Builds for Golbez

[ChaosMuramasa]

here my build, made cause I'm a bit aggressive to prevent mind games and to annihilate the opponent as soon as possible

Pre-Guard? That won't end well. You should change that to Summon Unused (Opponent) or After Summon (Opponent).

Also, you might really want to consider running Battle Hammer and Dismay Shock for Assist Gauge Depletion and EX Gauge Depletion, respectively. You'll find yourself relatively screwed without them, as they're becoming more and more common staples in PVP (Battle Hammer moreso than Dismay Shock, but Dismay Shock prevents EXR comebacks after your HP attacks).

[KonradSwift]

What equipment and accessories do you use on Golbez? What abilities? Why?

[Kaiser-Rexatron]

EQUIPMENT
Blood Sword
Sanguine Shield
Blood Helm
Blood Armor

ACCESSORIES
Earring
Dismay Shock
Battle Hammer
Large Gap in HP
BRV ≥ Base Value
Empty EX Gauge
Pre-EX Mode
Pre-EX Revenge
Together As One
Side By Side

Pretty basic damage/depletion and assist.

Stuck the Succubus' Soul set on him to further take advantage of his chipping capabilities and give him a little more staying power. Not sure if it's frowned upon in PvP or tournaments, since I don't have access to online play.

Syldra summon to disable most summon antics opponents might try to pull. Cecil assist allows for some nice combos.

[Khell]

I tend to not run a damage build due to how little BRV damage Bez tends to do outside of Gravity Force. I used to do a dual damage/Last chance% build for trolling which had the 16.7x multiplier, but that was silly and pretty impractical in most situations.

My typical build is usually one of two options: 1) an EX core build to take advantage of Golbez's standard ground roots which tends to place him in pretty good positions for cores despite his lower speed, or 2) heavy depletion SBS build when I know the opponent won't destroy me with free EX all the time. Occasionally I'll modify one of them slightly to change up tactics, like adding BRV boost on Dodge for Sephiroth or Kuja, Wall Rush damage on smaller stages, etc.

I can put up the builds I use later if people are still interested, but they're most likely somewhat dated. No less useful, but it's nothing groundbreaking.

[Kaiser-Rexatron]

Oh yeah, I saw that Last Chance build in action in a few of your replays on YouTube. That was ridiculous. XD

I was actually hoping to get your input on good Golbez builds. I've been maining him for some time, but have only recently seen how effective focused builds can be (I used to just tack on my favorite special accessories to characters I played). And I know you're a pretty top-notch Golbez player.

So I shall take your advice and forgo the Earring. I guess maybe another booster accessory to up my depletion since my 'Bez isn't sporting any Lufenian gear...

And please do share some builds! I am definitely interested!

[X-Zone]

I tend to not run a damage build due to how little BRV damage Bez tends to do outside of Gravity Force.

I actually run damage for my general build, but then that is mainly to boost Gravity Force after linking from Kuja off a ceiling wall rush. I agree with Khell in that if you don't run Gravity Force, then don't bother boosting damage.

Kaiser, your build isn't far different from mine actually; I run Side by Side and Together as One with most Golbez builds because his issue is with assist maintenance. You can only build so much off Ground Dash, and with the correct timing and assist (Jecht assist says hi) the majority of Golbez's moves can be assist punished so it's vital to stop assist decay, which is where Together as One comes into play. Considering the accessory's detrimental effect towards EX as well as Golbez's aptitude towards chipping, Side by Side is a no-brainer. Pre-EXR/Pre-EX/Empty EX gauge therefore become staples, and you'll want Battle Hammer and Dismay Shock of course. My usual weapon is Golbez's exclusive for the stat/damage boosts it grants as well as Back To The Wall.

That leaves three accessories and armour sets to play around with. I generally run Hyper Ring and Earring to boost my damage mainly on Gravity Force, as well as Summon Unused for an additional reliable booster and the Lufenian Judgment armour set; with Golbez's wall rushing combined with the armour set and the 3.5x multiplier, one Nightglow landed should wipe out the majority of the opponent's gauge. Why is Gravity Force damage important? Critical HP. Nightglow is Golbez's best attack and a critical HP opponent will mean you have to be wary of assist charges, making the end of the fight most difficult for Golbez. Get a break for stage bravery about halfway through the opponent's HP and you can avoid dealing with this situation altogether.

However, there are matchups where you know the opponent is going to harass you from afar if they can get away with it (obvious example: Sephiroth) which is where you want to run Zephyr Cloak instead of Hyper Ring and the Adamant set. You'll sacrifice damage and depletion but it's easily, easily worthwhile as it will turn the opponent's strategy to your favour. Earring can still be helpful here, but you'll probably want to run another reliable booster for additional depletion/brv on dodge; Grounded springs to mind.

Those are the builds I use most, as I've found them to be the most balanced for my playstyle with Golbez, but there are other options. It can be worth experimenting with BRV on block to deal with attacks like Scoop Art/Fire Barret as well as core builds; what Khell says is true about Golbez often being in a strong position to grab cores, and EX + Jecht assist does grant Golbez an instant break combo with Black Fang. HP wall rush builds can work well in combination with the Earthbreaker weapon, and I recall Kurayami running an effective High Base Bravery build very well suited to chipping, though if I recall correctly it sacrificed defence. Experiment and see what fits your style best.

[Kaiser-Rexatron]

Thanks a bunch for all the insight, X! That helps a lot! I'm glad I was on the right track running a Side By Side Golbez. And I've been thinking of swapping out Gravity Force for Attack System in the air. I like having the other two systems in because it gives me optimal vertical coverage, although from what I've seen, the popular aerial moveset is GF/AS/FS. Probably something I should at least try out.

I also thought the BRV=0 booster would be good for depletion builds, since more often than not, HP hits will wallrush, and I've heard that booster can increase wallrush depletion. Do you guys know if that's valid or worth it? :0

[X-Zone]

No problem Kaiser! Well, my initial Golbez aerial moveset was FS/AS/GF, but I felt much more confident when I ditched AS in favour of FS/GS/GF. AS is just too easily punishable as a ranged poke, especially by assists, though you may still find it helpful in matchups that require Golbez to stay aerial longer. I would definitely recommend keeping both FS and GS with CR links. FS is necessary for anti-air and if the opponent is playing hit and run from above, becomes very useful to punish their dodges. GS is brilliant for countering from a level 2 assist change, and its dive tracking can really catch opponents off guard... particularly if they haven't set their camera to follow you.

I've covered GF's advantage for damage output in the previous post, but to add to that consider the following scenario: you've Nightglowed an opponent into the ceiling, called Kuja and linked to GF. The opponent is below you, at or close to break status. You're now at a clear advantage. Their gauge is depleted and they don't want to be grounded fighting Golbez, and now you have the option of using Descent Speed Boost to descend quickly, or you can aim to catch them again with GF's dive and combo further. If you're running OAD+ to space before diving, even better, and if they haven't set their camera to follow you then the situation works even further to your favour. Air AS on the other hand has its advantages for ranged poking/dodge punishing, but Golbez should be staying grounded as much as possible to play most efficiently, so the situations where air AS is of any use should be few and far between. (Grounded AS, on the other hand, is necessary to help your anti air game and can combo to assists).

As for BRV = 0, if I recall correctly it does increase wall rush depletion. I generally don't use it on Golbez as it won't enhance my brave damage or brave on dodge; but if you're focusing on depletion then yes, it should be beneficial. It may also help boost an HP wall rush build, but I'm not sure on this... would have to test it out.

[Kaiser-Rexatron]

Yeah, I tried out a few CPU battles with both Attack System and Gravity Force, and just one of the Float/Gravity Systems, and it didn't feel very comfortable to me. I may just end up making the AS/GF decision matchup-dependent, given their uses for different situations. I feel that AS kind of makes up for inferior damage for a bit of solo combo potential at the right range with the other aerial system attacks, and of course Sector Ray. But Gravity Force does have its own formidable combos, and its extra movement always made it feel nice and fluid to me.

Concerning HP wall rush builds, I've seen from other character build threads that it might not be worth it, unless you'd be devoting most of your equipment and accessories to it. Since the Sniper Eye accessory doesn't make a huge difference, even with a decent multiplier. I went back and tweaked my build, made it more depletion-focused (still with SbS and ToA, for assist maintenance). It sits around 8.5x at max multiplier, and I tested to find that it cleans out a good bar and a half of assist at that stage, and a fair amount of EX, too. I figure I'll probably to quite a bit of chipping once I get a PS3 and start playing online, so the higher damage probably won't be missed all that much.

But yeah, thanks again, I really appreciate all the info! You've helped a lot!

[Mad_Cartoonist]

Do we still discuss our builds here? XD

Here's mine.

Glare Hand > Cosmic Ray
Rising Wave > Cosmic Ray
Attack System

Gravity Force
Float System > Cosmic Ray
Gravity System > Cosmic Ray

Nightglow
Sector Ray

Genesis Rock
Sector Ray

Equips
Zeromus Shard
Judgement of Lufenia set

Muscle Belt
Earring
Sniper Eye
Bravery Orb
*Near Death
*Empty EX Gauge
*Pre-EX-Mode
* Grounded
Together as One
Side by Side

Assist: Jecht

Here's some of my PvP replays (non-tourney of course)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1X4kqY5I5f4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siZvnGiO33o

For cases where I cannot choose my stage, I swap stuffs around slightly.
Assist changed to Kuja
Gravity Force changed to aerial Attack System
Accessories become:

Muscle Belt
Earrings
*Near Death
*Empty EX Gauge
* Pre-Ex Mode
* Pre-Ex Revenge
Sturm and Drang
Soul of Thamasa
Together as One
Side By Side