ES Beast Cannon patterns.

I wrote this information down for a few reasons:

1. I hear about people who don't play Talbain because they don't know the juggles/don't know how to juggle BCs.

2. I get asked frequently enough by people learning Talbain, 'what ES BC patterns do you use?'

3. I get really fucking sick of people saying that the best corner patter is 6/9 9 9 9 9. No it isn't!

Here's a post on this, taken from my compendium of random Talbain info on Dustloop. For the uninitiated, the numbers refer to what direction your BC is traveling; refer to the number pad on your keyboard. New additions in italics.

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1. The Zig Zag: 6 9 7 9 2, OR 6 7 9 7 2

This is the most basic variation; it leaves the opponent in roughly the same position on the play field (relative to where they got hit), and the downward finisher sets up Talbain for a pursuit attack or just a long time to set up his wakeup game. The second version is good for switching sides with your opponent.

- Against some characters, it's easier to connect the final hit with 1 instead of 2.


2. The Staircase: 6 8 6 8 6/3

This is another very important variation, as it will corner an opponent from almost anywhere on the playfield. It's advantage in positioning is huge; however, the trade-off is that you're left in an awkward position: the opponent is in the corner, but you are cornered. Thus, your options afterwards are limited to either a late pursuit (places Talbain on the opposite side), or to dash away from the wall. Despite that, I hope the advantages of being able to corner your opponent at any time underscores how important this variation is.

- Note that this variation can not be started from an ES Anti-Air BC (9).


3. Stairwell: 6 9 4 9 4/1, OR 6 7 6 7 6/2/3

There's no technically important reason to know this variation, other than that it's by far the easiest to land all the hits with. It's good to practice this variation for no other reason than if you panic or hit an ES BC unexpectedly (not because you threw it out randomly!), you can have this variation in your muscle memory to ensure the maximum amount of damage possible. The second version switches sides with the opponent.


4. Corner Variation: 6 8 9 9 3

Fuck 6 9 9 9 9. If you really want a good corner variation, this is the right one. Every direction change has a logical explanation:

- 6 is the first hit...logically.
- 8 is the second hit, because 6 9 will whiff against Demitri and Rapter.
- 9 is the third hit, because 6 8 8 (or 6 9 8) will whiff against Lilith...and only Lilith, that bitch
- 9 as the fourth hit is the only reliable way to set up a downward finisher against the majority of the cast (you can use 8 as a fourth against wide characters)
- 3 is the only downward finisher that will reliably connect against the entire cast as well (2 works against fatties)

Thus, this is the only corner variation with a downward finisher that works universally against the entire cast. Learn it, love it.

(Also, what the hell? Why does 6 8 8 hit Morrigan and not Lilith?) 


5. Guard Cancel: 9 1 8 4 8

Though most of the variations can be started off of 9, this is probably the easiest one to do off of a Guard Cancel. Keep in mind that while you'll start out in one direction, you'll be moving in the opposite direction in the second half.


(This variation can also be useful if you are cornered, as it gets you out of the corner.)

- Not that I should HAVE to explain this; but for completion's sake, know that you can't do this variation off of any other starter than 9.

6. The Elevator: 6 9/7 8 2 8

 ...Because, hell yeah! Like the Stairwell, it's a good muscle memory habit to know that you can do 8 2 8 after landing a diagonal upper (9 or 7). Using 7 instead of 9 switches sides with the opponent.

In conclusion, if I see you do 6 9 9 9 9 I will kick your ass (at Vampire Savior).