[Zidane Tribal: A guide on the broken tiered monkey boy]

[Pifreak]

Zidane Tribal: A guide on the broken tiered monkey boy
(Guide development now postponed)

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Table of Contents
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- Intro
-Useful links
- I. How to use Zidane properly
- II. Bravery Attacks
- --- Ground
- --- Aerial
- III. HP Attacks
- --- Ground
- --- Aerial
- IV. Action Abilities
- V. Support Abilities
- VI. Extra Abilities
- VII. EX Mode
- VIII. Equipment
- --- Weapons
- --- Handgear
- --- Headgear
- --- Armor
- IX. Accessories
- X. Summons
- XI. Character Setups
- --- Setup A
- --- Setup B
- --- Setup C
- XII. Basic Tactics
- XIII. Advanced Tactics
- XIV. Fields of Battle
- --- Old Chaos Shrine
- --- Pandemonium
- --- World of Darkness
- --- Lunar Subterrane
- --- The Rift
- --- Kefka's Tower
- --- Planet's Core
- --- Ultimecia's Castle
- --- Crystal World
- --- Dream's End
- --- Order's Sanctuary
- --- Edge of Madness
- XV. Character Matchups
- --- Warrior of Light
- --- Garland
- --- Firion
- --- The Emperor
- --- Onion Knight
- --- Cloud of Darkness
- --- Cecil
- --- Golbez
- --- Bartz
- --- Exdeath
- --- Terra
- --- Kefka
- --- Cloud
- --- Sephiroth
- --- Squall
- --- Ultimecia
- --- Zidane
- --- Kuja
- --- Tidus
- --- Jecht
- --- Shantotto
- --- Gabranth
- XVI. Final Words
- XVII. Common Q&A
- XVIII. Version History
- XIX. Special Thanks

Note: This guide deals with purely things that relate to PvP

Intro
Zidane Tribal is the protagonist of Final Fantasy IX. Well, did you expect an awesome summary of who he is? Well, you came to the wrong place, sorry. I’m not good at that stuff. Here you go (but beware, massive spoilers for FFIX): http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Zidane_Tribal

Now onto the stuff actually Dissidia related. Zidane is known as the ‘Aerial Ace’, who (yep, you guessed it) dominates in the air. Dissidia focuses on air combat a lot. Most of his attacks are easily blockable, except for one. Swift Attack. This one attack is the bane of most of his opponents in the game, because Swift Attack is a 13 frame attack that links to an HP attack, Meo Twister. Being top tier as of now, he has only one bad matchup- Terra. And the matchup is only slightly in Terra’s favor (Zidane-Terra/4-6). And guess what else? He’s considered to be the best character of the game, given that you play him correctly. Onto the next section!

Oh, and just for kicks,

Zidane’s Pros:
-Aerial domination
-Fast
-Good close range
- SWIFT ATTACK (enough said for now)

Zidane’s Cons:
-Ground game sux
-Range sux
-VERY vulnerable to break status
-Pitiful brave damage
-Many of his moves cannot be used freely (as in not after a block, or countering a really laggy attack)


Useful Links

Zidane's Complete Combo List: http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread...ete-Combo-List
Info on Zidane's moves: http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread...Zidane-s-moves
xffixbmlx's YT channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/xffixbmlx
Artifact Farming: http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread...ing-Mini-Guide
ujhbn awesomeness: http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread...ess-known-info
Other builds: http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread...rchetype-Guide
Boosters!: http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread...er-Accessories
Current Tier List: http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/6317/matchup.png

I. How to use Zidane properly
So, seeing that he has one of the quickest attacks in the game, Zidane is perfect for turtling. Playing him requires you to be quick on your feet, dodging and blocking attacks, then quickly retaliating with a quick BRV to HP link. He could be used offensively, but I suggest to play him defensively instead, since one mistake could get your bravery lowered detrimentally. Why is this? Well, let’s say you’re playing in KAoS rules. Base bravery (assuming you already used the effect of Hero’s Seal) is 997. It will stay at 997 every time you land an HP attack, making you extremely vulnerable to break. Don’t believe me? Example: Zidane gets blocked at 997 BRV. The opponent (say it’s Jecht) launches a half-full charged Jecht Stream, and deals approximately 1k BRV damage to you. He gains the brave pool (which is about 4k BRV), which is added to his 1k BRV he dealt to you, and possibly more (say he was at base BRV before you got blocked). He is now at 6k BRV. Another mistake, and Zidane’s dead, basically.

Example (continuing from last example): Jecht has 6k BRV. Zidane gets blocked. Jecht launches another Jecht Stream, chaining into Triumphant Grasp. He EXes in the middle of TG, and boom! 6k HP damage, plus the possibility of 3k HP wall rush damage. The burst will kill you. Say it doesn’t wall rush you. He bursts, and you’re still at base BRV. Burst will kill you. At this point, I feel like I’ve over-lectured you on how delicate Zidane is. But you get the point, right?

In short, play defensively to your needs, and on the rare occasion, play offensively only if needed. With turtling and mindgames, Zidane’s a pain to fight. What? You don’t like turtling, and think it’s boring? Read on, there are alternatives. :P

A tl;dr version (credits to a-ther):

II. Bravery Attacks

Ground:

Swift Attack (links to Meo Twister): The best ground move Zidane has. I recommend equipping this against characters who have a ground game similar to his (example is Tidus). It can be used as a quick surprise poke while running around, it can punish other ground moves quickly, and it’s a quick retaliation after backwards dodging. Against completely air-oriented characters (Kefka, Ultimecia), it’s useless.

Rumble Rush (links to Meo Twister): Pretty fast, but not fast enough. As said in Dave’s guide, it can be seen a mile away. Useful for flashy comboing, but Rumble Rush is pretty weak in terms in BRV damage. And NO, it isn't even close to being similar to Swift Attack. Not recommended.

Scoop Art: As said in the great (?) words of Kite/Kumo, lolwut? (Seriously, this move epically fails. Worst move Zidane has. Don’t equip it. NONONONONONONONONO)

Aerial:

Swift Attack (links to Meo Twister): Best move Zidane has. This is the move that makes him top tier. The move that makes and breaks him. Without it, Zidane would be worse that Shantotto (IMO). Always have this equipped. Never leave home without it (unless you want to get raped in battles). It’s a great SnL canceller, hell, it makes SnL null and void to Zidane. Additionally, Swift Attack is one of the best close range punishers in the game. It can even punish Hopstep (11 frames), if you’re the right distance.

Storm Impulse: Zidane’s BRV raping move. After a block, you have a chance to use this, dealing massive bravery damage. What's even better is that it can wall rush combo, meaning that you could connect SI over and over and over and over and over and OVER again. It's like a legit infinite, sort of. SI can punish blocks if timed right, and can slightly punish dodges. Lastly, if you can get a block at the beginning of the match, AND wall rush combo, the opponent is going to be eating around 7000 HP damage if you can break them. Quoted from Hollowed: "Zidane + break = gg" Definitely recommended.

Vortex: Pretty predictable, but good against slow casters. Third best BRV move Zidane has, IMO. It could catch some people on surprise, but don’t bet on it using it freely. Vortex is a great move, it can chain into Storm Impulse for wall rush combo awesomeness, and can raise the opponent to ceiling level for "ceiling rush" combos. Recommended.

Tempest (links to Meo Twister): You’d think this is similar to WoL’s Shield Strike, but it’s way more predictable and easily blockable. So it like another one of those moves that have to be used after a block, or to punish a really slow move. Generally ideal to be used after Vortex, for more BRV damage, and chaining to Swift Attack at the end. It can also connect after an SI/Vortex wall rush. Experiment. Half-recommended, if you feel wall rush combos are too risky for you.

Scoop Art: lolwut (Wasting an aerial slot for this move???)

Solution 9: Useful against ground oriented characters (but not Firion, thanks to his Shield Bash). Spam this all day long against Golbez or WoL, and they’ll eventually come up. It may become a waiting game, though, if they’re stubborn and persistent. Does pretty good damage if it crits. Against air oriented characters, this move is less useful, but still, if you want to provoke them to dash toward you. Half-recommended.

III. HP Attacks

Ground

Tidal Flame: May look safe to spam, but it has a pretty long lag. What else is there to say? You could play “tennis” with it in the JP version of Dissidia, though. Fail move.

Stellar Circle 5: Very punishable. It has a strong suction effect, but I still don’t recommend it.

[Pifreak]

Aerial

Free Energy: Amazing HP attack. Very fast for one, also (25 frames). Most HP attacks don’t get this fast. Throw this out if the opponent starts getting block happy, and you want to attack constantly. Careful though, characters with fast attacks can punish it, so don’t spam FE. It can stop EX guarding, and in games when EX countering is allowed, Zidane can do so with this move without fear of retaliation. Recommended.

Grand Lethal: Similar to Braver and Rough Divide, this can punish dodges. Still, it’s slower than those two moves, and can be punished easily. It has pretty low lag time, though. Not recommended, even though it kills CPUs.

Shift Break: Good HP attack, the flood part is un EXG-able. If the opponent gets too OAD happy, the thunder’ll zap them. Useful against Kefka, and those characters with charging attacks (Heartless Angel, Black Fang, Time Crush, Starfall). Additionally, when the opponent is too greedy for that EX core, this’ll occasionally zap them as well. This move is slow and punishable but rewarding if used correctly. Half-recommended.

(I have to give credits to axeeeeL and RoboDestroyer for convincing me that Storm Impulse, Vortex, and Tempest were excellent moves. I feel bad for doubting those three moves now.)

IV. Action Abilities

Okay, this section will outline what action abilities you should equip. Obviously, equip ground and aerial evasion (dodging). Equip both blocks. Aerial recovery is sort of a must. Without it, you'll be pretty vulnerable when flying through the air. I equip recovery attack to recover faster (just do Swift Attack), and when the opponent manually ends chase (they do nothing when it's their attack sequence), you can Swift Attack them. Of course, most players know this, and won't be stupid enough to do so. Air dash is good when you want to plow through projectiles, or get to a caster quickly. Reverse air dash isn't needed, since Zidane being far from the opponent is a bad thing, most of the time. Between Omni Air Dash and Free Air Dash, I use OAD. FAD is good for closing the gap, but I sometimes dash too far and get blocked. I also like having many jumps (if you equip FAD, equipping Multi Air Slide/MAS+ is necessary, to get EX cores. And you need to jump out your jumps for that, making you taking off your jump boosts). However, it's according to your play style to determine what dash you have to use. Reverse air dash, bad. Multi Air Slide/+ is like Omni Air Dash, but it requires you to jump to activate it. I don't use it (as I explained in the past few sentences). The speed boosts aren't really necessary, since they only boost ground speed. I like being fast and agile on the ground also, so I equip this. Jump boost and jump times boost aren't necessary as well, but I like being flexible. Controlled recovery is good, flexibility. Midair evasion boost is a must. Zidane must be agile to dodge and punish attacks.

V. Support Abilities

Always target indicator is a waste of CP, IMO. It only is helpful in stages with lots of walls. EX core lock on is a must. Auto chase, NONONONONONONONONO. With that ability, Zidane can't Meo Twister link. The auto abilities are a waste, also. Unless you are bad at EX defense (mashing the button to raise the meter), or don't want to mash buttons for Zidane's EX burst. Evasion time boost is a must, agility and all.

VI. Extra Abilities

Precision jump is not really necessary, but I equip it for flexibility. Concentration/+/++ is a waste. Zidane can turtle without it. The only use for it is against Gabranth. Or you could hide behind a wall and gain brave in secrecy. Still a bad ability. Achy/+ is bad as well. Being in low health state give a critical hit rate bonus, but Zidane's game is based on chipping, not brave gathering. Physical/Magic shield could help in cases when your health is low, preventing breaks in some cases, but Zidane will be easily broken in a few hits. Bravery regen is an ability that's up to you to equip or not. Gaining brave is good in EX mode, since it provides a cushion against breaks. I don't use it, because I don't think it would make a difference, at least in my experiences. Snooze and Lose is a must. It helps the turtlers, rather than as a deterrent for turtlers (well, maybe both).

Now for the critical abilities. I only equip one critical ability, since equipping two would be a waste, for Zidane. As I stated before, he is a chipper. I usually equip Sneak Attack, because it Meo Twister always activates it. Counterattack is useful against characters with slow attacks. First Strike is useless, since Zidane isn't going to break the opponent in a since Swift Attack to Meo Twister combo. EX critical boost is bad, since in EX mode, all characters already have increased critical hit rate. Crits aren't that beneficial to Zidane, and 40 CP is too much for this. Additionally, Zidane doesn't spend much time in EX mode, since you should only EX guard crippling/killing blows. Cat is good against OHKO characters such as Squall and Tidus, but again, crits don't help Zidane much. Same for Back to the Wall. Zidane is going to do much of the chipping, not the opponent (most of the time). And..same for Riposte. Anti-EX isn't going to help you compete with other character's EX modes, let alone Squall's or Terra's. Lastly, Gambler's Spirit. It could help when you score a Swift Attack when you're in break status, but I don't equip it. Generally a waste of CP. In short, the only critical boosting ability Zidane should have is either Counterattack or Sneak Attack.

VII. EX Mode

Zidane's EX mode has the benefit of (along with regen and increased critical hit rate) being able to jump more times (10 more, to be exact), and having the effect of dodge with each jump. This basically increases his agility even more. I wish he was given a speed boost in EX mode. D: (But he's already a broken character, why would SE want to make him even more broken?) His EX mode isn't really that beneficial, in comparison to others'. I use his EX mode when I'm about to take a crippling/killing blow, or when I'm sure I'm going to break a brave gathering character (say it's Ultimecia). For example, Zidane is in the middle of Meo Twister. He EX shifts and EX bursts when Ulti's brave is low enough. A hell lotta damage in a short amount of time.

VIII. Equipment

Weapons

Zidane can equip daggers, throwing weapons, and parrying weapons. Unfortunately, no weapons in the catagory are really all that good. His ultimate weapon is Ozma's Splinter. It gives a 20% BRV boost per dodge, and a minor Gambler's Spirit effect. Pretty good.

Handgear

Zidane can equip bangles and gauntlets. Nothing special in this catagory.

Headgear

Zidane can equip hats and hairpins. Nothing special.

Armor

Zidane can equip clothing (as stupid as it sounds..) and light armor. Again, nothing special.

IX. Accessories

Any character can equip any accessory, but in this section, I'm going to outline some good accessories to use. Pearl Necklace for EX absorption, and Gravitorb for EX intake range. Despair Shock for EX gauge depletion of the opponent. And seven boosters. Make them all 1.5x if you can. I have two 1.2s so that I have at least some booster if all fails.

[Pifreak]

X. Summons

This will be a sort of in-depth section about what summons aid Zidane the most, the least, and how to use summons properly according to the character Zidane.

A useful link, first: http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread...ns-What-to-use (read it, if you haven't already, before reading this section)

Ifrit

This summon doesn't really give Zidane any benefits. It could help you have an extra cushion from break at the beginning, but Demon Wall or Phoenix is much better. Also, you could use this right before you EX burst, maybe giving you enough of a boost to kill the opponent. Not much use.

Shiva

Pretty useful for Zidane. It basically gives Zidane a free opportunity to break the opponent (given that they don't go crazy with OAD and run away), and score large, applicable BRV to HP damage. Since Zidane is really fragile in terms of his constant BRV, it could save him if the opponent is planning to burst after a gigantic hit.

Ramuh

Nothing special only applicable to Zidane.

Carbuncle

Awesome summon for Zidane, since he connects with HP attacks constantly. It can also save you when the opponent gets a block on you with them having killing brave. Carbuncle could save you, and could possibly lower their brave dramatically.

Magic Pot

This summon can't harm Zidane, but is lethal to Squall and other OHKO'ers. People will frown upon you online if you try the "let myself get broken over 9000 times, and copy their brave when I manage to score an HP attack" trick.

Demon Wall

Useful at the start of the match, to protect from break, or when you think you're about to be broken. Kinda applicable to all characters.

Magus Sisters

Like Carbuncle, but less useful to Zidane.

Odin

Try your luck with this. If it fails when you're about to get OHKO'ed, then you just lost the battle. If it works, then you have the opponent *^*(&%(%!!!!-ing, and a big smile on your face. Applicable to all characters.

Phoenix

Basically the same as Demon Wall, but worse.

Alexander

Kinda useless to Zidane unless you get that break.

Leviathan

Counters their better brave game than yours, but the effect is pretty short.

Bahamut

More brave is always good for any character.

Chocobo

Could save you, could kill you. All luck.

Moogle

Luck.

Mandragora

BRV recovers to base almost instantly, which is uber pwnage awesome for Zidane. Opponents will have a hard time breaking you when this is in effect.

Bomb

They'll take about 1k BRV damage when you activate this. Not really good for Zidane to use.

Asura

Like Ramuh.

Titan

Pretty useful, since it raises Zidane's BRV, making him hard to break at the occasion. If the opponent wants to score an HP attack at the beginning, go ahead and let them. 1k (or a little more) HP damage dealt to you for your BRV being tripled is a good deal.

Atomos

Want to trade your HP (dependent on opponent's BRV) for more BRV? Pretty good for Zidane, but risky if they have a full EX gauge.

Iron Giant

Good for Zidane, since he's a chipper.

Cactuar

If you want a go at getting the extremely rare break at the beginning of the match, go for it. You could also time it well at the point where you want to lower the opponent's BRV low enough so that you can break them in a burst. It can save you, too..

Tonberry

Good against other chippers, or when you just want an HP to BRV trade.

Malboro

I think Square Enix is telling us not to smoke cigarettes. Anyways, your opponent will run from you whenever this is activated. Making the reduction not as effective. Besides, you don't want them to run from you. Bad summon.

Ultros

Worse than Scoop Art! If it was an attack..

Typhon

Could save Zidane, could have minimal effect. Luck.

Deathgaze

Can really hurt BRV gatherers, but not so much on Zidane. Pretty good summon, and you could say it's more reliable than Odin.

Behemoth

Like Ifrit, it can give you that boost enough to kill.

Pupu

Amazing summon for Zidane. Gives an extra BRV cushion, and could potentially give you the power to do massive HP damage. If only it could last longer..

Lich

Another one of those summons that kills BRV gatherers, and can't really do much to Zidane.

Marilith

Not really useful against BRV gatherers, but can kill Zidane, since his BRV is around 1000, or LOWER.

Kraken

Better than Magic Pot, but takes time to activate. Another one of those summons that have little effect on Zidane, and vice versa on the opponent.

Tiamat

Good if you want a large BRV cushion at the beginning of the match. Run away, though. :P

Scarmigilone

Summon counter. Not much to say. Kills Magic Pot.

Cagnazzo

Summon counter. Used right, it's amazing. Used wrong, it's death.

Barbariccia

Another summon counter. Used right, good result. Used wrong, bad result.

Rubicante

Good for a random BRV boost (this is a trap summon, though, so it's non-controllable). But when your BRV is like, 300, the effects are minuscule.

Gilgamesh

Can triple your BRV, but can bite you in the ass (turns your BRV to 0). Luck.

Ultima Weapon

Guaranteed break, but takes pretty long to activate.

Omega

An OHKO-er's worst enemy.

--
Guide in progress, will continue soon. Also gotta add pictures. It looks dull in here. Please do not post here until the guide is finished. I guess I’ll make a ‘guide discussion thread’. It’ll probably be done soon, thanks for your patience!

Post comments/suggestions here, please: http://dissidiaforums.com/showthread...986#post222986