Giovanna makes her debut inGuilty Gear Striveas one of its two new characters. In contrast to the vampire Nagoriyuki, Giovanna is a special forces agent designated to protect the President of the United States. And being aGuilty Gearcharacter, fans know Giovanna has tricks up her sleeve in theArc System Workstitle.
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In combat, Giovanna summons Rei, her wolf spirit, in order to overwhelm the enemy with spiritual pressure. The game classifies Giovanna as a Rush character, with a huge emphasis on powerful burst attacks. However, how canStriveplayers exactly maximize her character?
10Aggression Versus Mobility
As a Rushdown character, Giovanna’s toolkit relies heavily onbringing nonstop pressure to opponentsuntil they drop down. Thing is, Giovanna does suffer a bit of a speed decrease due to this - making her a bit slower than other speed-oriented characters.
When used properly, Giovanna can compensate for her middling speed with a kit that emphasizes safe specials and an aggressive playstyle that can simply just stun and bewilder opponents. Players need to take note of the speed difference when rushing down on opponents to compensate for their defensive tactics.
9Lack Of Range Options
Due to her nature as a Rush character, Giovanna specializes in close range. However, this does mean she poses a weaknesses when it comes to range. An opponent with a knack for ranged attacks (e.g., I-No) can punish a Giovanna by simply being as far away as possible.
However, given the game’s penchantfor encouraging aggression, Giovanna can easily gain the upper hand by zoning in on them through her step dash and other gap-closer strategies. Players need to pay closer attention to characters that have ranged options, and their Giovanna should immediately close the range to avoid any setbacks.
8Attack Speed Domination
Granted, Giovanna doesn’t have as much mobility options to offer compared to High Speed characters. However, she compensates with her sheer attack speed. Essentially, Giovanna’s basic toolkit offers some of the fastest attacks in the game - giving her more chances of interrupting enemy attacks and punishing them with her own combos.
7The Meter Is A Friend
Unlike other characters, Giovanna has a special relationship with her Tension Meter. Essentially, she gains a damage buff depending on the level of her Meter. Graphically, Half Tension will have Rei glow a distinct aura, while Giovanna herself changes her skin color by the time she gets Full Tension.
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Additionally, she gets an additional Defense Rating whenever she gets to Half or Full Tension. This drastically boosts her defense, making her more viable in extended incursions. At Full Tension, her Defense Rating can reach that of Potemkin’s (0.93).
6Pay Attention To The Recovery
Despite her lack of movement, Giovanna does compensate this for her fast recovery potential. Players should capitalize on this opportunity to recover quickly from botched combos and get back into the fight as soon as possible. Thanks to his advantage, a suitable strategy of Giovanna is to get close and secure a Slashopening for a combo. If she manages to do this, Giovanna can easily pressure opponents into submission.
And if she fails, her quick recovery can give her a ton of room for a counter attack. Enemies tend to underestimate Giovanna’s quick recovery speed - which means enemies will likely get encouraged to give Giovanna a quick attack, only to be met with a harsh counter.
5Step Dash To Get In Range
Granted, Giovanna isn’t as fast as other High Speed characters. However, she makes up for this through her amazing step dash. Compared to other characters, Giovanna’s step dash is something they can cancel. This means Giovanna can transition seamlessly from a step dash into a backdash, a Normal Attack, or even a Special Attack.
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In turn, a viable Giovanna tactic is to stay well out of a character’s range and zoom in for the opening as soon as it reveals itself. This makes Giovanna an extremely viable character against any opponent.
4Command Normals Secure Close Range
On the off-chance that opponents attempt to counteract Giovanna’s assault or try to apply pressure first, Giovanna can effectively return the favor with her Command Normals. When used properly, Giovanna can use neutral ground to secure the close-range or the mid-range.
3Mind The Combo Potential
Thankfully, Giovanna boasts a toolkit with a ton of potential for combos. In fact, a lot of Giovanna’s moves let her transition quite easily from a poke to a combo. However, players need to pay closer attention to specific caveats regarding her combo potential.
2Break Defense With Pokes
Aggression only works on Giovanna’s favor if she gets to break through an opponent’s defense. And thankfully enough, with the right pressure, some of Giovanna’s moves can pierce through even an opponent’s best defense. On top of that, some of these efficient anti-defensive options give Giovanna the much needed rushdown speed she needs.
1Overdrives Put Giovanna On High Speed
Giovanna’s best offensive options come in the form of her Overdrives - both of which serve as extremely powerful offensive tools that have straightforward uses. When used properly, Giovanna can follow-through with her pressuring moves and obliterate enemies quickly.
