My apologies for my terrible performance. You are the first human opponent I've fought in months on this game. TBH I didn't expect to run into anyone that good on GAF. All I could do was block the mixups to the best of my ability. Man... Mahvel 3 is like a baby game compared to Skullgirls. This game would be absolutely unforgiving if there were no unblockable protection.
No need for apologies, you had a pretty firm grasp on the fundamentals of both Parasoul and Peacock and your pressure game with Parasoul in particular was actually really solid stuff. Really all that remains is some touching up on the finer points of what you can and can't do in this game and you'll be golden.
Universal Options :
Alpha Counter Alpha Counter Alpha Counter.
This mechanic in Skullgirls is VERY useful and one you're going to want to make use of often if your opponent is adept at keeping the pressure up while you play. Parasoul in particular has a fantastic alpha counter with her Napalm Pillar assist and it can be made (nearly) safe with spending a second meter for her motorcycles.
The ability to combine special moves + assists.
This is something MikeZ touched up on when he was doing a bunch of the walkthroughs for the game and it's criminally under utilized in the current state of the game. The point is this, you can actually use a special move input combined with an assist call on the same frame to be able to utilize both at the same time. Examples of this would be with say Filia Hairball + Double assist. Since Filia doesn't have any Quarter circle back moves with Punch I know that her hairball (QCB+Kick)is going to take priority over whatever motion I use + assist call (which uses a punch and a kick). So I do something like QCB + (LP+MK), this makes Filia simultaneously MK Hairball and call out Double assist to make it safe afterwards. Needless to say something like this can really revolutionize block string creation and can make safer your reversal attempts (Dragon-Punch like special move + pressure assist call for example).
Parasoul :
It goes without saying that the HPx2 -> LP Napalm Shot gives a pretty large window for someone to reversal out. It's no where near a true block string. Unfortunately because we lack the new training mode I can't tell you with 100% certainty what you could do instead but I think you have a couple alternatives.
- HPx2 -> MP Napalm Shot has, in my experiences, been much more difficult to reversal out of.
- HPx2 -> Rapid Cancel Soldier call to immediately cancel the lag of your move and either bait out a reversal attempt or continue pressure outright. It's worth noting that it may also be useful for baiting out an alpha counter attempt and punishing your opponent afterwards.
- HPx1 -> One of the aforementioned options. This is really to just make it less predictable for your opponent for when to attempt to reversal. Not doing the full HP chain or cancelling it earlier at any other part of your block string is a VERY solid way of keeping your opponent on your toes. Relying on HPx2 in every situation is just asking to get Alpha Countered every single time.
Just know that ending your block string with any Napalm shot leaves you at a slight disadvantage so going into any sort of attacks after a blocked napalm at close range means you're going to get beaten out if you haven't combined it with an assist.
Peacock :
She's the kind of character that really evolves the more you learn to grasp the different aspects of her tool set, to be a competent Peacock is to be able to know when and where to use different escape or momentum breaking options you have available to you. It's very easy to get into a sort of comfortable complete keepaway mentality with Peacock and this can be a dangerous thing. A great Peacock knows how to make use of options that put her on the offensive at times to beat their opponent.
In this case I would say the biggest single thing you're simply missing out on is her fake teleport (Teleport motion + punch). This thing is KING at momentum shifting as it gives you ample time afterwards to combo or otherwise force your opponent to block and you're going to want to use it at a point where your opponent is all but on top of you.
Aside from defensive options though Peacock has a lot of tools to keep her opponent out of the area where her projectiles don't actually reach. She has, oddly enough, probably some of the best air normals in the game and I've put into more than one situation where a Peacock player has simply shut down my Filia's air options. A combination of j.HP, j.MP, j.HK, and AIR THROW (use this more)make up a pretty large portion of the framework for her air defense but it really feels like the character has distinct uses of ALL of her air normals. I've seen recently j.LP used as a quick and high priority option to either trade or beat out my airdash offensives. An opponent is naturally going to try to take to the air in order to approach a Peacock out and a Peacock player is going to need to meet them there to discourage that option, requiring a shift to the offensive in order to do so.
Turning a habit into a legitimate strategy.
You jump a lot when cornered with Peacock, it's a natural instinct I think in terms of how the character is typically played but it can be turned into something distinctly momentum shifting if utilized correctly. Enter j.MK. This move is AMAZING for keeping a grounded opponent blocking and can be airdash cancelled into another j.MK to send yourself down to meet your now blocking opponent.
Instant Airdash cancel offense.
Just a quick aside, Peacock can do really fast and low to the ground overheads by jumping -> airdashing -> inputting normal attack before she gains positive momentum. Just yet another tool to keep your opponent on their toes.
And yeah! That's about it I think...