Tekken Tag Tournament 2/Lars
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Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Character Select
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Introduction
Fighting Style: Military Based Martial Arts
Nationality: Swedish
Background: The Mishima Zaibatsu started a war against the world. As the rise of the G Corporation brought carnage across the world, a large portion of the Zaibatsu's special military unit, the Tekken Force, defected from the organization. Lars Alexandersson led the coup d'état. With an uncommonly high physical and mental ability, Lars become a ranking officer in the Tekken Force at a young age. Despite his high rank, Lars often fought in the front lines. Due to this and his friendly character, he was popular among his subordinates. Only he knew the fact that he drew the Mishima bloodline through his father, Heihachi. Even Heihachi was not aware.
Character Data
Strategy Guides
- Use Armor King as example
- for path and link structure
- Use Armor King as example
- for path and link structure
Gameplay Summary
Writeup By dr4g0n
Lars has been bandied about as a "top tier" character, and occasionally as the "best in the game". I am going to dodge several bullets here and ignore this statement. Instead, I'll talk about tiers in general, without inciting an argument over what the tiers for Tag 2 are.
Tekken is an incredibly balanced game, and although some characters are better than others, the difference is relatively negligible. There are many instances of people using what are considered to be "low tier" characters and doing well. Yes, ultimately, you are limited by your character's capabilities, but you can very easily go a long way using any character. In addition, remember that TTT2 is a team game. As such, it is more difficult to find a 'tier' for each character, because it is the team that should be considered. There may be times where a certain trait for a particular pairing will overcome their weaknesses, making them a more 'top tier' team.
That being said, I do believe that Lars can be described as something of a "newb-friendly" character. His tools are quite good and cover a range of situations, and his combos are relatively easy to execute. As such, he's great if you're new to the game, and just want to pick up a character and use them.
However, once you get past the very basics of the game, you have to begin to realise that you can't just do stuff, then hit a panic button for an instant win. Using Lars at higher level play requires good movement, spacing and a great awareness of what the opponent wants to do so you can counter whatever that is going to be.
I could rant on about the importance of basics, but I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about...
So, Lars as a character. He has good tools for most situations and is definitely above average in the punishment department. His movement is much better than in Tekken 6, but all movement has been improved, so that may be the reason why... His damage output in terms of combos is solid in the open, but where he shines in this department is after a W! (more on that later).
Changes from BR
All moves seem to have slightly less ability to track, but this isn't due to a change in the moves. Rather it's the result of a buff to movement in the game in general. I'll list some other changes that I've noticed.
uf4 no longer causes B!
DE 1+2 no longer launches on NH, but still launches on CH.
f1+2 is now -14 on block, and has less range.
b2,1 is now -10 on block.
iSW now causes a W! when used in a combo after the B!. You can't get the full wall combo off a iSW W!, but at the right ranges, you get f1+4 (shoulder) for extra damage. I've heard that you can get f4,1,2,1 but I've never seen it connect, nor could I ever get it to connect myself, so.... yeah.....
uf3 crushes much less than it did in BR, and i13 mids can hit you out of it now (sometimes you can be jabbed out of it as well...)
uf3+4, 1 seems to give slightly more + on hit. Still not really worth using, but there we go...
fc df1+2, is now +1 on hit (down from +2 in BR). I mention this later, but...eh. It's a change.
New Moves
SE df1. Mid, causes B! -15 on block. Has better reach, and is more consistent off a db2~f, than using fb2,1. Slightly less consistent on backturned opponents. This move allows Lars players to get a little more creative when constructing combos, so..... Keep in mind that it's launch on block, meaning that you shouldn't be using this move outside of combos.... Ever.
b2,3. Mid-high, doesn't jail, but is safe on block. Used to be hit-confirmable, but no longer. It does cause W!, and knocks down on hit, and does pretty good damage. Without the hit confirmation, it's major use (for me) has become to punish whiffed moves near the wall.
f4,1,2,1. The infamous Lars wall combo. This move is quite a good addition. The first three hits are NCc, (possibly NC, but I haven't verified that yet). On block, the last hit is at least -12, but not launchable. Use in wall combos. You can also combo off the first three hits if the opponent is high enough.
EDIT: Abigan2K has done the testing, and it turns out that f4,1 is NC, but duckable on block. f4,1,2 is NCc as I suspected.
b2, 3. An alternative to b2,1 and a decent little mix-up. Is mid-high as opposed to the mid-mid that was b2,1. Is easily duckable for a launch punish, but safe on block. Does good damage, knocks down, and most importantly, causes W!. It is no longer hit-confirmable, but still a REALLY good move regardless. Use abundantly.
Teams
Building a team in Tag 2 is not difficult. It certainly requires less thought than a game such as UMvC3. The only real aspect of the game that the team really affects is combos and ease with which the characters can tag into each other.
In terms of both, Lars can easily work well with any character. The infamous Moku-Lars is a great example of the viability of Lars as a partner for anyone, and as such, don't ever feel limited to play one particular team because this other guy plays it and makes it look good. That being said, you probably shouldn't jump around and use Lars, then switch up partners left and right. My advice would be to pick a team, and figure out all the kinks to make it work.
Punishers
Standing punishers
i10: 1,2; 2,1; 1,1
Nothing to say here. He gets jabs for 10 frame punishers...
In terms of picking between them, 1,1 is basically useless. 2,1 gives more damage and has better range than 1,2; but you're only at +1 on hit. 1,2 is generally the go-to punisher. It may give slighly less damage, but it's at around +4 on hit, so gives you better options afterwards.
i12: f2,4
Imo, one of the best i12 punishers in the game. It easily rivals King's b1,2 in terms of range (if you look at the animation, Lars actually takes a step forwards before sticking his fist out, thus the massive range); does good damage, and knocks down/wallsplats. If a move is -12 on block, I really don't see why you wouldn't use this move to punish...
i13: df1; f1+4
Both df1 and shoulder are i13, but in all honesty, there's no reason to use either. f2,4 does more damage than either; knocks down (whereas df1 doesn't); and is only -12 on block (whereas shoulder is launchable). Use f2,4.
i14: fb2,1
Yeah, this move is still there, and it's still pretty good. You get a small combo off this as it still gives a B!, but the good news is that with select teams, you can now get much more damage off it from the TA, depending on the team you pick (more on that in the combos section). The move has incredible range, but be careful because it is launchable on block.
i15: f1+2; b1; db2,1
Yep, Lars' JYU punch. Infamous before and more so now, and for a very good reason. In Tag 2, it is a taggable launcher, meaning you can get good damage from it, and remove red health as well.
The range is still decent, but Namco seems to have removed some of the 'phantom range' it had in BR, so it won't reach a few moves. In those cases, you can use b1 or db2,1. Both of these options have good range and track quite well (b1 is actually a homing move).
i16: uf3
This. The move that basically every Lars player knows about and uses. Those who play me personally will know I abuse this move to cover several options at once (and occasionally scream it out as I use it).
It crushes highs. It crushes lows. It is a knee, so it can't be reversed....
All reasons to love this move. You do, however need to be quite careful (i.e. not just throw it out), because it is launchable on block.
Crouching/WS punishers
i10: d1
Nothing to say here. Crouching jab. i10, does piddly damage. I don't think it even gives + frames on hit. Most of the time, I won't even bother with it.
i11: WS4
Generic WS 4. 11 frame startup, does meh damage, gives some + frames on hit.
i13: WS2,1
Good move as a punisher. Not many characters have a 13 frame WS punisher, but Lars has this. A little extra damage. Nothing to really get too excited about.
The WS2 by itself, however is pretty darn useful, but I'll talk about it more in the 'Top moves' section.
i15: WS1
Great move. It tracks slightly to Lars' left, and launches for a combo. It is also a taggable launcher. Note that it will launch the opponent in a backturned state, so if you tag it immediately, you will be juggling the opponent's head. Keep it in mind.
i16: uf3
As the input is an uf, you can punish moves that leave you crouching with it. Still, I'd prefer using WS1, for damage and for convenience, but if you want to get inside your opponents head and have them frustrated at getting hit with "that goddamn move again" (which I do...all the time...), then you can use this as a punisher.
Top Moves
This section is where I go through Lars' tools, and the moves that you will most likely be using. I'm not going to include punishers, because they're pretty self-explanatory, and I've already talked about them...
df1: i13, tracks relatively well to Lars' left, has slight high-crush properties, is -1 on block, and gives + frames on hit. Not as incredible as Miguel's df1, but still a damn good move. Abuse.
df2: Not the same as generic df2's. It doesn't launch on NH, blah, blah, BUT, when you look past this, you can really see why it is such an awesome move. i15 (I think), but has some high crush frames, and launches on CH. Gives some + frames on NH. Is completely safe on block, and tracks a little to his right. This move is great for setting up frame traps, and making an un-savvy opponent run into it as a CH, and eating a full combo as punishment. Be careful about the lack of range, however, because it doesn't reach very far...
db4: Yeah, it's slow at i21. Yeah, it's launchable on block at -21. It's still a fairly good move. With the incredible range it has, you can use it as a poke from range. Note that you can also use it to stop lateral movement to some degree, since Lars sweeps his leg around. It crushes highs completely, and at max range, can crush some mids.
ff1+2: This move mixes up with all of Lars' other ff options, but is the only safe one. Tracks almost perfectly to his left, but not at all to his right. Launches on CH, and gives you decent oki on NH.
ff3+4: Lars' slide. It has incredible range, and comes out of a ff motion as well, so you can increase this even further. Virtually unseeable, so your opponent will have to guess. Goes under highs, and some mids. Note, however, that it is launch punishable on block.
ff4,3: This move. Perhaps the most rage-inducing move from a Lars player. This move is low-mid, NC, and does massive damage. Unseeable, but don't get predictable with it, because you can react to the dashing motion and block the low. The move is launch-punishable on block, so use wisely. Note also, that it is -frames on hit, so you are at a disadvantage, even if you hit them with the move. Keep this in mind, when you're figuring out what to do after the move hits.
db1,3: Not a move that you see a lot, but it is a NC that starts low and is relatively low-risk. More often, you'll just be using db1. Blocking the db1 nets the opponent a WS4 punisher. Blocking the db1, and watching the 3 whiff, will net them a launcher.
b2,3_b2,1: The b2,1 is now -10 on block, and b2,3 is a mid-high, that can be ducked for a WS launcher, but don't let any of this dissuade you from using the moves. You can delay the second hit of b2,1 and on CH, the second hit will give a weird kind of crumple-stun, allowing you to get a full combo with (dash), db2,1, etc. The b2,3 is possibly my favorite whiff-punisher with the opponent's back to the wall. Does a ton of damage, and is safe on block.
FC. df1+2: The move I affectionately refer to as "tying the shoelaces". A little slow, but does decent damage, and leaves you at +1 on hit. You get the option to hold d, after to recover crouching, and the move is pretty safe, at -11 on block. Why not use it?
SS2: Lars only has one move out of SS, but it just happens to be an incredible move. This move (since it comes out of a SS) tracks a little, is mid and is completely safe on block. On hit, it causes a knockdown, and guarantees a d3+4 (stomp) for some good damage. You can also hold ~f after the stomp to transition into SE for a mix-up, but a savvy opponent will get up and use WS4 to knock you out of the SE, so you probably shouldn't use this too often.
Tracking/Homing moves
As I've mentioned a few times, there's been a buff to movement, so all moves seem to track a little less. What I'm gonna do here is list moves that track better than usual or home. Moves of note:
b1: Still i15 frames. Still homing. Still has great range. Still slight + on hit, and very safe on block. Abuse abundantly
b1+2: Also homing move. There's a few frames of crush during the start-up of this move because in the animation, Lars take a quick step back before executing the move. I wouldn't rely on it to consistently crush anything, though... Keep in mind that this move is at least -10 on block, so I wouldn't be just throwing it out.
db2,1: Most of you remember this move as tracking almost perfectly in BR. Now, with the aforementioned buff to movement, it's nowhere near as good. The first hit still kinda tracks to his right, and the second kinda tracks to his left, but I have been sidewalked when using this move, so it's much less effective than it had been.
WS2: I feel as though this move has been given better tracking from BR. At i13, it's not the fastest of moves (considering you have to crouch first), but it does tend to hit people a lot for some reason. Good range, and it can also be cancelled into DE (WS2~d) and SE (WS2~f). Note that cancelling into DE will mean Lars moves back, rather than forwards, thus giving you some space, if you need it.
Strengths and WeaknessesStrengths
Weaknesses
Top Moves
PunishersStanding
Crouching
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