Scuba Guides source note. This lesson is based on the older Scuba Guides and the supplied source archive. It is an independent community clarity rewrite, not an official GunZ publication; mechanics are not verified for the current Steam/remaster client.
Lesson content
Massives are the highest risk, highest reward moves in gladiator. If you throw one and miss, you open yourself up to multiple free hits from your opponent. That said, the opposite is also true. If you hit a massive, you automatically gain the upper hand, and put your opponent on defense.
Throwing Massives
Throwing a massive can be done multiple ways. You want to mix up your Angles; both vertical and horizontal, when throwing. Typically the safest time to attempt throwing a massive is if you manage to recoil your opponent and pick up a massive charge.
Sky/Ground Massive - Look up/down at least 50 degrees, and throw your massive. Sky massive beats Sky block, and Ground Massive beats Ground Block. Zero angle will render these massives useless, so not really worth using on experienced gladiators.
Front Massive - Throw your massive while looking at your opponent. Beats a 180 block.
Side Massive - Throw your massive between 90 and 125. Beats a block in the same direction you turn to.
Reverse Massive - Look 175 to 195 away from your opponent. Beats a block that’s facing your character.
Ground Massive - This massive has a windup before actually firing, but the recovery is faster. Furthermore, if you miss and the opponent can hit you, you’ll only take 1 to 3 free hits, depending on if they were recoiled.
Air Massive - This massive will fire nearly instantly, but you’re locked into a Massive Throw animation until you fully land. This is extremely dangerous as if you miss, and the opponent is fast enough, they can initiate a ground juggle on you. It’s important to know that you will continuously repeat the Massive Throw animation every time you’re hit until you fully land. You cannot block, slash, or dash, and it’s possible to 100 - 0 you if the opponent is good enough at ground juggle.
Dash Massive - By dashing and then throwing your massive, you displace where your massive actually hits. You can combine this with any of the above massives, as well as using dash evades to set this up. It’s also worth mentioning that this can also be combined with Elbowing.
Massive Control
As stated in bad habits, it’s IMPERATIVE to control your massives and not throw them wildly. This single act will be your biggest weakness in gladiator, since it’s guaranteed free hits on you if your opponent is anywhere near you. You should always try thinking about when your opponent will hit you. Doing so and developing either the foresight or gut feeling of when you’ll pick up a massive charge should be one of the first things you really focus on in gladiator.
Due to the sheer amount of ways to avoid a massive, it’s sometimes better to simply never throw a massive, and learn the exact timing when a massive charge will wear off, opting to slash instead. Take note of how your opponent avoids any massives you throw. If they know how to properly evade, you should avoid throwing a massive at all costs, since at that point you might as well be throwing a wild massive.
Avoiding Massives
Important Note - Under Normal Circumstances without using a Ghost Evade, you MUST have a block fully up to avoid a massive when in the damage range. Furthermore, the timing of all of these avoids change depending on if it’s a Ground Massive (Which has a delay), and an Air Massive (Which has no delay).
Using The Mirror Rule - As stated both above, and also in the Angles section, utilizing the mirror rule is the most basic form of avoiding a massive. At higher level plays, this is seldomly used outside of using Patterns.
Using Ghost Evade - The concept of ghost evade is utilizing an animation to avoid a massive, due to massives being unable to land a hit on an animation.
Important Note - When performing one of these Evades, you cannot slash (With the obvious exception being Slash Evade) or block until after the massive hit registers. Doing so will force you to use the Mirror Rule to avoid the massive.
Dash Evade - By using a forward dash at the right time, you can bypass any massive. This is thanks to a forward dash having iFrames. This is the easiest and safest Evade to use in most cases. Another note, females have an easier time with this particular Evade. The first half of the dash for the females triggers the Ghost Evade, while on males the Ghost Evade is delayed by a few frames, forcing you to dash evade earlier than a female to pull off successfully.
Recoil Evade - Recoil itself is an animation. Furthermore, the animation itself according to GunZ is repeated every frame when you turn. So if you’re turning between 90 and 270 degrees when the massive actually hits, you’ll evade the massive.
Slash Evade - This evade is limited to both the Female model, and only while wielding a sword. Male models and Kodachis cannot perform this evade. If you turn at least 90 degrees and slash at the same time that you see the white charge of the opponents massive disappears, you’ll evade the massive. The first slash will never be able to hit the player throwing the massive, due to the first half of the massive throw being an iFrame. That said, the second slash and beyond can hit your opponent, so it’s useful to do a triple ground slash here.
Jump Evade - If you jump at the same time that the white charge disappears, you can evade a massive, and set yourself up for a pattern.
Using Distance - Massives by nature have a damage zone. If you’re simply far enough away, you cannot be hit. The main trick of using distance is to be on the edge of the massive, so you can proceed to attack your opponent while he’s defenseless.
Using Tip Slash - Similar to using Distance, you can utilize tip slash to knock the opponent back slightly to knock the massive damage zone away from you. This can only be done to an Air Massive.
Using Patterns - By utilizing a pattern, you can continuously keep up the damage on an opponent. However to properly pull this off, you must rely on a combination of distance, tip slash, and/or holding a block up and using the mirror rule when the massive is fired.
Using Massives - Massive throws have a few natural iFrames on the ground at the start of your throw, so it’s possible to simply throw a massive when the opponents massive damage is fired off. No angles are required, as this is an iFrame.