Scuba Guides source note. This lesson is based on the older Scuba Guides and the supplied source archive. It is an independent community clarity rewrite, not an official GunZ publication; mechanics are not verified for the current Steam/remaster client.
Lesson content
Fighting on the ground is a different beast compared to fighting in the air. You have less easy access points for angling, and need to rely more on countering and outplaying your opponent by timing your slashes and dashes correctly. The main trade off for a ground centric style is there are little to no openings when done correctly. There’s simply not much to exploit.
Ground Slash
The bread and butter of ground fighting. A BIG tip for ground slashing, make sure that you hold alternate movement directions when ground slashing. By doing this, you activate a step animation, which will actually reset your block animation a bit quicker, allowing you to attack even faster. When you do this correctly, you’ll practically be in a state of Void block while also attacking. This can be done either from the air or while on the ground.
Example : W > Slash + Block > A(hold) > Slash + Block > S(hold) > Slash + Block…
Momentum Cancel Ground Slash
When weaving in ground combat from air combat, going from a Bfly to a Ground slash acts as a very easy momentum cancel for you. This is ideal for helping control the distance between you and your opponent.
Dashing
Utilizing dashes to displace your slashes is a great way to both confuse your opponent, and open you up to some fast paced ground play. A dash is a fairly potent tool that’s pretty much ignored in the current Gladiator scene. Here’s a few ways to mix dashes into your ground style.
Dash > Dash > Slash : Dash past your opponent, then back to where you were and attack. They’ll typically follow you with their mouse expecting you to try hitting their back, but you’re slashing from where you started off, hitting where their back is now.
Dash > Slash : Remember that on the ground, when you slash you actually cancel your dash. This means you can use the dash to attack from wherever you want on the dashes movement.
Back Dash > Slash : You can use dash to take one rapid step backwards, and counter slash your opponent. This will displace you just outside of their slash zone, and they’ll run directly into your slash. Highly cheeky, immensely hilarious.
Sword Launch : Sword launching yourself is extremely disorienting for the opponent if you have them pinned with more orthodox moves. Most players expect the animation of a sword launch to lead into a double ground slash. By Sword Launching yourself, you practically warp to your next position.
Elbowing
Remember that during ground combat you can easily mix in some Elbowing tactics. You don’t want to exclusively rely on elbowing, as players can simply block to the proper side and outright stop the slash or cause you to get recoiled if they take a step in the right direction.