Ramlethal Valentine is one of the strongest mid-range characters in Guilty Gear Strive. She is quick to learn the fundamentals for and has strong matchups against many characters. This makes Ramlethal a strong pick for new players or those who want to try and counter against incoming offensive pressure and control neutral. Ramlethal also has powerful utilities for carrying her opponent to the wall. While she is comparatively at a disadvantage up close, she still has decent options thanks to her fast attacks on punch and kick and her wide variety of specials. Her large swords make mid-range combos optimal, but she lacks man long-range options. So how should beginners approach Ramlethal, and what are some of her best combos for new players?
How to Play Ramlethal Valentine
Ramlethal Valentine is classified in the game as a shooting carrier, but if you think of her strictly in this way, you will be in a lot of trouble. When Ramlethal throws out her swords as a projectile, she must wait for them to return or retrieve them herself. In a game as fast as Strive, this can be troublesome, especially considering that most of her range comes from her attacks with the swords. Rather than firing them out whenever you have the chance, you should use her neutral slashes and heavy slashes to punish the opponent’s forward advances. Her slash can combo with her heavy slash at mid-range, so this is a powerful punishment. Both her slash and heavy slash are slow, requiring that you use them carefully to prevent the opponent from jumping in. Ramlethal’s anti-air options are slim, but she does have a strong air-to-air special you can check out in the command list below. Up close, she has a quarter circle back punch special she can perform up to three times consecutively, known in the genre as a rekka sequence. The only real area she struggles in is her long-range. At full screen, all she can do is throw her swords or try and advance. As mentioned above, throwing her swords leaves her range much shorter than before and hampers her damage. This means throwing her swords should be saved for corner carries or last-ditch survival attempts. You can check out a guide to some of her easy combos below, accompanied by a key to help understand standard fighting game notation.
Combo Guide for Ramlethal
Key
The numbers indicate each direction on the stick below and are considered standard notation for fighting game combos. The stick is currently at 6 or forward. Combo guides assume you are on the left side. Directions are reversed on the right. The easiest way to remember this is that it is the same layout as a Numpad on a keyboard.
Below is the notation for button inputs used in this guide. Close and far variations are determined by the characters’ distance from one another and are mapped to the same button.
- P= Punch
- K= Kick
- S=Slash
- c.S= Close Slash
- f.S= Far Slash
- HS= Heavy Slash
- D= Dust
- RC= Roman Cancel
- J= means that the attack is the jumping variation, i.e., j.S= slashing while in the air.
Command-List for Ramlethal’s Special
- Daruo: 623P- Ramlethal rushes forward and attacks. Useful for combos requiring forward movement.
- Erarlumo: 214P (Up to 3 times)- A sequence of close-range attacks that can be staggered to throw off the opponent. The final one knocks the opponent down.
- Sildo Detruo: 214K- Ramlethal performs a leaping forward attack. It can be used in the air.
- Bajoneto: 236S or HS- Ramlethal launches the corresponding sword for the button pressed.
- Sabrubato: 214HS- Ramlethal swings both of her swords down. The best option for wall breaks.
Overdrive Attacks
- Calvados: 632146HS- Ramlethal fires lasers horizontally from her swords.
- Mortobato: 236236S- A quick super for close range.
Beginner Combos for Ramlethal
- c.S, f.S
- f.S, HS
- c.S, f.S, HS
- 5P, 5P, 6P 623P
- 2D, 523P
- c.S, 2HS, 623P, c.S,6HS, 236HS
These beginner combos for Ramlethal should be a good way to get you started with learning the character. If you take these combos and the strategy above to training mode, you can experiment with them and try to figure out more options for the character by yourself with a stronger understanding of fundamentals. Many of these can also be extended with Roman Cancels. If you keep controlling the middle of the screen in mind with Ramlethal, you should be able to figure her out as a character fairly easily.
