This text is written mainly for Lucebuce, who wanted some character info to stew over for the upcoming SC6 release. I'm not the best or most knowledgeable SC player by any means so YMMV on stuff, but I thought I'd write something down regardless. Hope it's useful to someone out there.
Soul Calibur compared to Tekken
*Execution requirements are generally lower. Some characters still have hard stuff of course, but in general combos and movement are easier.*Frame data varies more between characters.For example, in Tekken, almost everyone has a 10f jab and that is almost always their fastest move. df1's are almost always some of your fastest mids regardless of character and they are 13 or 14f. It is less homogenous in SC.
*In general, range has a more pronounced effect on gameplay. It doesn't matter if they are -16, if your <17f moves can't reach them. This situation is very common in SC, while it is somewhat rare in Tekken.
*Crushing is less prominent in SC. To be fair, ducking under highs or jumping over lows is very common, but it's not like in Tekken where practically every character has a launching hopkick and lots of characters have a knockdown or launching highcrush move.
*Lows are generally pretty weak in SC. They're slow, risky, unrewarding or several of these. Lows do appear to be better in SC6 compared to SC5, so who knows how this will pan out. There are also no hopkicks or low parries to explode you for going for a low, so the risk/reward is different in general.
On characters
We generally don't know that much about how any characters are going to be in SC6, but here's a short overview of strong and weak points they have had historically/seem to have in SC6. Keep in mind this is very early, so on some points I'm basically making no more than vaguely educated guesses. I may update as we get closer to release, or even post release.Mitsurugi
+High damage
+Good speed and range on his buttons
+Good mixups
+Strong stances
- Fairly unsafe
Mitsurugi is a well-rounded, aggressive character with high damage. He hits like a truck and doesn't give up much for it. His stances are surprisingly evasive, which lets him keep the pressure on in ways that are hard to deal with. Recommended for beginners.
Sophitia
+Fast movement
+Great block and whiff punishment
+Well-rounded
- Higher than average execution requirements
With speedy movement and a broad toolset, Sophitia can basically play however she wants while keeping the threat of very scary block and whiff punishment hovering over the opponent and kill them when they make a mistake.
Nightmare
+Huge range
+High damage
+Good ringouts
+Some armored moves
- Lacks the normal set of fast up close tools
A stance character that fights best at longer ranges, punishing people for trying to move in closer or disrespecting the space he controls. At closer ranges his armored moves can make him hard to engage as well. In SC6 he has a powerup mechanic that improves some of his moves.
Kilik
+Very good range
+Strong stances
+Good mixups
+Pretty safe
- Buttons are slower than average
Kilik is a well-rounded character that has strong mixups up close while also having powerful keepout/harassment tools at long ranges. His buttons are on the slow side, but he partially makes up for it by having some strong stances with automatic parries that discourage people swinging at him. In SC6 his Soul Charge is unique in that it drains his health in return for absurdly powerful offense.
Xianghua
+Fast movement
+Fast buttons
+Pretty good mixups
+Decent range and whiff punishment
- Below average damage
A fast character that can easily change ranges on the opponent, she can quickly get in and apply pressure or get out and whiff punish the things the opponent throws out to challenge her. Her damage is on the low side but she has an easy time hitting people.
Ivy
+Great range
+Strong throws
- High execution
A complicated character with high execution requirements, but once mastered she can bully people at ranges where they can't do much to challenge while up close her tools are still decent. In SC6 she gets a long range command throw, so that sounds fun and powerful.
Groh, I haven't seen enough of yet. He seems to have average speed and range and a twin blade stance with powerful mixups. In Soul Charge he gets pretty insane teleporting moves.
Zasalamel has only been in two games and honestly, I didn't play him much. I think he had above average range, below average speed, and strong guardbreaks and frametraps. I think one of his unique points was pulling the opponent back in for mixups, and it seems like in SC6 it will be like that as he has some sort of vacuum ability.
Geralt, I don't know anything about him yet.
I'll skip on unannounced characters for now, even though I'm ~100% certain some of them will make it in, like Taki or Maxi.
