Emperor vs. Gilgamesh

**Nemphtis** · 04-08-2011 06:25 PM

My friend has switched from Laguna to Gilgamesh and suddenly I am in a world of pain, it's really really bad. I haven't even unlocked this character yet so I had to go in blind, but my battles today felt so hopeless.

I have trouble in several areas but I will start with my biggest problem. My friend can spam what I assume is a low magic spell over and over so fast that he literally denies me the chance to cast traps. The only way out of this spam I have discovered in our few matches is by casting Starfall to block them but that doesn't really give me any advantage.

So my buddy tends to just stay in the air and spam that move, occassionally flying in with a BRV attack which he combos with an assist which he then ends with a Rocket Punch HP attack for massive damage.

I thought I only had to worry about assists whilst casting traps, but his lightning or whirlwind spell seems to have a pretty fast cast time or recovery considered how much he can spam it. Even if I just sat there dodging it, he could just wait for the dodge and punish with his Jecht assist.

How can I cast traps in safety when he has this spell? If I can't cast, I'm practically a walking training dummy for him, so this is a match-up I need to learn fast.

---------- Post added 04-08-2011 at 07:25 PM ---------- Previous post was 04-07-2011 at 08:16 PM ----------

Have I asked a very silly question, or is it just that nobody has any good advice for this match-up?

**Kotei** · 04-08-2011 09:21 PM

It seems so. I never played Gilgamesh for now, so I don't have any advice for you. It seems like a bad matchup for the Emperor, of what I heard.

**Nemphtis** · 04-08-2011 09:41 PM

I was just on IRC and the advice I received is pretty much stuff I already knew and tried, but having it said to me made me think that perhaps I am on the right strategy but I am just not executing it well enough to attain a win. As I assume someone else might read this when they need match-up advice for Gilgamesh, I'll post the only two options I can think of to counter his Electrocute spam.

1. Dash through Electrocute and put a mine right in his face if his spamming gets too predictable.

2. Cast Starfall which blocks Electrocute and cancel when he dashes in or summons assist.

The problem here is that when he dashes in to stop Starfall, I have no flares or crests because the Electrocute spam stopped me from casting these. I am not exactly hard to hit when he can dash straight to me without going through any traps. Cancelling my Starfall when he gets close doesn't give me an advantage, as I'm not stuck in CQC with Gilgamesh and again I'm in a tricky situation. Do I risk casting a spell when he is so close, or do I try and retreat only to experience the exact same problem again as Electrocute's range is quite long so all I can do after running off is casting Starfall again, and this keeps repeating.

I am no expert though, so perhaps I am missing something and I have more options, but this is what I have gathered thus far.

**H E L O** · 04-11-2011 03:33 PM

Here's a few things I'd try:

Electrocute doesn't have unlimited range, so I'd say (granted the stage is big enough) try getting out of range, if at least to start some set ups. I'm pretty sure that a Red Flare will deflect Electrocute, so put one close to the ground and stand inside of it. Then you can at least get Light Crests set up. Get a blue flare out to put some pressure on him, but watch out if he uses Sword Dance, Death Claw, etc. to deflect it back - which may also will give you some time to set up other things. Also, consider assists like Firion who has that persistent Fire attack to bug him enough to so that he can't just constantly spam.

It is a tough match-up, though. The Emperor is best against characters like Prishe, Tifa, and Jecht.

**Nemphtis** · 04-11-2011 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by H E L O

Here's a few things I'd try:

Electrocute doesn't have unlimited range, so I'd say (granted the stage is big enough) try getting out of range, if at least to start some set ups. I'm pretty sure that a Red Flare will deflect Electrocute, so put one close to the ground and stand inside of it. Then you can at least get Light Crests set up. Get a blue flare out to put some pressure on him, but watch out if he uses Sword Dance, Death Claw, etc. to deflect it back - which may also will give you some time to set up other things. Also, consider assists like Firion who has that persistent Fire attack to bug him enough to so that he can't just constantly spam.

It is a tough match-up, though. The Emperor is best against characters like Prishe, Tifa, and Jecht.

Thanks Helo, this looks like some sound advice and I also thought about these tricks. My friend is coming over today so I've equipped reverse ground dash to get far enough away so that I can make some preparations at least. I've only used Aeris and Jecht for assists since I've been too lazy to try each one out, but will give Firion a go.

I'm rather embarrassed to show this video but it is a good example of how not to play Emperor. To save some face, it was my first time seeing Gilgamesh in-game so I had no idea what to expect, also I'm still not used to the Ad-Hoc lag and camera angles making me mess up inputs so these are things I need to work on. Behold my fail.

**Tomoki** · 04-11-2011 09:06 PM

WHAT Gilgamesh just Whirlwind slashed through thee flare at 1:05. It seems your just not familiar with fighting Gilgamesh just like im not used to fighting Yuna and Vaan

**Nemphtis** · 04-11-2011 09:46 PM

I just gave my friend some matches and won all the Gilgamesh games this time around, and it was far less hectic because I took it slow and didn't panic as much. I was significantly more familiar with his attacks this time, I had a better idea of when it was safe to cast and how to make it safe by employing Flares and Starfall. It's a tough match-up but once you use Starfall to stop his Electrocute spam, you can mentally train him to use it less, thus giving you more chances for casting.

Unfortunately since I can't play online and rely on IRL friends for matches, I am pretty unfamiliar with nearly every match-up in the game. My friend switched to Kuja after the Gilgamesh losses and I had no idea what the expect, and it took me a while to get the dodge timing on Ultima as I kept dodging way too early. Still, the more I play Ad-Hoc the more I learn.

**Shou Kurosawa** · 04-12-2011 03:28 PM

Good Job, Nemphtis, keep it up. All you can do is keep playing and getting better.

**Yorunightcast** · 04-12-2011 09:07 PM

Nice job on that, but are you sure that (No Offense) your friend isn't just being an ass by tier whoring and taking all of the Emporer's worst setups?
Brv Guide-
As for Kuja, if he is using an attack that makes flares pop up on you(Remote Flare), run away some as it has only OK range. Also punish that attack with an assist, he is completely vulnerable the first seconds you see the flares.
If he uses a mid-ranged attack that shoots 2 little flare bombs at you then pulls you in(Snatch shots), use a flare. It will drag him into it for a free hit.
If he uses a mid-ranged holy attack that pulls you in(Snatch blow), block. Its predictable and has a memorable audio cue,"Your not getting away."
If he uses a ranged holy attack that sends holy circles flying at you slowly(Ring Holy), DONT BLOCK OR DODGE he will punish that with Ultima(if he is good enough). Instead dash threw, or use something like starfall to block it, then dodge the Ultima.
If he uses a close flare pop from above(Burst Energy), try and remember the audio cue an dodge or use bombard as blocking does nothing but let him escape.
If he uses a fast holy strike (Strike energy), remember the audio cue and block. It is fast like Burst energy so watch for these 2 attacks.
Hp Guide-
If he is using Ultima, dodge properly and either dash and mines him, or start up trap/starfall.
If he uses Flare Star, dodge right away, and either thunder crest, flare(if you want, It would likely miss), or lightning crest.
If he uses Seraphic Star, dodge towards where he started it and counter in whatever works for you, nothing can practically punish this with Emporer now.
If he uses Force Symphony, keep dodging. Its like Seraphic Star - if you have to dodge, you won't be able to punish. On the other hand, If he uses farther away, you can dash a mine him or even flare him if he takes too long.

**Nemphtis** · 04-14-2011 12:57 PM

Thanks for the Kuja match-up tips Yoru.

I doubt my friend is tier whoring as there isn't much of a tier list for Duodecim just yet, but I'm sure to some extent they take into consideration their options against Emperor when deciding on their main because they know who I use all the time. My other friend used Lightning at the start and after giving me a few games he seemed pretty disheartened because he felt that fighting against Empy is no fun due to how much he turtles and that Lightning just didn't have enough tools to deal with the Emperor well enough. I tried to offer him some tips on the match-up with my limited Lightning knowledge but yeah... He seems pretty interested in Prishe now as she's his type of character and he thinks she has a good enough set of attacks to handle me.

As for my friend who started with Laguna, I imagine he also felt that it was a bad match-up even though I think Laguna has a few very nice attacks that gives the Emperor trouble. He picked Kuja because he liked the sound of casting whilst moving, it helps that he can use this to constantly stay away from my flares and stop me from casting Starfall with Ultima. I remember asking him what kind of attack Ultima was when he equipped it as I had heard it was a good move, and he said BRV, then i get hit with HP damage in-game, trololol.