Harpuia of the four guardians has joined the Brawl!
Harpuia is a member (and seeming leader) of the four guardians from Megaman Zero, commanders for Neo Arcadia under Copy X. His capabilities are best defined by his flying ability and electric element, as he can shoot sword slashes, homing missiles, as well as create lightning and tornados for battering his foes. Here's a couple vids of his abilities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjCKNFUr4Bk&feature=channel_video_title (6:44 is the start of the appropriate fight)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGWzqk45-ds&feature=relmfu (7:54 is the start of the fight.)
Mechanic and Taunts:
Yes, you read that correctly, TAUNTS. Now, many of Harpuia's attacks carry an electric element to them. For those unfamiliar, electric charges come in two forms, positive and negative. The rule of thumb is, opposites attract, while like charges repel. Anyway, in addition to the normal damage counter, each opponent will have a small red/blue charge (red = positive, blue = negative) % counter as well. This keeps track of the electric charge the opponent is carrying (which gradually diffuses back to 0% or no charge at the rate of 1% per second.) Electrically charged attacks suffer a 0.75x multiplier to damage and knockback, but affect the charge counter as well as the normal damage %. (The amount it changes the charge counter by is exactly the same as the amount it changes the normal damage % by.) What do you get by electrically charging the opponent? Well, two charged objects attract/repel each other with a force that scales by charge1 * charge2/distance squared. For the non-mathematically inclined, that means that the closer two objects are, and the larger the charges are, the stronger the force. Also, the heavier an opponent, the more force it takes to move them (though this is counteracted by heavyweight's typically poor movement vs lightweights being agile.) Additionally, if you strike the opponent with an attack of the opposite polarity, you'll get a 1.25x multiplier to damage/knockback (instead of the penalty) due to the extra electrical shock they'll receive, however it will decrease their charge appropriately.
Now how do the taunts figure into this? Well, I'm glad you asked, imaginary reader voice. You see, Harpuia can change the polarity of his electric attacks via his taunts. Up taunt = positive charge, side taunt = no charge, down taunt = negative charge. (These taunts are instantaneous, and can even be done during a move to change your polarity in the heat of battle.)
If two mario's with 50 charge each are at a battlefield platform distance, they'll be attracted/repelled to each other at mario's dash speed. (At two battlefield platforms distant, it would be merely half that, and so on.) Each of Harpuia's attacks will contain a note of how it's affected by polarity, if at all.
Specials:
Side Special: Lightning Barrier
Harpuia's main move, doing this will cause him to shoot one of his mini-rockets, which you can then move with the control stick while you hold down the button. When you release it, the missile will send a stream of lightning down towards the bottom blast zone until it's destroyed (they're semi-fragile, 12% damage will destroy it.) Anyway, the stream of lightning does 12% damage and good horizontal knockback on hit. If polarized, it will do 9% damage + 9% charge. Also, the lightning will be red/blue instead of purple to denote its charge, and is considered to have 50 charge for the sake of manipulating the opponent. (The barrier itself won't be moved by the electromagnetic force, after all, it's LIGHTNING.) You can have up to two of these out at a time, lag is low.
Down Special: Homing Missiles
Harpuia begins hovering (if in midair), and after two seconds startup lag, creates a homing missile in front of him. These missiles are the size of mario's fireball, and move in a rather odd pattern. They lock onto the nearest enemy, move in a straight line for 1 BF platform (or until they run into a shield or other solid object), stop in place for half a second, and then repeat. After three rounds of this, they move straight up off the top blastzone. (Confused yet?) Anyway, each of these does 8% damage and ok horizontal knockback, but they're murder on shields (due to stopping on a shield and dealing extra hits) What's more is, after the first one, by holding down the button, Harpuia can keep creating them (up to 5 in one go) by holding down the button with vastly reduced lag (merely half a second as opposed to the normal 2 seconds). These are absolutely amazing projectiles (taking 12% damage to destroy), but suffer from one major flaw, the startup lag. Harpuia has to knock away his enemies or hide behind a lightning barrier before he can even think of using these, as else he'll be knocked out of the move before he can create one. Thankfully, the end lag is low. (Finally, when polarized, these are accounted as having 15 charge. They won't attract/repel the opponent much, but due to their light weight, the opponent will attract/repel them. This makes same-charged missiles better for cutting off escape routes, while oppositely-charged missiles are excellent at nailing the opponent.)
Neutral Special: Thunderbolt
Harpuia swings his swords upwards, crossing them above his head, causing a bolt of lightning to spring upwards from the swords to the top blastzone. Exactly 5 seconds later, an answering bolt of lightning will come down a stage builder block in front of where Harpuia used the move, similarly to Pikachu's thunder. However, by holding down the button and moving the control stick left or right, you can alter the placement of the second bolt, from right on top of Harpuia, to a battlefield platform away. Now, the sword swing does 8% and upwards knockback (and will almost certainly combo into the next part of the move), while the lightning bolts do a nice 12% and good horizontal knockback. Additionally, the sky around the top blastzone will begin darkening a second before the lightning strikes, giving you and the opponent an indicator of the coming blast. Lag is rather bad, so wait until your opponent is preoccupied. (Due to being a rather quick strike, the lightning won't attract/repel your opponent with electricity. Finally, if you use this such that lightning hits the stage instead of making it to the top blastzone, no answering bolt will come, so DON'T DO IT.)
Up Special: Flight
Harpuia is a wind/electricity themed reploid, and is completely capable of flight. Using this input will let you fly around freely via the control stick for up to 5 seconds. During this time, you can attack freely with your other specials and ground attacks, as well as airdodge. Should you use this move again while flying, you'll go back to normal.
Standards:
Jab Combo: Sonic Slash
Harpuia swings both his swords in an overhead swipe (one at a time), and for the third hit in the combo, swings them back upwards. I know you're waiting for the good part, each slash in the combo creates a little sonic boom (as tall as ganon) that shoots outwards at Pika's run speed, and is aimable up to 45 degrees up or down via the control stick. Each of the first two slashes and projectiles do 4% damage with decent horizontal knockback, while the third does 8%. Sounds like an amazingly good move, right? Wrong. You see, the first two jabs have very bad lag unless you continue the combo, and even when you do continue them it isn't a particularly fast combo. So, if you whiff on this at close (or even medium) range, the opponent WILL just dodge behind you and hit you with a charged smash. Well, how do you use it then? This move is a good projectile (if somewhat predictable), but is absolutely amazing when the opponent is already distracted (by say, your homing missiles.) Try using it to bounce the opponent off a lightning barrier for extra fun. (There's a little risk/reward here, at close range it's easier to hit with the slashes, but the opponent has an easier time punishing you if you miss.) This move's slashes are considered to have 25 charge for the purposes of polarity (although they won't be affected by the force themselves.)
Forwards Tilt: Whirlwind Gust
Harpuia points both of his swords in front of him (similar to his pose when creating a missile), but this time creates a small kirby-height BF-platform long gust of wind to shoot out forwards at pika's run speed. This doesn't actually do any damage, but it will push anything (so long as it's physical and not something like one of your jab slashes) around that it hits (enemies, your missiles, even a lightning barrier if it hits the missile generating it!) forwards similarly to Mario's fludd (but with about half as much power). This is great for manipulating your opponent into your barrier, as well as moving your missiles around for even more confusion. Lag is low as well, making this an important tool in Harpuia's arsenal. Due to being non-damaging, polarity has zero effect on this move.
Up Tilt: Tornado Spin
Harpuia extends his swords out to either side, and begins rapidly spinning, creating a massive stage builder block-wide tornado that reaches from the stage to the top blastzone (or the next solid piece of stage). This tornado doesn't do damage on it's own, however any physical object will be drawn towards the tornado at Mario's walk speed. Once caught up in the tornado, objects will go spinning around, being carried upwards at ganon's run speed until they hit the top blastzone. The tornado lasts as long as you hold down the button, and you can move it left or right via the control stick at Ganon's walk speed. The tornado stops when you release the button, and when it does everything inside is thrown out to either side at pika's run speed. You can use this move to draw in your lightning barriers, or grab a bunch of your missiles/other projectiles and fling them at the opponent. (You can hit the opponent with their own projectiles this way.) However, beware. The lag on both ends of this is rather large, and although phsyical projectiles will merely spin around you, the opponent can still nail you with a well timed attack (or merely an energy projectile) to knock you out of it. Again, polarity will not affect this move.
Down Tilt: Charging...
Harpuia pauses for a moment, channeling some electricity... and then resumes battle, but with a small glowing white aura around him. So what's it do? Well, until you use this move again, all electrically charged attacks will get a 1.33x multiplier to the amount of charge inflicted (basically the base damage of the attack), at the cost of a 0.5x multiplier to damage and knockback (replacing the normal 0.75x multiplier). The applications for this are obvious, better charge racking for manipulating your opponent, at the cost of a rather steep penalty to your actual damage racking.
Smashes:
Forwards Smash: Electric Sphere!
Not the best name ever, but it accurately describes the point of the attack. Harpuia swings both swords in front of him (10%, good sidways knockback), creating a kirby-sized globe of electricity. This homes in on the opponent in the same way as the rockets from the down special, and is considered to have 75 charge for the purposes of electrical force (so it attracts/repels the opponent rather strongly, and is affected likewise.) Damage-wise, the move is rather interesting. It only does 3% damage (REGARDLESS of polarity), but a good 10-20% charge (20-40% if used in combination with the down tilt) when polarized. However, it gets better. If you use the neutral version of this, it will stun them... that is, they will be unable to dodge for the next 5 (up to 10 if charged) seconds. This severely limits their options with regard to lightning barriers, making it an awesome tool in Harpuia's arsenal, regardless of how you choose to implement it. Additionally, the lag is decently low.
Up Smash: Lightning Charge
Harpuia (in a motion identical to his neutral special) sends a bolt of lightning up into the sky. And then... nothing happens. Well, when you next use the neutral special, it will call down the oldest bolt of lightning you've stored up like this in the exact same spot where you used this move. When the neutral special is used in this way, it has rather small lag, and you can continue calling down bolts of lightning as long as you have one stored. Charging this will increase the power of the stored lightning bolt, from the default 12% and decent knockback up to 24 and awesome knockback. Lag is ok.
Down Smash: Energy overload
When you use this smash, Harpuia overloads his energy generator, taking 5-25% damage depending on charge. Then, a glowing green aura surrounds him, and for the next 1-5 seconds (again, depending on charge), Harpuia has super armor (and invulnerability to grabs), giving him the ability to set off some of those high-lag high-reward attacks of his. However, after this wears off, you have to wait another 10 seconds to use this move. Lag is fairly low, and Harpuia has super armor while charging (distinct from the aura that appears after you use it.) If you're up against a Metaknight style character, and NOTHING seems to be working, try this move.
Aerials:
Back aerial: EX Attack
Harpuia jets backwards 1.5 battlefield platforms at sonic's run speed, making a slash below him as he flies. In addition to being a simple hitbox of 10% and decent knock back, this leaves a battlefield platform wide slash (also 10% with decent downwards knock back) traveling downwards at Ganon's run speed. (This projectile is shot out over the second half of Harpuia's movement, so it covers 0.5-1.5 BF platforms away from where he was originally.) As per usual, this attack is punished by some rather hefty ending lag... unless you cancel into another Back Aerial, in which case you only have to deal with average lag. It's important to note this move turns you around, letting you bombard a relatively small area with a number of quick, wide, difficult to avoid projectiles, especially when combined with electric barriers and homing missiles. Of course, this is an easy tactic to see coming... but if the opponent can't get to you in time, what are they going to do about it? (By the way, the name is a reference to how this is Harpuia's special, or EXtra attack in Megaman Zero 2. </random trivia>). Charge affects this attack like normal, the slashes have 10 charge for the purpose of attracting/repelling the opponent and are not themselves affected by the magnetic force.
Neutral aerial: A small tornado, no bigger than a waddle doo
Harpuia puts his swords together in his typical move charging pose, this time creating a small tornado, no bigger than... well, you know. This moves at half ganon's run speed, does no damage, but sucks in physical projectiles (and opponents) that it touches and keeps them inside via a pull of ganon's run speed. (Opponents have to DI out at grab difficulty). Normally projectiles sucked in will stay in indefinitely, but an outside force (like electric attraction...) can pull a projectile out. (If it's something like a homing missile, being taken out of a tornado will reset its pattern.) Lag is decent, so in addition to messing around with your projectiles, this is a fun all purpose move. Charge does not affect this attack due to dealing no damage.
Forwards Aerial: Super Missile
The names bleed creativity, I know. Anyway, Harpuia puts his swords together in front of him in his typical charging pose (Oh how I love multi-purpose animations), this time creating what looks like a slightly larger version of one of his homing missiles, with 20% stamina and 10% damage. However, unlike the normal ones with their pattern of homing in on an opponent, the pattern of this super missile is simply to fly in a straight line in the direction you press the control stick at half Ganon's run speed. Only one of these is allowed onstage at a time, lag is ok. However, the true point of this move is in its charge, as it carries a decent 50 electric charge, and can quite devastatingly follow an opponent around, as it does not disappear on hit (unless it hits the stage) Go, HUNT THEM DOWN! This is a fairly easy attack to get off, and can really be tricky for the opponent to get rid off.
Up Aerial: Magnetic Particles
Harpuia points one of his swords into the air above him, with a small kirby-sized cloud of grey metal particles shooting out the tip. Their charge is surprisingly small, having only 5 charge, however their weight is quite small, with the particles being affected by the EM force similarly to a mario with 25 charge, they'll home in on a charged opponent well enough. On contact they don't deal damage, but rather act as a metal box (minus the attack boost) with 1/3rds effectiveness, increasing the weight and falling speed of the character a decent amount.
Down Aerial: Electrical force.
Harpuia points both swords down between him, electricity coursing through the blades. If this hits the opponent, it'll form a VERY deadly circuit, draining all their electric charge, but doing damage and knock back that increases relative to the charge you drained. With no charge this is a pathetic move of only 5% and ok knock back, but if you max out the charge counter at 100% charge, they'll take a ridiculous 30% and extremely high (as in FALCON PUNCH high) knock back. Lag is low, but it's quite obvious this move is meant to be a finisher.
Grab Game:
Harpuia's grab can be used in midair, and he'll fly in a pattern similar to MK's shuttle loop, swooping forwards a bowser before looping upwards and going into a glide a stage builder block above his starting point. If he grabs the opponent he'll continue gliding, holding the opponent below him with the control stick controlling his glide direction. It's worth noting that unlike most brawl glides, Harpuia can quite easily loop with his glide.
Standard Pummel: Flip
When you use this, Harpuia will simply flip over mid glide, with the opponent now on top of him. It's worth noting that Harpuia cannot effectively control his glide when upside down, so you'll want to make this state temporary. Why would you want to do this? Well, aside from letting you continue a glide when you've looped and want to go the other direction, this will also hold the opponent above you as you pass through electric barriers, letting you move through them without taking damage (and putting a little pain on the opponent as well.) This is pretty quick.
Special Throw: Shock
Harpuia comes to a dead halt in midair, stabbing the opponent with both swords, before releasing them. For the next 9 seconds, once every 3 seconds the opponent will be stunned for half a second (taking 5% damage and interrupting any move they were performing) as the electricity courses through them. (Their body is a hitbox of said 5% during this, no easy infinities for you!). Of course, this is some VERY valuable setup time for Harpuia, who is often hard pressed to get attacks out.
Shield Throw: Momentum
Harpuia releases the opponent, coming to a dead stop. The opponent keeps their momentum (as the name implies), making this good for gimping. Yeah, that's about it. Simple, yet useful.
Playstyle:
Harpuia is the ultimate momentum based character. A lot of his moves are really deadly and amazing once you get them off, but he has some severe lag problems that prevent him from easily pulling said moves off. However, who cares about lag or predictability when you can have three or four of said deadly moves going at the same time, with the opponent trapped in a very small space to avoid them in? Your most important moves are of course the specials, your lightning barrier is a very nice trap as well as a good stall maneuver, and your homing missiles are quite possibly the best single projectile I've ever put into a set (if you can get through the lag to actually use them.) Additionally, the neutral special (when combined with the up smash) is a good way to get lightning bolts on demand, (and besides, nothing's more awesome than storing up a dozen lightning bolts over the course of a match and just watching them come down in rapid fire to utterly destroy the opponent.)
Aside from the momentum aspect, Harpuia has a dilemma regarding his attacks, should you use same-polarity attacks to make manipulating the opponent easier (at the cost of damage), or do you use opposite-polarity for more damage and knock back (plus being easier to hit with), at the cost of making the opponent much harder to manipulate? Regardless, your best tools for taking advantage of the electricity you create are definitely the forwards smash, the homing missiles, and the forwards air super missile, and don't forget how the down aerial can be used as a finisher if you rack the opponent's charge high enough. Additionally, never forget how your various electric projectiles affect each other, as stacking the various effects can make the opponent's life very hard. For instance, if they have a high positive charge, a negatively charged lightning barrier constantly pulls them into the trap, add in the repulsive effect of a positively charged forwards smash from the other direction, and they don't have a choice about getting pulled into the trap.
Regarding the lightning barriers themselves, Harpuia has a lot of ways to manipulate them. His various wind based attacks can either move the barriers around, or shoot the opponent into the barriers, a non-polarized forwards smash can keep the opponent from dodging (severely limiting their options to avoid or go over the barriers), he can repeatedly bounce the opponent off the barriers (for massive damage) with a jab combo, or trap the opponent between two of them while shooting down slashes from the back air. (Don't forget, add homing missiles in with all of this for extra fun!) Additionally, lightning barriers are a ridiculously good tool for extra damage when gimping, and you can even drag the opponent through them (and any other projectiles you have) with your grab-glide (plus the standard pummel to flip the opponent over) before launching them offstage.
In short, once you get an offensive going as Harpuia, you have limitless ways to take advantage of said offensive, as your possibilities are only restricted by your imagination and understanding of the electromagnetic force. However, should you lose your momentum, it'll be very costly to get back going again (a lightning barrier or perhaps a down smash can help, but you'll probably take a lot of damage regardless.)
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