Baddy is one of those people who – once you know them – you would never forget. And it is not (just) because of the cheesy Taki tactics he loves to sport; or the tournaments he (co)organized. It is simply his personality that causes it.
Twitter: @Yami_Baddy
Twitch: baddy1000
Birth Year: 1992
Country: Germany
If you had to introduce yourself in three sentences to some SoulCalibur player who didn’t know you, what would you say?
Hello, I am Baddy from Germany. I am a somewhat competitive SoulCalibur VI player maining Taki. I used to run the SCVI EU monthlies, founded the EOS together with Phantasm and Skeiider and helped with the research for the Taki bible. In my not-freetime I work as a graphics designer. I also made several tournament overlays you see on Calibur streams.
What is the origin or meaning of your nickname?
My first name is Sebastian and a short form of it is Baddi. My edgy 12 year old mind thought it would sound sick if I pronounced it English. I had no idea it was an actual English word back then. I had the name painted on my pencil case back in school and my classmates initially teased me with the name, but it stuck. Good times!
How did it happen that you ended up playing fighting games?
Back in 2018, some friends of mine starting playing Dragon Ball FighterZ and one of ’em asked me if I wanna get it too. I told them I am not really interested, assuming it would be your typical throwaway anime brawler. My friend suggested I can try it over him sharing his Steam library with me, so I came around giving it a spin anyway and got hooked instantly. So for the coming days I kept asking him when his library is available. Fed up with me constantly occupying his library he ended up gifting me the game and I ended up getting invovled in the community and sinking over 1500 hours into the game. I don’t play the game serious anymore, but still boot it up for some fun rounds now and then.
Who do you main in SC6 and why?
Taki.
Aside from being a killer woman, I figured I wanted to try something equating to a rushdown character, fast and close-ranged. Turned out she was very different from what I imagined, but with her playing all 3 dimensions and the amount of options from her Possession stance, she striked me as a complex character to master. Balance wise I feel Taki is middle of the pack. She has strong tools and big flaws. I do wish she would have a different kit that would feel more like playing a ninja and was more revolved around close-ranged pressure and mixing; maybe in SC7?
What is your opinion regarding SC6?
I am on and off with SCVI. Many mechanics like Soul Charge, Guard Impact and Resist Impact, Reversal Edge and Ukemi offer a variety of defensive mechanics on top of 3-dimensional movement, making it one of the most complex and engaging fighting games. The above mentioned mechanics and (mostly) universal moves like 2A offer a colorful framework for an already interesting fighting game and keep the game balanced. Being light on execution and combos too makes this game incredibly easy to pick up and play.
That being said, I am incredibly frustrated with the game at the moment and I don’t see that improving anytime soon. The latest patch punched the balance incredibly out of whack, putting Step-2G meta on steroids, which makes the game feel very repetitive. With the changes to vertical tracking this patch, for a bunch of characters it also became increasingly difficult and frustrating to call out and deal with Step-2G. Additionally, seemingly at random, characters now execute moves 180° away from the opponent. I have this occurring now on a daily basis. These are balance and bug concerns I have for the game that need to be adressed before the game can be left without further support.
Something we will most likely won’t see changing is netcode. The current doesn’t suffice. Functional online play is absolutely detrimental to a community, especially such a small one. A lot of people don’t have local scenes and have online as their only option to play. During Covid now the online scene understandably was going strong. With the return of offline and locals, the amount of people playing online will further go down. Add on top that as of right now SCVI doesn’t receive any further support and new fighting games come out with better netcode, the future for online Calibur looks grim. Currently Parsec is being used to provide for a better online experience. Bless the people that provide it; but the fact the community has to resort to such a botch for a game released in late 2018 is laughable.
Looking back at all the bugs and issues VI had (not even talking balance), it seems like Project Soul’s competence and passion directly oppose each another. Hell, 3 years in and lobbies still crash. The Calibur community puts up with a lot of shit.
If you could change one single thing about SC6 what would that be?
Netcode. Good online is absolutely mandatory nowadays for community building.
What do you consider to be your greatest SC6 achievement and why?
I won a tournament here and there, which feels nice. But to be frank – and I hate to be cheesy – it is the friends I made along the way. Countless memories I made in and outside of Calibur with those people. And there is something truly magical about meeting people you know from online finally at an offline tournament.
Please answer a single question that you were not asked but you would like to answer!
Not beating around the bush, I think RI is underrated. People saying it’s weak have arguments like it is supposed to be as strong as a GI. I feel it is a good thing RI is so restrictive and sparingly used; it is one mechanic you wouldn’t want to be too strong. Several characters are reliant on guard pressure and establishing + frames with BAs. If RI becomes too strong, it cripples those characters. It is still severely underused, especially in cases to reduce Guard Damage or the opponents’ Soul Gauge. If there was to be a change made to RI, I would like it to replenish 1/4th of the meter on successful usage only against Break Attacks and Unblockables.
Thank you for the interview!