Style:
Rushdown

Difficulty:
Advanced

Summary:
Quick pokes and use of stances allow for a lot of pressure and punishment at even longer ranges. Mostly linear movelist. Auto-evade and aGIs help escape attacks and setup big punishes.

Description:
The stylish glasses are actually there to make sure he sees all the cracks in your defense. Raphael has excellent punishment with deceptive range, pouncing on enemy mistakes and applying pressure through fast attacks and his various stances. To exceed he must use his stances to also create whiffs, then punish accordingly, including his unique lethal hits for whiffs for each type of attack. As expected of a fencing style fighter, his horizontal attacks are limited and many of his best tracking moves are only out of stance. Also of note is that his strings and combos require use of the special “Instant Preparation” or stance cancel that is tricky to input.

Strengths:

  • excellent punishment
  • long range linear attacks
  • evasive stances and attacks

Weaknesses:

  • weak step tracking moves
  • high execution with iPrep and just frames
  • low damage

Unique mechanic:
Raphael has a unique mechanic in form of Form dodge. This is a temporary stance that, if timed properly, allows him to avoid enemy attack completely no matter the type – normal attack, break attack, unblockable… – and punish it afterward.

Original text courtesy of: uwucos
Additional edits: BlueIron