VF5FS Eileen Strategy

Introduction(top)

Eileen is at her best when she's able to mount a confusing offense that keeps her opponent off balance. She can be a terrifying force in close range as she can crush any high or low attack for a lot of damage. From mid range she can whiff punish moves for a moderate amount of damage into a knockdown and from long range she can play a decent range game too. The main limitation with Eileen in VF5FS is that her weight is very light so it is easy to get rung out from anywhere in the ring.

Defensive strength is more important when playing Eileen than any other character in FS because everyone gets hit. But when Eileen gets hit, if your back is to the edge of the ring there is a good chance you'll get rung out. Learning your safe ring position is very important with Eileen because of this weakness of hers. The good news is that she is also great at turning the tables and can ring out opponents who are overzealous in their attempts to ring you out too.

Nitaku(top)

Basic Overview

Eileen is not the best in Nitaku as she doesn't gain much from the +6 to +9 range that's safe from evades that isn't available to you at lower advantages. The basic guess is between and hcb is what you want to use with Eileen. If you are at +7 and playing against a character with a 12 frame punch, then you're is your best move to attack with as you'll beat any abare attempts for massive damage combo and be able to fuzzy guard with . If you have someone who likes to evade then your 17f is a good option as you'll beat any abare (12f jabs) or evades from +7. Be careful though as that move is a high attack so it can be beaten by ducking or a .

More in depth

After a CH[ or CH (i.e. +7 frames) Eileen becomes an offensive powerhouse of yomi and let me tell you why. If someone is just crouching you can use to get a normal hit. That by itself is not a big deal, but you can a free hit-confirmable combo into ! for a great oki mixup and good damage. If you're not comfortable with the just frame you can combo into the less damaging and not as great an oki (still good though) . So far you're beating someone up really badly for choosing to duck, if they choose to attack with anything that's 12frames (i.e. a or most ) you will get a counter hit which will do even more damage and become an easier confirmable combo move. So you're beating a person who's passively ducking or abaring with one move, the next thing someone might want to do is evade your . Now this could be a problem if it weren't for Eileen's unique interrupt technique her monkey split which allows you to duck under most punish attempts someone could use if you're evaded. What will happen is even if they do launch you with a mid move, Eileen will be so close to the ground that a full combo won't hit. That makes a better choice than since you don't have to worry about being evade punished as much.

If someone chooses to evade you a lot you can also just use and beat evade crouch dash cancels from +7 too. If someone is evading, it's better to use a circular rather than throw, as a throw is opening you up to getting launched. Throwing is someone to be used when you are dealing with someone who's blocking, but if they're evading an attack is the best choice.

What can you do to defeat a Guarding Throw Escape? (e.g. guard breaks)
What can you do if you anticipate an evade in any or a particular direction?

Side Turned(top)

What are this character's options for side turning the opponent with an attack or throw?

with Eileen you can use her to quickly side turn an opponent. The downside with this move is that it's high so you can be ducked, but it is fairly fast in that it is only 16 frames. So this means that if you have more than 4 frames of advantage you will beat out anything your opponent tries to attack you with (unless it's a low attack).

On normal hit this move will give you +6 frames of advantage which isn't something to sneeze at but it isn't really that big of a deal. On counter hit though, you will have +9 frames of advantage and have your opponent side-turned. if you don't realize what this means already I'll more clearly break that down for you, this means that Eileen's is guaranteed and unavoidable. Now were back at the +6 again, which we would have been at if our had hit normally.

What's important to remember here is that the reason you are is able to hit is because your opponent cannot guard for three frames after being made side turn from a hit. What they can still do is use an attack such as Eileen's very own attack which is airborne instantly. This also will not work against characters who are able to counter low punches. The good news is that if you have forced your opponent do something other than block then you have just opened them up to your crumple move.Everything you do when side turn should be in service of setting up Eileen's crumple move .

Now let's return back to our situation hitting on counter hit, leaving you at +9 frame advantage. This next setup can be a test of your opponent, you are essentially testing their knowledge of Eileen here. Having techniques that require knowledge that precise and specific to your character I believe makes for more interesting play and makes you a stronger player. What's important here is to remember that it is only one of the options you have, cannot rely on this all the time but don't worry I'm going to tell you the other answers.

So back to see the situation, if your opponent does not crouch they will be hit by your combination. This will leave you at +4 advantage which means you can threaten your opponent with your crumple move without fear of any of their abare attempts.

Un-blockable

Other characters like Jean and Goh have clear un-blockable options, but for Eileen it is a little more complicated I will refer you here, ( http://virtuafighter.com/threads/eileen-unblockables.19945/ ) for my initial thoughts on the situation with Eileen. First you must be aware of your (Eileen's) stance for this to work correctly. You have to OM (offensive move) to Eileen's front to get to your opponents side, then you can preform . Now your opponent HAS to block this move, if not then your set-up is over, is he/she DOES block it you'll be at +1 frame advantage. If blocked you'll want to cancel into this should grant you a knockdown. So the whole set-up should look like this, or~, -. In the link above it it mentioned that it only takes 1 frame to go from side-turned to back-turned making the 1 guarded on side-turn important here. However i'm sure it has something to do with character's hit-boxes as this whole set-up does not work on every character. You can exclude Taka, Wolf, and Jeffry from this. I don't know if it's because they are heavyweights, or because they're hit-boxes are different, but this set-up will work on everyone else.

I will now list some strengths and weaknesses regarding this set-up:
1. Opponent can duck your , it must be guarded here
2. This setup offers minimal damage
3. You have to OM to opponent's side. This opens you up to throws or worse, because you opponent doesn't have to freeze up here they are free to press buttons.
4. If done correctly you can set up oki situations if they tec roll, a example would be a free - meaty or a easier meaty attack.
5. This setup could Ring Out your opponent, and being close to the edge of the ring could give your opponent good enough reason to freeze up and guard long enough for you to OM to their side then preform


What are the optimal follow-ups when the opponent is side turned?
After getting to your opponents side there are many options you have for keeping your opponent side-locked, getting a counter-hit crumple, or going for guard breaks. Note that none of these techniques or set-ups are guaranteed, however depending on your opponent and their knowledge of Eileen you could really give them a hard time. First its good to know Eileen's + on guard moves from the side. This may be useful and lead to a counter-hit side crumple if your opponent makes the wrong decision. is 1 on guard from the side. This first move is good because it can be used as a string starter leading into Eileen's Taisei or Renshu moves ( http://virtuafighter.com/commands/list?ver=5fsa&chara=eileen ) which can be repeated to lock your opponent to the side unless they 1. out of the string, 2. use Wolf's, or 3. Aoi's (there may be more exceptions so use sparingly. A safer all round option to use would be Eileen's Honsokuteki ). Dokuritsu Sougan is also 1 on guard from the side, but is not a cancel move. (to be continued)

Do the options vary due to ring position?

What are the optimal follow-ups when you successfully evade an attack that recovers standing or crouching?
First take a look at this, http://virtuafighter.com/threads/how-to-count-your-advantage-after-evading-a-move.20003/ and take a look at this, http://virtuafighter.com/wiki/movement/#dm-advantage .
based on the information provided above here are a list of optimal moves you should use after a successful sidestep:
11 frames starting

11 frames starting

11 frames starting (can cancel into other attacks, but alone leaves you at -6)

15 frames starting (leaves your opponent stunned allowing a free throw attempt, a free , , , knockdown.

18 frames starting knockdown

19 frames starting Crumple

17 frames starting

Combos(top)

(coming soon)
Any additional notes about combos (e.g. favouring one over another due to ring position)
Discuss techniques that can be used for 1 frame delays

Wakeup Strategies(top)

Okizeme(top)

The most satisfying ways to deal with rising attacks is to crush them with Eileen's attack. For those you who may not know any attack that does more than 20 points of damage will crush a rising attack. For Eileen this means you don't have a lot of moves to choose from, most of her attacks don't do that much damage. But her attack does 25 points of damage and has a decent amount of active frames so even if you're a little too early you have some time for the rising kick to come in the contact with your kick.

The other good thing about using attack is that it crushes low attacks, this means that if you're crushing a low kick you have even more time to react to the move. You can be almost visually get hit by the low rising kick and still be able to use your attack and crush it. The other move it works like this, but even more so, is Eileen's attack. This will also crush low rising kicks and you have all day to decide to use this move. You can be in such a situation that you can crush the rising attack using your attack but not be able to block it. That is how late you can confirm your crush move..

The other way is to make someone whiff. Using Eileen's hop back from the correct distance will result in you avoiding the rising kick and still have enough time to use Eileen's attack which is a mid-punch into a combo. It can be difficult to set this up properly, as your opponent will have a good amount of time to know that you're setting up this maneuver. As soon as they see you hop back they know that your follow-up move is the mid-punch. This is another situation that requires your opponent to know this matchup. This technique will work well at lower levels of play but at higher levels you'll need to be careful. There are two additional methods you can use to make your opponent whiff their rising attacks. By using Eileen's you will be able to jump over low rising attacks. Upon success your followup is a guarantee combo which will vary depending on character weight class. So the whole combo may look something like this , then . The second method requires even more strict timing. By using Eileen's you will be able to duck under mid rising attacks. Upon success your followup is a guarantee combo which will again vary depending on character weight class. So the whole combo may look something like this then .


Baiting and punishing whiffed rising attacks
Guaranteed punishment after blocking certain rising attacks

Ukemizeme(top)

Ideal attacks to pressure with

Eileen has a lot of ways to pressure an opponent. Additionally, she has a solid answer for crushing most high and low attacks all the way up from a disadvantage of -9 ( and respectfully). Eileen's is a great pressure tool because it's only -2 if your opponent blocks it, meaning that Eileen's 11 frame will beat out any of your opponents high or mid attacks as long as they are not high crushes, mid high-crushes, reversals, sabaki's or low attacks. Eileen's is also a wonderful pressure move. The recovery time is really fast meaning that this move cannot be evade-punished by any 11 frame attack. There's also a follow-up that your opponent has to worry about, however this is evade punishable. This is also a half circular move that is impervious to all reversal, and sabaki attacks. (To be continued)


Option selects between attack or down attack
Meaties

Ring Position(top)

Wall Pressure(top)

How to induce, and follow-up, wall staggers
How to induce, and follow-up, wall side stuns

Ring Out(top)

Ideal ways to ring out over half fences
Surprisingly Eileen has a few solid ways to ring someone out. So Ill list some moves you should keep in mind if you find yourself in bind and choose to go for the ring out. Lets start with throws. Eileen's forward throw isn't just for show the way the opponent is twirled around with Taka as an exception. Depending on your positioning, land this throw and you will score a ring out. I encourage you to try it out in dojo. This works on low half fence stages, and of course open wall stages. Another throw combination, Eileen's -or can ring out. This works on open wall stages only (It's kind of strange this will not ring out on low half fence stages though). Okay now some moves you should keep in mind when you want to go for a ring-out. Neutral , yes this move will ring out on normal hit given you are the right distance from your opponent, and you opponent is from the edge of the ring. I call it the short shoulder. This will ring out also. This is a two hit move and is hit-checkable, because like most moves the second hit is punishable on block. However either hit the first or second will give you a ring-out (2nd hit counter hit, or 1st hit normal hit) works on half wall & low-half wall stages. Eileen's . if you are the right distance and the second hits as a counter hit then you get ring out. My experience shows this is most successful when is delayed. (And may also depend on what move your opponent was "hit out of"). Finally Eileen's overhead, or I call it her hail Merry a 14f mid overhead that if it hits counter hit will ring out on half-wall stages as well as low-half wall stages. I posted a video of this in action vs Jean you can find it in the Media section under Eileen, or here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubbDfvtUO8w
You can also do Eileen's . These are her anti-air kicks and if the last kick(only)lands counter hit you will score a ring-out given you are the right distance away from the ring. This will work of half wall stages and low-half wall stages. Also if you can predict your opponent is going to low punch you can make them feel stupid if you catch them with . Now if you hit them with the whole move then it'll be a normal 9p combo for you, however if you manage to be just a little further away and hit them only with the second part of counter (which is two hits if you were wondering) then they will bounce over the edge of the ring VF5 vanilla style. This works on every stage except high wall stages of course.

Ideal combos that carry good distance (for ring out)
Against lightweight characters Eileen's longest range combo is ,-,,-. Against heavyweight characters ,--. Keep in mind that this second combo is not entirely linear because of the part of the combo. However there is a linear combo for heavyweights, but it is significantly less damage (,-). Vs Taka The combo changes a bit but due to his super heavyweight status he won't be able to tech out of it (,,). A additional situation that may be a little risky that works on everyone except Taka would be Eileen's - after a stagger. If your opponent does not shake the stagger Eileen's will launch, and the gives you a good carry on heavy and lightweights, and if they happen to shake the stagger you can still hit-check the plus there are other cancel options. A quick example that could get you out of a tough situation would be something like this: Say your back is close (about 3 character lengths) to the edge of the ring and you get a chance to use Eileen's throw, (1st risk: opponent can break this throw of course) you'll be granted +11 with Eileen's - being guaranteed in most cases, but instead try using Eileen's guard break here,(2nd risk: now you're giving up your advantage so keep this in mind your opponent can attack or just duck and eat the ) and most players would just block here because 1. they are back-turned, 2. because they might accept to just eat your guaranteed - as they would not get rung out from this distance anyway (3 character lengths). Once you get the stagger then you'd be able to use your - which will carry your opponent about 3 character lengths resulting in a ring out.

Other(top)

Stances