Venom FAQ
For Guilty Gear X on Arcade, Dreamcast, and Playstation 2.
Written by Kenny "Kenshi" Tam
Contact: kennytam@foxhound.zzn.com
===============
Version History
===============
Version 1.0
February 2, 2002
Everything
=================
Table of Contents
=================
I. Introduction
II. Profile
III. Annotations and Abbreviations
IV. General Moves
V. Special Moves
VI. Overdrive and Instant Kill Moves
VII. General Notes
VIII. Strategies
IX. Combos
X. Miscellany
XI. Notes and Credits
===============
I. Introduction
===============
This is an FAQ for the nifty looking Venom. He is quite an original,
but that goes for the rest of the Guilty Gear X crew I suppose.
This FAQ assumes you know the basics of the game, such as Dust
Attacks, Roman Cancels etc. In other words I can't be bothered to
list them.
The move lists and descriptions I got from sitting next to my machine
and watching the move several twenty times on training mode.
===========
II. Profile
===========
Full Name: Venom
Birthday: ? (Orphaned)
Nationality: Village of Assassins (England)
Height: 5"6 cm
Weight: 146 lb
Likes: Zato, Sympathy.
Dislikes: Blood, Those who oppose Zato
Hobby: Reading, Chess.
Weapon: Billiards Equipment(!).
==================================
III. Annotations and Abbreviations
==================================
UB U UF UB= Up-Back U= Up UF= Up-Forward
\ | / B= Back N= Neutral F= Forward
B--N--F DB= Down-Back D= Down DF= Down-Forward
/ | \
DB D DF
P = Punch S = Slash
K = Kick HS= Heavy Slash
QCF= Quarter Circle Forward (D, DF, F)
QCB= Quarter Circle Back (D, DB, B)
DPM= Dragon Punch Motion (F, D, DF)
RDP= Reverse Dragon Punch (B, D, BD)
HCF= Half Circle Forward (B, DB, D, DF, F)
HCB= Half Circle Back (F, DF, D, DB, B)
Double Jump= Tap Up During a Jump. The character will boost
themselves again in the air to go higher. A direction can be
specified, such as Up-Forward or Up-Back.
High Jump= Tap Down, then U. The character will launch themselves
into a large jump. They cannot perform the Double Jump though. A
direction can be specified, such as jumping towards the opponent by
pressing Up-Forward.
Forward Thrust Attack= Forward +Attack button. Certain characters
may do special or different attacks when performing this.
Dead Angle Attack= During Guard, Tap Forward + 2 Attack buttons.
Assuming you guarded the attack, immediately do this and the
character will counter with an attack. You need a tension gauge of
above 50% however.
Dust Attack= Press Slash and Hard Slash at the same time. The
character will so an attack that if hit, will launch the enemy into
the air. Press Up to leap up after to continue attacking the
opponent.
Sweep= Press Slash and Hard Slash whilst crouching. The character
will do an attack that hits low and knocks down the opponent.
Recovery= After being knocked down, press two attack buttons to flip
out and recover.
Throw= Press Forward or Back and Heavy slash when near opponent to
perform a throw attack.
Faultless Defense= Press Punch and Kick whilst blocking to negate
block damage. However it expends some of the tension gauge every
time you perform this move and requires the buttons to be tapped
every time the move hits.
Roman Cancel= Push Three attack buttons during an attack to stop
further animation. Used for creating custom combos otherwise
impossible. Requires more 50% of Tension gauge to perform.
Overdrive Attack= With Overdrive gauge at either 50% or full, do the
specific command for the character to unleash a powerful attack.
Instant Kill Tecnhnique= Press all 4 attack buttons. The character
will go into Instant Kill mode, where the tension gauge turns red and
starts deceasing. During that time, the character can unleash an
Instant Kill Attack. If the character misses or the bar runs out,
the tension gauge cannot be used. It requires a full tension gauge
to perform as well.
=================
IV. General Moves
=================
Standing-
*********
Punch- Venom does a weird little poke with his pool cue. He leans
slightly backwards when doing this move, and the cue does very
little. Good for combo starting since it is fast.
Kick- Normal looking side kick to the opponent. Not very fast but it
can still be used in gattling combos. Slightly less reach than the
Punch, but does more damage.
Slash- Does a far reaching poke with his cue stick. Same speed as
his kick, but with much longer range. Makes a good poke. Up close
it becomes a three hit rising attack. It can even combo into another
slash. Note that after the third hit it will knockdown.
Hard Slash- Venom holds the cue stick by the middle and does a small
step forward, smashing the cue stick into the midsection of the
opponent. Slow in coming out, but has good priority. The delay is
useful for charge times though, such as for his Stinger shot.
Jumping-
********
Punch- Venom does a normal looking pool cue poke, similar to how it
is supposed to be done in real life to hit the ball. He does it in
the air though. Not very good as an air attack, but excellent for
mashing in air combos.
Kick- Venom turns in the air and does a weird kick to the opponent.
Looks like he is posing in the air. Not very useful in air though
since it doesn't seem to retract for another attack.
Slash- Venom swings his cue stick at the opponent. Can be used in
air combos, and has pretty good priority. Not very good range
though, since the cue travels in a downwards arc.
Hard Slash- Does a downwards poke. Similar to his punch, but angled
lower and significantly longer range. Good for hitting ground
opponents as a poke or combo starter. Doesn't have good horizontal
range though.
Crouching-
**********
Punch- Venom sticks his hand out, like a chop. Short range, somewhat
fast move. Can link into other attacks though.
Kick- Slides his leg out to the ankles of the opponent. Looks pretty
much standard but comes out slowly. Same range as his crouching
punch.
Slash- Pokes at opponent's legs with his cue stick. Has a long reach
and can combo into HS. Makes a good poke too.
Hard Slash- Venom drags his cue upwards then pokes the opponent in
the face. Does two hits up close. Oddly enough it does not seem to
combo into other moves.
================
V. Special Moves
================
Venom's special moves can be quite complex, so...
Command Moves:
--------------
Cue - (F+P)
Venom hits the opponent in the face with the other end of the cue
stick.
Circular Smash - (F+HS)
Venom does a circular swing with his cue stick. It has great
coverage, forming a hit range above and in front of Venom. Great for
almost any defensive scenario. Of course use your common sense since
it wont beat projectiles or anything like that.
Dust Attack- (S+HS)
Venom does a standard Pool shot with his cue, but with the cue behind
his back. Looks like a trick shot you see people do in bars or
something. Comes out fast for a dust attack, with little start up
delay, but has short range.
Sweep Attack- (D+S+HS)
Venom lies low and swings both legs around. It can avoid some
attacks such as the Stinger aim as well as Stun Egde. It can also
hit opponents behind Venom.
Throws:
-------
Giant Pool Ball - (B or F+HS)
Venom transform the opponent into a giant Pool ball. Venom doesn't do
anything though but the opponent will mysteriously take damage and
get knocked down anyways.
Special Moves:
--------------
Stinger Aim - (Charge B, then F+S or HS)
A pool ball appears and Venom hits it towards the opponent. Slash
version travels slower than the Hard Slash version. The button can
be held so that it gets larger until it will automatically launch
(button can be held for 3 seconds.) The maximum number of hits is 6,
where each second held increases hits by 2. Venom is vulnerable
though when charging up the shot. There is a very slight delay when
launching the projectile, almost the fastest. The recovery time s
the same as though. Good for zoning the opponent as well as in
combos. Try to mix up the speeds to confuse the opponents. Against
characters like Jam or Millia though, who can avoid them easily, try
using the Carcass Raid move as well.
Carcass Raid - (Charge D, then U+S or HS)
Venom does a similar move as the Stinger Aim, but this time he
directs the ball towards the ground. Slash version will bounce at a
greater angle along the ground, being able to travel full screen
before vanishing. It bounces at mid-screen, and will go upwards at
an approximate 45 degree angle. Good for confusing the opponent as
well opponents planning to dodge from far away.
The Hard Slash Version is angled much closer to 80 or 85, where it
bounces up and down close to Venom. The ball forms a W shape, where
the first downwards hit is from Venom's strike. This is good for
defensive purposes, if you predict that the opponent will jump in at
the next attack. Makes good anti air as well. Use both versions to
confuse the enemy.
Mad Struggle - (in Air, QCF +S or HS)
Vemon pause slighty in the air then dives towards the opponent in a
diving kick manner. He does multiple jabs at the opponent on the way
down. Venom can follow up with an attack when he lands, but leaves
him vulnerable if blocked. Pretty good priority, as it can beat out
most normal move anti-air attacks. The HS version adds a flip kick
at the end of the attack. Not much difference other than that. Good
for air to ground attacks, as well as pressuring the opponent. The
delay at start up does make it risky though, but it is too short for
the opponent to do much against.
Double Head Morbid - (DPM+S or HS)
Venom dashes forward and spins his cue stick at the opponent. The
move hits high and can be stopped by low attacks or projectiles.
Slash version travels a shorter distance in front of Venom, dealing 4
hits. Great for combos. Heave Slash version goes full screen and
also does 4 hits, doing slightly more damage. Heavy slash version
will hit automatically near the opponent, so he will not continue
traveling when close. Vulnerable from far away, but travels very
fast. Good for countering jumps as well as whiffed moves. It is
vulnerable to low attacks though. A good move of Venom's.
Warp - After Ball formation, (DPM+K)
Venom will teleport to a summoned ball's location, assuming he is far
enough for the teleport to register. About one or two steps away
should be enough. Deadly technique if mastered.
Ball Formation
--------------
Ball Formation - (HCB+Attack)
Vemon's expert zone. Difficult as hell to master, dominating if
mastered. Venom materializes a ball from thin air. The ball will
appear and stop according to what button is used. Up to four balls
can be summoned, but each attack button used once. Depending on the
combinations of button pressed, the balls will follow into different
formations. Each ball will appear on screen for about 6 seconds
before vanishing. The ball can be launched with almost attack, and
angle depending on how it is it. Keep in mind the move takes a while
to perform, and that Venom is totally vulnerable when doing it.
Summoning a new ball away from another one will move the first ball
to the new location. The timer on the balls do not refresh though.
Each button has a specific formation rule; meaning using that button
will move the balls into that formation. Using that button as the
last ball will complete the formation. Other than that, the balls
will shift according to the pattern until set. The pattern can still
be changed after the four balls appear though.
Using a Diagram, where Venom is on left, opponent on right at full
screen distance.
Punch -
99
O O
/|\ /|\
/ \ o <-ball at knee level / \
Kick -
99
o <-ball slightly above head level
O O
/|\ /|\
/ \ / \
Slash -
99
O O
/|\ o <-ball at waist level /|\
/ \ / \
Hard Slash -
99
O O
/|\ o<-ball at waist level /|\
/ \ / \
Punch - Upwards Slope Formation Preference
99
o
O o O
/|\ o /|\
/ \ o / \
Kick - Diamond Formation Preference
99
O o O
/|\ o o /|\
/ \ o / \
Slash - Triangle Formation Preference
99
o
O o O
/|\ o /|\
/ \ o / \
Hard Slash - Downwards Slope Formation Preference
99
o
O o O
/|\ o /|\
/ \ o / \
======================================
VI. Overdrive and Instant Kill Attacks
======================================
Dark Angel -
"Kakugo...Kimero!" - (QCB, HCF+S)
Veomn lunges forward and launches a giant red globe towards the
opponent. It starts off slow, but accelerates towards the opponent.
Venom recovers and can follow up the Dark Angel right when it starts
accelerating. It ends when it travels off screen, so Venom can
continue moving forward so the screen will scroll, adding more hits.
The most possible hits is approximately 30-40 hits. The Attack will
eventually out speed Venom's dash, thus limiting number of hits.
This is THE Overdrive of choice. Lots of hits, hard to avoid, easy
to follow up. The opponent has little choice but to duck and defend.
If they jump, they will either have to time it near perfectly to
clear it, or double jump. Either way, try to force them back down in
the way of the Dark Angel attack. The block damage on this move is
huge, and does a lot of hits quickly. Try to catch up and mix up
some attacks, like a full screen Double Head Morbid and so forth.
I'm sure you can see the cheapness potential of this move. It beats
out any projectile and cannot be cancelled or negated in anyway other
than to hit Venom during the start up frames.
Red Hail -
"Kyah!" - (in Air, QCF, QCF+HS)
Venom launches a hail of Pool balls down at the opponent. Repeated
animation of Mad Struggle basically. Not as useful as the Dark Angel
really. Useful for surprise moves, to trick the opponent into an
anti-air move which Venom will counter. Aside from that, treat it
like an aerial Overdrive projectile. Note that not all hits will
actually make contact, and depending on positioning, very few will
actually damage the opponent.
Dim Bomber - (Instant Kill)
"Kyahhhhh!" -(QCF, QCF+HS)
Venom does a downwards slash, similar to his F+HS move. Upon
contact, the opponent is transformed into a Snooker ball, along with
it's miniaturized hair style. Venom then surrounds it with a
complete Pool Ball set, in which he hits with his own white ball.
The balls ricochet off and turn back to smash into the center
character ball. Look pretty cool. It can only be done in close
range though, and since the opponent will be more alert and careful,
makes it hard to connect with. Stick to his other moves instead of
going for this.
==================
VII. General Notes
==================
Nifty character. He can be hard to master and use, but on the other
hand, somewhat easy. One of the most original characters I have ever
seen. He has a certain style to him, aside form his weird hair
style.
================
VIII. Strategies
================
Venom can be played two ways. The easiest and most common way is to
use his Double Head Morbid as well as Stinger/Carcass attacks to
harass the opponent. Use the Dark Angel whenever possible and follow
up with that. Venom is quite fast, and his pokes do have good range
and priority.
The other harder and rarer way is to use his Ball Formation moves and
herd the opponent into position for a simultaneous multi-hit attack.
As one can imagine, this is extremely difficult to pull off, given
the pace of the game. It requires controlling the pace of the game,
the opponent, as well as the timing and formation of the balls. If
done properly though, the opponent will be hard pressed to do much,
since it is possible to hit high and low, making evasion and defense
near impossible.
Versus;
Ky Kiske
--------
Ky uses will rely heavily on the Stun Edge Projectile to keep you
away, and the Charged version to beat Venom's projectiles. The pace
of battle isn't really as fast, so it is easier to pull off the ball
formation tactics. One easy tactic is to Summon a ball and hit it
with a Carcass or Stinger aim, causing one ball to cancel the Stun
Edge whilst the other ball hits Ky for counter damage. Aside from
that, if you decide to go up close, the Mad Struggle and Double Head
Morbid moves are the way to go. If he tries to Charge Stun Edge, go
for a Dark Angel if up close. Be warned that Ky's Instant Kill,
despite how boring it is, is one of the more effective ones.
Sol Badguy
----------
The King of Offense. Venom is no match for Sol's brute power and
finesse, so resort to a more defensive and tactical viewpoint. The
Stinger is a good way of stopping his rushing attacks, and the
Carcass raid is great for defense. Mix up the attacks and vary the
speed. If he does get close, do the F+HS and link it into the Double
Morbid. The Dark Angel is a great move if he decides to rush
blindly. If you feel up to it, try trapping Sol with the Ball
formations. It will be hard though.
May
---
Despite how cute and cheerful May is, she is damn hard to beat at
times. Most players like to call Dolphins out as well as fly all
over the place. She is much faster than Venom, but she doesn't have
as much range. As usual, resort to Stingers and Carcass raids to
pin him around. The Double Morbid does have a long lag, so it could
be deadly if May decides to do the Spinning Anchor Overdrive. Try to
overpower May with brute force.
Millia Rage
-----------
I am sure many of you know how frustrating it is to battle Millia.
She is pretty overpowered in a sense. Fast, powerful, great special
moves, incredible combos. Arg. Prepare for a cheap and hellish
fight. The Stinger isn't as useful since Millia is very mobile. The
HS Carcass raid is a good cover move, and the Dark Angel is good for
pushing her back but it maybe too costly spending an entire Overdrive
just to push her away. Her ground Overdrive is easy to avoid, but
the one air overdrive is hard to avoid and can catch many people off
guard. I am sure there is some hidden caveat to her. She is easily
abuseable and very popular for a good reason.
Axl Low
-------
Axl has along reach, but nothing you cannot handle. It is a keep
away really, where Venom has the upper hand. Try to use the Ball
Formation and Stingers against him. Axl does have some close quarter
moves though. The Dark Angel is a good move here if he gets close,
but not very useful far away since Axl can see it coming or even fly
over it altogether with his Axl Bomber.
Zato-One
--------
Hmmm a match with Venom's savior. Zato has some nifty tricks with
his shadow Eddie. He can hit from any range, so try to move about.
The Ball Formation is hard to pull off, but it can limit and focus
his attention to Zato instead of using Eddie as well. Zato's
Overdrives are somewhat easy to spot, but his air overdrive is pretty
painful.
Potemkin
--------
A large big guy. He is a large target, so fire away from FULL
SCREEN. He can reach very far with his attacks, so either keep away
or go up close and just poke him to death. He does have a really
powerful Overdrive that needs to be done up close though. He has an
autoguard in his dashing punches, which also have massive range. Try
to keep in close and abuse the pokes. The Ball Formation is possible
since it is a pretty slow paced battle in comparison. The problem is
finding an opening to hit Potemkin with.
Chipp Zanuff
------------
Chipp is the fastest character in the game, as well as the most
mobile (he has a teleport as well as triple jump.) However he also
takes the most damage by far. His special moves are pretty fast
though, as well as cheap. The problem with Chipp, to your advantage
is that his moves are somewhat useless. The Alpha blade will be his
staple as well as rushing combos. Venom is really out paced in this
battle, so keep the defensive and hit hard; notably with the Dark
Angel. It does huge damage against him regardless.
Baiken
------
Toned down from the first game, but nonetheless still very powerful
in the right hand. She is a counter character who can counter with
some very nasty stuff. Her dashing move has an autoguard, so she
might be able to run through a stun edge and do some heavy damage.
She has an overdrive counter too. Keep to Stingers from afar, and
Double Morbids from midrange. It will probably do enough hits to
over come the auto guard. Her air attacks are pretty darn powerful,
so don't match her up there.
Faust
-----
This guy is hard. His scalpel can reach full screen and does huge
damage. He might be slow and have weird moves, but they have
incredible range, priority, and damage. Try heading in close and
outspeeding him. His overdrives are weird in the sense that they can
damage Faust and heal the opponent. The Ball Formation is somewhat
feasible here, given Faust is a pretty large target. The problem is
that Faust does have some weird moves, so you need to know in advance
what they look like, how they hit and how the player plays.
Anji Mito
---------
Hmm this Neikki Basara look alike is actually quite powerful. His
butterfly move, despite how slow it is, can be quite tricky to avoid.
His special moves are pretty powerful and high priority, and his
giant fan move is pretty invincible. He has incredible recovery
time, so he can counter your counter against his moves. He has a
move where it can travel through attacks, so watch for that. Anji is
pretty slow though, so abuse the Dark Angel for all it's worth.
Johnny
------
How is this guy not cool? He is a very powerful character. He isn't
very mobile, but his moves are damn powerful. His game revolves
around hitting you with coins and then smacking you with a multi-hit
Mist finer. His HS is godlike and easily abuseable. Up close he can
take you to school with his Mist finer. It is near impossible to
approach him even, since his Mist finer comes out instantly and has
little recovery. If he does go close, back away or he will try to
pin you down and hit you with coins and his mist. His Overdrive is
damn incredible too. The only way I can figure is to go full screen
and projectile him to death. If he does start on an offensive, he
will mix up knockdowns with coins on the ground, or the mist and HS
and Mist Finer. The Ball formation can be used depending on how the
opponent plays. If the other player takes a defensive approach, try
to set up the Ball Formations. Other wise, keep on the defensive and
try to avoid him. Johnny is probably the least mobile character.
Jam Kuradoberi (Cranberry)
--------------------------
Jam is a powerful attacker. Her moves can combo easily, and her
special moves are darn powerful. Her main weakness is that she has
short range, but given her speed and ability to power up her attacks,
it is not something for Jam players to worry about. The Carcass Raid
is a great tool for defense. Jam's flying kick comes out fast and is
a great special move, so expect it coming often. The recovery is
pretty slow though, so try to counter that as hard as possible.
Testament
---------
Testament players like to summon beasts from behind you. Jump in
close to avoid them, since he always some delay in all moves. He
does have a counter though, but if you stick to him and pressure him
a lot, he should fold. Using Stingers or Charging up is a bad idea
since he can just summon beasts from behind and nail Venom every
time. The Double Morbid is a great move in this battle.
Dizzy
-----
As difficult as the final boss maybe to beat, she is actually hard to
use. Nonetheless she is still extremely powerful. She has very
strong normal moves, and can combo into quite a lot of stuff. Her
overdrives, as you can tell, are deadly. Keep away and stay
defensive once she has a full tension gauge. The motions for her
overdrives are quite hard to pull off though.
==========
IX. Combos
==========
Coming soon . . .
=============
X. Miscellany
=============
Story
-----
Although he works as an assassin, his mind is pure and he has trouble
hiding things from others. His actions are calm and scientific, but
his thoughts are more on the romantic side. Raised in a cold
environment, he has few desires in life other than to preserve his
own while he searches for some meaning to his existence. His hatred
of murder comes from the heart, and taking human lives outside of
work is tough for him to bear.
Orphaned at a young age, Venom was taken under the wing of a group of
assassins. However, his sensibilities hindered his growth as an
assassin. As time passed, he pondered the meaning of his existence.
Before long, the organization saw him as worthless and ordered him to
be executed. However, just prior to his execution, Zato, the new
leader of the organization, recognized Venom's talent and spared his
life. Venom pledged his loyalty to Zato out of deep gratitude for
saving his life and giving him his raison d'etre. Zato soon fell out
of favor, though, and rumors of his disloyalty abounded. Venom, who
had served as Zato's right-hand man for many years, knew that this
slander was not true, but the evidence against him was very strong.
As doubts continue to rise, Venom receives some information regarding
someone thought to be Zato, and departs to investigate.
Win Quote:
----------
Special Intros:
---------------
Versus Millia:
Versus Zato: Chats.
Stage:
------
Named "Nirvana" it is a weird surreal place. Think of it as a scene
from "Alice in Wonderland." It is a ballroom checkered floor with
arches in the background, but with a giant demon nailed down with
spikes. There is a pentagram that is glowing and spinning
underneath.
The stage is shared with Zato-One, but it is named "Hell." Aside
from that, there are a few minor differences.
Venom's theme is "A Solitude that Asks Nothing in Return." It is the
same name for both Arcade and Home Console Tracks.
Comments:
---------
-Nifty Guy. Hard to use.
-I love his sound track.
=====================
XI. Notes and Credits
=====================
-Guilty Gear X is Trademark and Copyright property of Arc System
Works Co., Ltd. and Sammy Entertainment Inc. 2000, 2001.
-Story information from Official Guilty Gear X site
http://www.guiltygearx.com
-Mr. Jeff Veasey at Http://www.Gamefaqs.com for hopefully hosting
this FAQ.
-W.W for our Guilty Gear X matches and your button mashing Sol.
-N.H for I will ask for you in return.
-If, for any part, I may have borrowed or referenced information that
originally stemmed from your work, PLEASE do notify me and I will
immediately remove or a credit the work from this FAQ.
This document Copyright 2002 by Kenny "kenshi" Tam, and may not be
duplicated or reproduced (in part or in full) for profit without the
explicit permission of the author. Chances are it will be rare if
anyone would want to use this crappy FAQ.
This document is supposed to appear on
http://www.gamefaqs.com.
http://www.psxcodez.com
http://www.DLH.net
http://www.gamespot.com
