Struggling to Step Up My Cool School Style from Stagger To Swagger

ForsakenM

So I've been focusing on mastering the Stagger Style School recently, and I have to say it is amazingly frustrating for me at times. I won't blame the game at all because I see others using it effectively, but boy I've been having a hard time with it.

I've mentioned this in other posts, but my biggest issue is with the Combat Style's defensive mechanic, the 'Attacks with defensive properties.' I struggle with most of the Combat Styles in general, but I'm getting pretty decent with the Parry and alright with the Avoid. I haven't tried a Absorb style (what I currently like to call 'Strong Fist Style' or 'Strong Style') yet, that's next on my list, but I'm enamored by the Stagger Style...and I feel rightly so, as I think the Drunken Fist (Suiken Kempo?) is a very appealing style.

I end up using Dodge more than my Stagger Style because I get hit during it consistently, even after studying my opponent's moves enough to know what's coming. The one I land the most consistently is a tie between Down or Up on the Right Analog, what with the baiting properties and the single hit of armor respectively, but for the LIFE of me I never seem to evade any strikes with going Left or Right. It feels like maybe the style is more for pressure than a reliable dodge, considering that it's currently the only style that attacks via the defensive mechanic and that it does not grant any stamina upon a successful evade, since that would be a tad too strong for an offensive style.

My other issue is that I'm stuck with the given School Deck, so I cannot make edits. I know certain moves that could beat out others or counter them or avoid them completely, but I can't make those changes just yet. Meanwhile I keep running into those who have edited Stagger Style decks that seem amazing and have crazy pressure and multiple sweeps and such, but I have no idea how to consistently punish them...I can only block or dodge at my current level.

I appreciate any tips or tricks, and I will be looking for tutorials that go over each style individually as well as a tutorial going in-depth on each individual move...if they exist yet, and aren't complete garbage.

ForsakenM

Man, was at least hoping for maybe one post by now, even if it was just linking a video...

Crafter

You know you don't have to equip all school rewards in order to increase your school rank, right?
If you have trouble with Rakkio's deck (my problem as well), you have several options, actually, depending what your goal is:
1. You like stagger style but hate the deck? Farm the moves offline, make your own deck and use it instead of the school's deck
2. You need that black belt achievement? Just equip the heal/shockwave reward and use your own style and/or deck
3. You just need the style? Go to Dormek (the 6th marked one) and grind your special dodge offline (Dormek's moves are so predictably vertical, so you only need your side dodges). Try to defeat her using only your stagger dodge. Some of her moves are tracking, so make sure you get your timing down.

just my $0.02

ForsakenM

Crafter said:

You know you don't have to equip all school rewards in order to increase your school rank, right?
If you have trouble with Rakkio's deck (my problem as well), you have several options, actually, depending what your goal is:
1. You like stagger style but hate the deck? Farm the moves offline, make your own deck and use it instead of the school's deck
2. You need that black belt achievement? Just equip the heal/shockwave reward and use your own style and/or deck
3. You just need the style? Go to Dormek (the 6th marked one) and grind your special dodge offline (Dormek's moves are so predictably vertical, so you only need your side dodges). Try to defeat her using only your stagger dodge. Some of her moves are tracking, so make sure you get your timing down.

just my $0.02

This is actually helpful on the farming aspect, so I appreciate that.

I honestly was looking more training and improving my abilities with the style, but I'll take those tips, thank you.

AngelNoire

Stagger is not really a slow style. Not at all. It's all about pressure and having the tools to keep it up for as long as you need to.

I play two styles of stagger. Spitting spider style which is a combat option optimized deck that I give out in my school.

My other stagger deck (spinning spider style) only actually has six stagger moves, including all the alternatives, and the rest is pure optimization. Thats the one I use in combat trials and it messes with people so hard. I built it around using the doublehits and dodges in the alternatives, and that allowed me to easily access them when I needed them.

On the main attack sequence, a variety of similar looking moves with different properties eases the enemy into a false sense of surety about your next blow and tears that confidence down hard. Your openers should always be very fast and at least one dodge, center blow, and sweeping (hi or lo) each among them.

You will want to switch between high and low stances often, but not religiously. At least one move that looks like a faster moveset finisher should actually be a sweeping heavy hitter of some kind.

The center two alternatives should be dodge attacks and doublehitters. The bottom should be a fast attack that considers that your back is turned in that stance. Wrist attacks, elbows, and the doublehitting back stretches are all likely good candidates.

The top alternative should be a fast low sweep.

You have a lot of options working with this one (my husband builds a khalt with my formula and bulldozes over everything) and it's always very versatile, small adjustments can be made in response to something that is countering you until it eventually becomes a perfect destructive drunkard.