances
which is the only time this move should be used anyway.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6B+K, i20, 30 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even though this is not the greatest move, this is still my favorite Amy move
for its animation. Amy does a forward sliding stab on her knees. It has great
range, about the same as 33B. Despite its looks it is safe on block so Amy can
use this as an offensive mixup mid if she wants, but 33B is better for this
purpose. If you are in a situation where you must attack right away but don't
feel you have time to input the 33 double-tap, you could use this move. On hit
a 2K is guaranteed afterwards for a total of 36 damage. I advise you to take
the free damage, however small. I am not much of a believer in sacrificing free
damage just for better wakeups or Soul Charges.

6B+K has a better purpose though, one for which it is ideally suited. It's your
best post-backdash punisher. What is most important for a post-backdash
punisher is not high damage, but rather safety in the early frames of the
attack animation and a long reach. When I say reach here, I mean actual reach
of your arm and sword, and how efficiently the arm and sword are stretched out
in front of the body. Stabs always have the longest reach because the arm and
sword are in a straight line. Chops and slashes tend to have worse reach
because the arm and sword are never straight, but remain at an angle to each
other in order to generate a faster and more powerful cut. It is critical that
a post-backdash punisher also have a long range in addition to a long reach,
because the move must be able to hit the opponent from a far distance after
backdashing.

It's not critical that a post-backdash punisher execute especially quickly,
although it certainly helps. The best way to punish after backdashing is to
execute your punisher the moment you see the opponent make any kind of twitch.
Don't wait until you know what attack was done, by that time it will be too
late to punish. By the time you respond to the twitch chances are the attack
will have just finished hit frames, so just guess and attack back right away.
Here is where the animation and reach properties of your punisher matter. A
good post-backdash punisher allows for leeway in when you attack back. If you
start your attack too early, and the opponent's attack is still coming out, a
proper punisher will remain at a far distance during its early frames, the
opponent's attack will still end up whiffing, and naturally he will be hit
afterwards by your punisher. Good punishers, used well, won't even get hit by
the second hit of many BBs, because their animation properties allow the
backdasher to start their punisher early enough to interrupt the second hit of
BBs, while simultaneously having enough leeway to still cause slower attacks to
whiff and be punished as well.

Amy's 6B+K has a good tech crouch, and also a kind of weird leaning back
animation especially during its early frames, that give it this excellent
leeway property. 30 to 36 damage is more than acceptable damage for a punisher
that is used after a successful backdash. Amy can also use 33B to punish after
a backdash, but since it will take a few frames to roll the stick to the
diagonal after holding back, it will come out a little slower than 6B+K, plus
the leeway properties aren't as good as 6B+K's, though the damage is greater.

Other good examples of backdash punishers with good leeway and reach properties
are Mitsurugi 4A+K, Nightmare/Siegfried 6B poke, and Sophitia 236B. In the case
of Sophitia 236B, the reach and range are excellent, but the move has little
additional leeway properties since she doesn't stay back during the early
frames. But since 236B is so fast at 13 frames it doesn't matter, Sophitia can
afford to take more time to identify when it is safe to start her move. While
on the other hand, Siegfried players must guess and start their slow 6B very
early if they want to punish, but they can afford to do so since their 6B has
super long reach, and Siegfried's body remains very far back until the very
end. Some Mitsurugi players complain when the attack throw of 4A+K does not
engage, but it doesn't matter. The stab hit alone of his 4A+K does 30 damage
which is enough for such an effective post-backdash punisher.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2B+K, i19, low, 20 damage, vs step - D, -16 on block
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy stabs straight downwards into the enemy's foot. Has awful range, worse than
her throw range. Still, as long as you move close enough first it's not a huge
problem. Recovers crouching. On hit makes the enemy hop around holding their
foot, and 66A+B will combo afterwards for 39 damage total. Alternatively, FC 1B
can be used if you are lazy for 38 damage total. 8A+B can also combo afterwards
for a scary 44 damage total, but it is kind of inconsistent. Depending on
initial positioning, Amy often flies over the enemy's head or whiffs to their
side. Near the edge, instead follow up with 236KK for a possible ringout. This
is even more inconsistent than 8A+B, and oftentimes will either whiff outright
or be techable to Amy's left, but sometimes it hits guaranteed. I think it's
worth a shot when the opponent still has a significant amount of life left.

Although slightly unsafe on block, this move still has a far better risk to
reward ratio than a throw. Will hit for 39 damage but on block most characters
can only punish with weak attacks in the neighborhood of 20 damage. Compare
this with a throw, which on average hits for 24 damage but gets punished for
around 60 damage against most characters. Unfortunately 2B+K is linear and
easily stepped and punished for 60 damage, instead.

As was mentioned earlier, my basic offensive moveset consists of BB, 3B, 33B,
throws, and 1A. Throws and 1A are very unsafe to crouchers, but it's a stable
offense overall because the mids are fairly safe to both step and standing
guard. The opponent's main defensive options against this moveset must include
crouching, but it's up to him whether he wants to only guard, only step, or use
any combination of the two, as a defense against 3B and 33B. If only steps are
utilized, a fairly even combination of left vs right steps will ensure that
when stepping against 3B and 33B, in the long run the net damage the verticals
do against step will be close to zero. Adding 2B+K to the offensive mix might
be tempting, but you should be able to see how 2B+K would actually be worthless
since nothing Amy is doing ever forces the opponent to block. They can just
step and crouch all day and do okay against the basic moves, and 2B+K will be
defended globally by those options and never hit.

To force the opponent to block sometimes as well, Amy needs 3A or 4A. 4A damage
is excellent but since it is a high it has no mixup potential vs guard/crouch.
3A is a decent horizontal mid but the damage is extremely low. If you mix
either one or both of these moves into the BB, 3B, 33B, throws, 1A strategy
then a smart opponent will now add some amount of standing guard to his
defensive mix in turn, and do less stepping. Technically speaking, this is the
optimal strategy for both players. It is hard for me to explain this without
showing a crazy mathematical equilibrium calculation. But in any case, I'll
just claim that ideally Amy should add only a very tiny fraction of 3A and/or
4A to the BB, 3B, 33B, throws, 1A mix. While the opponent's best defensive
response is to switch to a roughly equal balance between stepping and blocking,
not counting the fraction of the time crouch is chosen, which should still be
probability-weighted against. Finally, in turn 2B+K stops being useless because
now Amy has forced her opponent to block sometimes. However, although it is
totally not obvious and cannot be foreseen without actually doing the
mathematical equilibrium calculation on paper, it will turn out that 2B+K will
still not work well enough to be worth it to ever do.

This can also be looked at from the point of view of what I called the
alternative Amy offense. Start out with 3A, 1A, throws, and also 4A if desired.
This offense is totally anti-step and stepping is worthless against this. The
opponent will thus choose to only crouch or block standing, not in an even
ratio of course, but significantly weighted towards standing guard since the
lows are all unsafe. Or ultra low damage, if Amy chooses to go with 2K instead
as a low. Next, Amy should think, since my opponent is never stepping, why
don't I do some verticals also? And so she would start to mix in more and more
verticals while the opponent in turn starts to step a little bit if he thinks
it will help him. The question becomes what verticals should Amy choose? Should
she choose 3B and 33B which are highly damaging mids that are also safe to step
in a way, or should she choose 2B+K which is a damaging low but totally unsafe
to step, or both? Choosing either will dramatically improve the 3A and 1A
strategy but a careful mathematical equilibrium calculation on paper will
reveal that the 3B and 33B will help slightly more, and the same offensive
strategy as before is the best.

Yet, if Amy insists on looking to 2B+K instead the resultant strategy will be
almost as good. Furthermore, the correct balance of moves in the two different
Amy offenses is totally different. The 2B+K strategy should have tons of 3A
mixed with a very conservative amount of 2B+K, and a conservative amount of
1A/throw. The vertical mids strategy consists of lots of 3B and 33B, roughly
60%, a careful amount of throwing, roughly 40%, and a tiny amount of 3A or 4A
like maybe 1%, which I usually forget about since doing them won't help much.

However these equilibrium results would change drastically if some of the move
damages were different. That is why I say 2B+K is such a powerful move even if
I never use it in general situations. If 2B+K did 100 damage on hit instead of
39, then I would forget 3B and 33B and go with the alternative offense. Or, if
2B+K stayed the same but Amy 3A did 30 damage, then the alternative offense
would be better too. 2B+K is a very unique and powerful move, and if given to a
different character who is better anti-step than Amy, such as Sophitia or
Cervantes, could make them into a super powerful broken character.

Don't hesitate to abuse 2B+K when the enemy cannot step. It is great against
grounded enemies, as well as post-GI, if Amy is close enough for it.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4B+K,B, i28, mid x 8, natural combo, 48 damage total, vs step - F
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kind of like SC2 Raphael's 1A+B,B,B series of rapid mid stabs except this time
it doesn't have the Guard Impact properties of the initial movement and is just
a regular slow move. For the most part this is useless.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
66B+K, i16, mid, 18 damage, vs stepleft - D, vs stepright - C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks very similar to console Amy's 66B. If this attack either hits or is
blocked Amy will hop backwards slightly and this attack can then be canceled
into the 236 crouch dash. If uncanceled, I believe a blocked 66B+K is fairly
safe, whereas console 66B was unsafe. Another difference is that on normal hit
66B+K cannot combo into anything, however it does combo with the built in 236KK
cancel on counterhit or air hit. CH 66B+K, 236KK does 38 damage total. I don't
use this move too much outside of combos but it is worth mentioning that of all
Amy's moves this is probably one of her longest range moves relative to the
speed of the attack. Few attacks in this speed category have range like this,
it's almost in the class of SC2 Raphael's 66B.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9A, high, 20 damage, vs step - B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard jumping attack, except low damage since it's Amy. 8A does 2 damage
less and 7A does 4 damage less. The same pattern follows for all Amy's jumping
and While Landing attacks below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9B, mid, 18 damage, vs stepleft - C, vs stepright - F
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best jumping attack to use when you want to jump and punish the typical boomph
kick low. Jumping attacks such as these are all considered to leave the ground
instantly when up against an incoming low, but they take roughly 8 frames to
leave the ground against all other types of attacks. This is unchanged from
Soul Calibur 2. However a big change is that getting hit while jumping no
longer reduces the damage taken, it's 100% normal damage, plus air control is
no longer available. Air Control is now only available after getting hit in the
air after you've already been hit with a juggle starter. Therefore jumping is
no longer a very good tactic in general, in fact it's probably okay to never
jump at all in Soul Calibur 3.

Jumping in my opinion was overrated a bit even in Soul Calibur 2, where it was
at its strongest. The reason is that a jump attack executed during a defensive
frame situation is almost as risky as attempting a GI. If the opponent twitches
and/or steps, both GIs and jump attacks will whiff and 60+ damage punishment
should follow. This is part of the reason why I thought boomph kicks were very
good and safe in Soul Calibur 2. They were quite vulnerable to being Parried or
Jump Attacked, but Parries and jump attacks cannot be overused and can be dealt
with by occasional twitching and/or stepping when you have frame advantage.

There are always unique exceptions though, for example Taki's 6A+B ground bomb
unblockable. Since it's a low, when you see it just do 9B and chop her head.
Similarly, hop over the second hit of an opponent Amy's 3BA and punish, etc.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9K, mid, 16 damage, vs stepleft - C, vs stepright - D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weaker than 9B. Each time you try to jump over a specific low and punish simply
use the most damaging mid that will connect with that particular low. 9B might
whiff against some particular low attacks, if so you might need 9K or 8B
instead.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WL A, low, 18 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - A+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Generic WL sweeping horizontal A low.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WL B, mid, 22 damage, vs stepleft - F, vs stepright - C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Launches the opponent on normal hit but unfortunately doesn't combo into
anything. Jumping manually and executing WL attacks often does more damage than
Jumping Attacks, and is safer as well because a plain jump won't get punished
if you "whiff" it. When doing a plain jump in a defensive situation to jump
over a low, don't hit B until you see the opponent definitively commit to a
move, so that you can't be punished. While Landing attacks can still be useful
in Soul Calibur 3 to make safe lows unsafe, such as Siegfried's Full Crouch
foot grabbing throws, which are annoyingly safe on block in Arcade Edition.
Still, plain jumping is also weakened in Soul Calibur 3 because if you get hit
while doing a plain jump you take full 100% damage and have no Air Control.

However, the weakening of boomph kick lows in Soul Calibur 3 does help regular
jumping a little. In SC2, trying to plain jump a boomph kick low often did not
get off the ground in time since it takes 9 frames to leave the ground for a
plain jump. So even a boomph kick often hit a plain jumper. Also, if just
barely jumped, many boomph kicks recovered in time to block the WL attack. Now
boomph kicks are slower and suck in general so you don't really have to worry
about them anymore. So plain jumping can be useful against characters who have
medium-speed safe horizontal lows in the 17-frame to 22-frame range, such as
maybe Kilik 2A and Siegfried's low throws. Horizontal lows slower than that you
are supposed to block low on reaction so don't jump those. Still, try not to
jump if you don't have to in SC3, not even plain jumping. If you jump you admit
to your opponent that almost any mid/low mixup he tries is legitimate. You
might jump and get hit by stupid slow mids that normally should not hit you
such as Sophitia 66B. If you crouch, Sophitia's 1K might be hard or impossible
to punish, but at least you will always block her 66B on reaction if she ever
tries it. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is try not to jump too much, even if
safe medium-speed horizontal lows are annoying you.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WL K, mid, 18 damage, vs step - D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks kind of like a WL version of Amy 1K.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
236AB, mid, mid, 22 damage, 38 damage, vs step - C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Horizontal mid attack that comes out after the 236 crouch dash. I'm not sure I
consider Amy's 236 crouch dash to be of any use, though. She has to complete
the whole dash before her attacks can be done and the dash motion is a little
longer than I'd like. This attack also comes out fairly slow even after the 236
part is over. It's kind of similar to 66A overall, except the crouch dash part
is longer while the A attack itself is a bit quicker with less range. The
second part of the string is a linear stab but will only combo on counterhit,
which isn't likely.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
236 mash B, mid X 7, natural combo, 47 damage total, vs step - D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kind of like 4B+K,B except it comes out of the crouch dash. You have to mash B
for this one though, otherwise not as many hits will come out. The animation is
not the same as 4B+K and this attack comes out quite fast once the 236 motion
is over. Still, I don't think this attack has a particularly good use.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
236KK, mid, mid, 10 damage, 10 damage...natural combo, 20 damage total, vs
       stepleft - C, vs stepright - B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first kick has the unique ability to lift a grounded enemy off the ground
and into the air. The second kick will slam them back down. I use this inside
combos, or maybe inside some fake combos if it turns out that some of the 236KK
combos I use are escapable.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B+K, special motion stance, auto-GIs mids
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy instantly holds her sword vertically out in front of herself and goes into
this stance. The stance-entering motion can auto-GI all mids with a fairly wide
active window. Amy's stances are carried over from SC3 console Amy, however
the inputs and GI properties were switched around. This would probably be Amy's
most useful stance since it auto-GIs mids. If you do B+K and whiff Amy can be
juggle punished, the same as whiffed regular GI, so I often prefer regular GI
over B+K since regular GI also covers highs or lows. However since B+K is a
stance as well, certain actions besides blocking can be performed almost
immediately after entering the B+K movement. B+K can quickly transition into
the 236 crouch dash or the A+B stance-entering motion which auto-GIs highs. So
a whiffed B+K is safe to high punishment. B+K also quickly transitions into the
A+K stance hop, which protects against low and throw punishment. Nothing is
guaranteed to protect B+K against mid punishment, but doing quick attacks from
this stance will interrupt most punishers the enemy can try. A quick BB could
beat out Amy's followup attack, but only if the opponent reacts to the sight of
a whiffed B+K with near inhuman speed.

I'm currently trying to further investigate and add a bit of B+K into my play.
It is a unique defensive weapon which in practice can perform like a hybrid
between a GI and plain guarding. B+K is slightly unsafe on whiff but nowhere
near as bad as whiffed GI. Unlike GI it only works on mids but it punishes them
pretty solidly. B+K is great against characters that are heavily reliant on low
to medium damage safe mids, while it's unecessary against characters who tend
to use unsafe mids anyway.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B+K, stance B, high, 10 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Silly looking head bonk, recovers into the same stance so the silly looking
bonks can be repeatedly indefinitely if desired at a fairly rapid rate. This is
the fastest move that can be done out of the B+K stance, roughly a 12 frame
execution, it's actually faster than the corresponding similar stance move of
console Amy. It should be able to protect a whiffed B+K against most forms of
punishment by interrupting the opponent's punishment attempt. On counterhit,
the stance B can either combo into another stance B, or stance K and its juggle
followup of choice. This move is a guaranteed hit if the B+K motion auto-GIs
something. It's especially good when you get the red Just Frame GI version of
B+K. It's interesting that console Amy's stances did not allow for JF guard
impacts, while arcade Amy does allow for it.

Although this move recovers back into the same stance it is still safe if you
choose to block afterwards. However it is unsafe to being stepped and juggle
punished, just like pretty much any vertical attack is.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B+K, stance A, mid, 30 damage, vs step - A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Slow horizontal mid out of this stance. Causes a stun and combos into 66A+B for
a total of 50 damage. Too slow for mixups, but B+K stance is not for mixups
anyway. The good thing about this move is that it takes a small step backwards
and tech crouches as it starts, so it can protect a whiffed B+K motion against
certain types of punishment due to the evasive movement. However it doesn't
step backwards very much. Console Amy's similar move out of this stance is more
evasive than the arcade version.

Also realize that this won't backstep in time to help in avoiding your enemy's
offensive mixup. What I mean is, Amy should do B+K when the opponent has frame
advantage, with the intent to GI an incoming mid. But if a throw, low, or high
comes, the B+K motion will get hit and B+K, stance A will not help in this
situation because the stance A won't come out in time. But if the enemy chose
to do nothing and look for whiffed GI, and Amy does indeed whiff B+K, the
stance A may be able to backstep and dodge their punishment attempt.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B+K, stance K, mid, 20 damage, vs step - D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mid kick that causes a juggle, follow it up with 33B guaranteed for a total of
38 damage. Use it similarly to the stance B. It is slightly slower with roughly
a 17 frame execution but does way more damage. It is usually a guaranteed hit
if the B+K auto-GIs something, but if you delay the input of the stance K too
long and if the B+K impacted something in the earlier frames of the GI window,
then the opponent may recover in time to re-GI.

This move has shockingly good range, about the same as 33B. Too bad there's no
real way to take advantage of it as this stance is not for offense.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+B, special motion stance, auto-GIs highs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy instantly holds her sword above herself and does a twirl, entering this
stance. Unlike B+K, I don't think this stance has much potential. Why bother
with GIs for highs when you could just duck them instead? On whiff, the A+B
motion is vulnerable to punishment, although it does have a bit of protection
just as was the case for Amy's B+K stance. In this case, the A+B special motion
does not transition into Amy's other stances as quickly as her B+K motion did,
but it still transitions quickly enough to offer protection.

Transitioning to 236 will protect against highs, transitioning to A+K will
protect against lows and throws, and transitioning to B+K will protect against
mids. So actually in this case potentially all forms of punishment can be
addressed, unlike B+K which is somewhat vulnerable to being punished by a quick
mid.

However, I still don't advise using A+B for defense because I think regular
crouching is still superior. Regular crouches can't whiff to begin with, and
crouching any high can potentially allow for guaranteed punishment that can be
more damaging than any attack Amy can do out of her A+B stance.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+B, stance B, mid, 20 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - D
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nifty looking behind-the-back stab that causes a mashable double-over stun.
Reasonably fast but I don't think it is fast enough to be guaranteed after A+B
auto-GIs something.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+B, stance A, mid, mid, 15 damage, 16 damage...natural combo, 31 damage total,
     vs step - B
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quickest attack out of this stance. It looks kind of like the guard-breaking
second hit of 66BA except this move is two hits, mid, and doesn't guard-break.
I don't think it is guaranteed after an A+B auto-GI either but I could be
wrong.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+B, stance K, low, 24 damage, vs step - A
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Very slow low sweeping kick that can ringout. On hit, follow it up with 8A+B
for 48 damage total. This move is like 2A+B on steroids, more damaging and more
slow. But it's not for offense, anyone who gets hit low by this more than once
in a given day deserves to be strangled for their failure to react. Do not even
consider using the A+B stance for offensive mixups. This move's only use is
after A+B has successfully GI'ed something, because it is slow and may draw out
a whiffed re-GI.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+K, special motion stance, leaps over lows
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy does a mini-leap and twirl, identical to what SC2 Raphael did when his A+K
stance evade activated against an incoming low. Amy's A+K works on throws too
though, so it's not too bad. It doesn't technically GI so even when A+K works
it may not punish some quick lows but it will still avoid them at least. On
whiff, A+K can expect to be punished since it takes quite some time to be able
to guard again, but as with Amy's other stances, A+K can be canceled into any
other stance the moment it touches ground. The leap itself does take a fair bit
of time though, so the stance transitions will activate the slowest of all from
this stance, but Amy should just barely be able to start another stance and
potentially defend herself from most forms of punishment.

The only thing Amy won't be able to do is transition into a second A+K so she
can't do anything about punishing lows, but most characters don't have very
damaging good lows of reasonable speed anyway.

Whether or not A+K is useful depends on if its followups can come out quickly
enough to punish the low or throw that was dodged.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+K, stance K, mid, mid, 18 damage, 24 damage...natural combo, 42 damage total,
     vs step - C
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The standard punisher out of this stance. Can combo into 33B afterwards for a
good 57 damage total. The question is whether this attack can come out in time
to punish. It may only punish if Amy had time to start the A+K motion early, a
number of frames before the opponent's attack reached hit frames.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+K, stance B, unblockable mid, unblockable mid, 20 damage, 20 damage...natural
     combo, 40 damage total, vs step - F
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An unblockable stab that comes out very quick for an unblockable. At first I
thought this could have potential but after studying its speed carefully I
decided this move is still too slow to be of any use, so it's worthless. If you
do feel like using this move, do it against a downed opponent. They may stand
and get hit by it. However an alert opponent who is experienced against Amy
will never fall for this. All they need to do is check and make sure Amy is not
doing the A+K hop when they hit Guard to get up. At worst the Amy player will
start the A+K motion just before the opponent hits Guard, in which case the
rising player will just barely have enough time to fully stand and sidestep the
unblockable B if he sees it. The unblockable B itself executes in roughly 40
frames, plus there is the execution time of the A+K hop itself to consider.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A+K, stance A, low, 12 damage, vs stepleft - B, vs stepright - A+
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Looks just like SC2 Raphael's 11A. Quick enough to be a valid mixup together
with stance K, but I still don't recommend using A+K for offensive mixups. When
attacking out of a stance the opponent has time to recognize this, and since
stance attack options are limited a good defense can be chosen. A+K, stance K
is easily stepped and punished. A+K, stance A is a good move though so Amy can
attack solidly out of this stance, but at only 12 damage I would rather attack
from my normal stance.

Think of using A+K for offense the same as how you'd think of using WL mixups
for offense. Although it can work it's probably not as good as just attacking
normally so why bother. Also, be warned that fast-reacting opponents will be
able to block Amy's A+K mixups 100% of the time, as well as most WL mixups from
the various characters in the game. With only plain 2 move mixups coming out of
such states it is possible to reliably see and react to the difference between
them, even if the moves are very fast. The typical WL attack executes in about
15 frames, which is normally too fast to identify and react to, but some people
can do it reliably when they know 2 moves are all you have.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT A, high, 11 damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Backturned horizontal high, yay.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT B, mid, 14 damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pretty low damage backturned vertical mid, but it may be the only safe mid
Amy has when backturned.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT K, high, 9 damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Backturned horizontal high, yay.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT B+K, mid, 20 damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amy does a backflip through the air, knocking the enemy down on hit. Follow it
up with 66A+B afterwards for 41 damage total.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT 2A, low, 12 damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quick horizontal low. Faster than BT 2K, and probably with better recovery.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT 2B, mid, 14 damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For all practical purposes, probably not any different than BT B.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT 2K, low, 10 damage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Standard new SC3 backturned sweep kick that knocks down on hit. Follow it up
with 66A+B afterwards for 30 damage total.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Relaunch and Wall Combos (incomplete)
=====================================
Amy has a couple of relaunch juggle combos based on the special version of her
66B. Amy 66B has a special version that is performed by inputting the three
inputs for 66B very fast. The time between the first forward tap and the final
B input is measured, and if it is 5 frames or less then the special version of
66B will come out. The animation is the same but Amy will get the "Just Frame
Glow" that a number of SC3 characters get when they perform certain technical
inputs that yield an enhanced variant of a particular move. In this case the
input is not really a "just frame" requirement though. Just double tap 66 as
fast as you can, and make sure to hit B at the exact same time you hit forward
for the second time, and you should get it. You can hit the B slightly later if
you want, but that will force you to have to double tap the 66 even faster.

The special version of 66B can be buffered, just like any other attack. Even
though it is being buffered the game will still check to see how fast you had
physically inputted 66B. It is no harder and no easier to do the special 66B
when buffered than when done unbuffered.

The only effect of the glowing 66B is that if it hits an opponent who is in the
air it will cause a rebounce juggle instead of slamming them to the ground,
thus opening the way for new Amy juggles. 66B can combo after either 33B or
B+K, stance K. 66B can also combo after a previous 66B, but only if the first
66B hits from afar.

Amy 33B into a 66BA relaunch does a total of 57 damage. Alternatively Amy can
do 33B, 66B, 33B for 56 damage. This is safer in case you fail to get out the
special version of 66B. Also, it's kind of unfortunate but the opponent can
Just Frame Tech the rebounce at the moment 66B slams them to the ground, the
same as how most aerial slams can now be Just Frame Teched in SC3. However it
is not that easy to Just Frame Tech so perhaps 33B, 66B, 33B is okay to use.
Even if they JF tech, the first two hits still do 38 damage total which is not
too bad.

Summary
=======
My movelist and comments often go into more detail than some people would
consider necessary so let me try to boil everything down as much as possible.
Here is a simplified version of how I think Amy should be played. It's also a
good way to see how I view Soul Calibur in general.

When you are up close and think it is your "turn" to attack
-----------------------------------------------------------
33B...................standard mid juggler
3B series.............alternative mid "juggler"
BB....................faster mid, only use if you are getting interrupted
throw.................standard way to hit someone who guards or steps
3A....................only necessary if the enemy character is a good stepper
2K....................only necessary if the enemy character is a good stepper
twitch................lure out whiffed GI or evasive attacks, then punish

When you are up close and think it is your "turn" to defend
-----------------------------------------------------------
step..................also vary your step direction against most characters
guard.................also be ready to throw break at any time
crouch................pay attention for whiffs and be ready to punish
6BBB..................interrupt the enemy's slower attacks
AA....................interrupt the enemy, and is safer if they don't attack
BB....................interrupt the enemy, and is safer if they don't attack
guard impact..........6G is usually best, but use sparingly with great caution
backstep..............only consider when distance and timing allows for it

After you've blocked an unsafe attack
-------------------------------------
AA....................better reach than BB but less damage
BB....................adequate damage if it works
6BB...................less damage but sometimes your only option
etc...................basically use the most damaging attack that works

When you are standing over a downed enemy
-----------------------------------------
33B...................mid juggler that hits ground
6K....................alternative mid "juggler" that hits ground
3BA...................no ground hit but the 2nd hit can help sometimes
throw.................people do stand, sometimes
2K....................poor damage but it does hit ground
2B+K..................potentially nasty against grounded enemies

When you are a distance away and think it is your "turn" to attack
------------------------------------------------------------------
33B...................make them wait their turn to attack
66A+B.................make them wait their turn to attack
3B series.............if you are close enough for this to reach
11A...................use instead of 66A+B for better right-side step coverage
1A....................terrific low, but don't forget the unsafety on block
forward dash..........get closer so you can do more solid mixups

When you are a distance away and it's their "turn" to attack
------------------------------------------------------------
step..................stepping tends to work better at farther distances
guard.................most conservative option
crouch................look to duck a ranged high
33B...................hit them if they do a high or try to dash in
delayed BB............guard, but hit BB if you see them run forward
delayed AA............guard, but hit AA if you see them run forward
reaction crouch.......guard, but crouch the instant you see them run forward
guard impact..........make sure you don't get faked out by a forward dash
backstep..............only consider when distance and timing allows for it

After you GI something
----------------------
33B...................juggle them if you predict they won't re-GI
twitch................if you see whiffed GI then punish with 33B or 3BA
delayed throw.........people rarely duck after GI, or forget to break throw

Punishers
---------
33B...................after sidestepping something
6B+K..................after backstepping something
WS B..................after crouching something
6K....................after crouching something
4BB...................after crouching something

Common fatal mistakes
=====================
Other than the obvious faults than many relative beginners have, there are a
few common areas of weakness that many intermediate players, and even some more
advanced players can have, which can often be exploited. This section has
nothing to do with Amy in particular, but it is general Soul Calibur advice to
try to improve your win ratio. Since Amy is a relatively weak character her
player may need to be better than her opponent to win, and so here are some
general game tips on identifying and exploiting some commonly seen weaknesses.

Thinking that running forward and throwing is a valid mixup option
------------------------------------------------------------------
When outside of throw range with frame advantage, many intermediate players
will view doing an immediate mid vs running in and throwing to be a valid
mixup. It's not. To defend against this fake mixup 100% of the time, guard and
stay alert. As soon as you see the enemy start to run forwards, crouch as fast
as you can. This way you can both block his mids or crouch his delayed throw.
What a more advanced player knows is that even after running forward, he must
still mixup mids and throws yet again, to stop such strategies.

You can and should also look to turn this strategy around upon the opponent. If
he does not display fast reactions or alertness, know that you CAN view ranged
mids vs dash-in-throws to be a mixup. This is one area where you could gain a
huge advantage over your opponent if you are alert and he is not.

Mixing up mids and lows of different speeds
-------------------------------------------
Some people do not take care to make sure their mixups consist of similar
looking moves of similar speeds. Even if you can't react to the visual
differences between two mixup moves, if one is faster than the other by two
frames or more you can defend against the mixup globally by crouching or
standing with perfect timing. For example, a bad mixup might be Sophitia BB vs
Sophitia 1K. One is way slower than the other so if this is really the full
extent of your opponent's offense you should be able to defend every single
time by crouching with careful timing.

In Amy's case, BB vs throw can be considered to be the same speed, but 33B and
3B vs throw is a little on the iffy side. Fortunately Amy's 33B and 3B both
have animations which are not obvious and hard to identify, but some opponents
might pick up the trick of crouch guarding, then standing with perfect timing
to globally defend against all three of 33B, 3B, and an immediate throw. If you
feel that your opponent may be doing this, the solution is to delay your throws
by 3 frames, and this will require good timing on your own part.

Failing to attack differently against a grounded opponent
---------------------------------------------------------
As I mentioned in the Summary above, your moveset should change against fallen
enemies to reflect the fact that they have very different defensive options
open to them when they are on the ground. Being on the ground is not that bad.
An enemy who is lying down tends to lose most of his ability to dodge and
quickly punish mistakes, but instead he can play possum or roll around on the
ground and minimize the damage taken and survive until times get better.

When you fall down, don't just get up every single time. Try playing possum or
rolling around and see what happens. Learn how defending from the ground works,
and don't feel uncomfortable lying down. Some characters are so good against
grounded opponents that you should essentially just stand against them. But
other characters are so bad at hitting downed enemies that you can really abuse
them by rolling around with confidence and experience. Amy is probably mediocre
at dealing with grounded enemies. Her main weakness is that I don't think she
has any good vertical mids that can hit a sideroller to Amy's right very well.
6K is all I can think of but it's not that great at it.

Failing to punish whiffed GI
----------------------------
Guard Impact is a legitimate tactic that should be used in high level play, but
cautiously and rarely. Nevertheless, using it should improve your fighting
effectiveness if you use it with the correct frequency. When up close, by my
crazy calculations you should try a GI roughly about 10% of the time, but this
can vary quite a bit depending on character matchup. When afar, I have no
advice and leave it up to you to decide how often you want to attempt GI.
Although GI can sometimes be easier from afar due to moves being slower, few
characters in the game have legitimate mixups from afar so there is no urgent
need for it. And of course there are special situations where you should GI all
the time, namely certain strings which are vulnerable to it.

It should be obvious that you should never GI against beginners because they
attack crazily and randomly and you'll have little idea of when they will make
an attack. GI is best against better players who mostly attack when they have
frame advantage. The key weapon that better players have against GI is that
they should always heavily punish a GI every time it is whiffed. So make sure
you do this. Punishing with 3BA is the standard you should try to live up to,
but if your reactions are too slow at least make sure you punish with BB. Also,
don't be too arrogant and always try to punish with 3BA unless you've played a
lot against your particular opponent. Against unfamiliar characters, and even
unfamiliar players, you may not be familiar enough with their 4 different
whiffed GI animations to punish in time with 3BA, so use BB until you are
comfortable. Whiffed GIs are vulnerable up to the 40th frame after they have
started. To punish with BB you'll need to react in 26 frames, and to punish
with 3BA you'll need to react in 21 frames. 

Contact Information
===================
If you have any comments or corrections to make to this guide, you may be able
to find me at gamefaqs.com on the Soul Calibur 3:Arcade Edition message board.