Zenia Valov
From Arcana Heart 3 Wiki
（CV:Kaori Shimizu) 「清水 香里」
Contents |
Profile
Age: Unknown
Birthday: Unknown
From: Russia
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 55 kg
Bloodtype: AB(Rh-)
B/W/H: 83/57/84
Weapon Name: Edinorog
Statistics
- Life Modifier: 528 HP
- Guts takes effect at: 40% HP
- Guts damage reduction at 0% HP: 35%
Move List
Various info borrowed from ResumeDPosition's guide on Mashharder
Throws
2/5A+D: Zenia performs a series of 5 punches, the last one is a launcher which will allow you to combo afterward.
4/6A+D: Zenia grabs the opponent and punches them to the other side of the screen roughly three character lengths away.
j.A+D: Zenia slams the opponent into the ground
Normal Moves
5A: Zenia throws out a quick jab that comes out really fast. Doesn't have much range but it can be used to start strings and combos, though it will whiff against most crouching opponents. This move is jump cancelable and it's primarily used as a combo-filler. It can also chain into almost all her other ground normals
5B: A quick hitting uppercut. One of Zenia's best normals as it comes out pretty fast, has some clash frames, and a nice hitbox. It can be used as an anti-air of sorts and it's also jump cancelable.
5C: A powerful punch to the opponent's midsection. This move doesn't have much range but it does a fair bit of damage. It has some noticeable startup and recovery so it's not meant to be used on its own especially since it's not jump cancelable. This move is best used as a combo-filler since a good number of moves can combo from this attack.
5E: Zenia uses her whole body to perform a heavy-hitting hook punch. Has some pretty decent range and like every other 5E attack it will slam the opponent into the wall. When fully charged, this attack gains special properties depending on the selected arcana.
2A: Looks almost identical to her 5A except performed while crouching. Zenia is blessed with quite possibly the fastest 2A in the entire game. This is her de facto string and combo starter since it comes out really fast and will never miss against crouching opponents. Unlike 5A, it is not jump cancelable.
2B: A downward punch at the opponent's feet. This move has more range than 2A and it recovers pretty quickly for a B attack. This move is great in staggered strings because if it connects as a counter hit, you can connect another one if you're close enough and convert it into some nice damage with a stock of meter.
2C: A crouching 2-hit uppercut that is really low to the ground. This move has some good range but it also has some noticeable recovery as well so it's not meant to be used on its own. This is primarily used at the end of a ground string to start an air combo but the 2nd hit needs to connect since the first hit doesn't launch. Also, if you're too far the 2nd hit will whiff and you lose your combo opportunity. The 1st hit of this attack, however, has enough hit stun to combo into a few other moves so the 2nd hit isn't always required to start a combo. Because of the delay, be wary about the opponent's activation because if they activate, the 2C will whiff completely and they can punish you during the recovery.
2E: An uppercut that comes out pretty fast and has some good vertical range. This move is unairblockable and you can score a combo off this attack. Because of its vertical range, you can use this to guard break a cornered airborne opponent.
j.A: A jumping punch that hits in front of her. Comes out really fast and it can chain into all her other air normals, but it has very little range and only a small amount of hit stun. This move is best utilized for starting air blockstrings or combos.
j.B: A jumping knee strike. Works really well as a jump-in and it can also be used as a crossup since it hits towards her back.
j.C: A jumping kick angled downward. It comes out moderately fast and it has much better range than all her other air normals while producing a lot of hit stun if it connects. On counter hit, the opponent will be knocked down and you can combo them before they hit the ground if you're quick enough.
j.E: This attack has good range like her j.C but it has more startup. It has a lot of hit stun and block stun if it connects. It will slam airborne opponents into the ground making it a very popular choice for ending air combos.
Command Normals
6B: A very fast knee strike that looks similar to Benimaru's in the KoF games. This normal has a lot of range and it recovers fairly quickly. On hit it will knock the opponent down. These combined attributes make it a very useful move in frame traps as it will keep the opponent honest. It can also be used as a substitute combo starter for 2C since it recovers so fast and is virtually unpunishable if the opponent activates afterward. This move cannot cancel into any other move without the use of a homing cancel.
j.6B: Looks just like her 6B except performed in the air. This essentially functions as a j.B but with more range. This move is better in air-to-air situations rather than jump-ins because the hitbox has more horizontal reach than vertical. This move starts her j.6B relaunch combos.
Special Moves
Unique to Zenia is her pilebunker named Edinorog. The Edinorog charge meter is located directly beneath her portrait on the HUD and there is a small tick mark at the center of a red zone referred to as the "sweet spot". While performing a special attack that uses the Edinorog, the player has the option to charge the meter by holding down the button they pressed to perform the attack. While charging the meter, it will change colors depending on how long you charge it. Releasing the held button at certain times will produce different effects. Here are the colors and their known effects:
- Empty/Green: This happens when you either don't charge the meter long enough or you charge it for too long. On hit, the opponent will be sent flying towards the wall and they will be allowed to tech immediately. This version is the least damaging and it is also blockable.
- Orange: This occurs when you charge the meter long enough for it to reach the red zone of the charge meter. This version is unblockable, does more damage than the one above, and it is almost completely untechable.
- White: This occurs when you charge the meter and release the button as soon as it reaches the sweet spot mark on the charge meter. This is the best version of the 3 since it is unblockable and does the most damage. You can tell if you did this correctly because the opponent will be engulfed in flames. However, it is the most tricky to perform consistently. This is oftentimes referred to as the "just frame" pilebunker.
236A/B/C - Extended Ducking: A quick dash that has plenty of invincibility frames until you input a followup. The button pressed determines how far she travels. You can input the following attacks during the dash:
- A - Eagle Hook: A quick hook punch that hits mid and surprisingly has a small hitbox behind her. Primarily used in combos.
- B - Sea Hawk Chop: A downward punch with some startup that must be blocked high. If it hits you can combo out of it with a homing cancel or a super. It's a pretty good move to keep your opponent guessing but try not to rely on it too much because of the damage scaling.
- C - Sea Hawk Upper: Looks very much like her 2E but since it's coming out of a dash, it has much better range. Unlike 2E, it is not air unblockable, but it comes out fast enough to punish a jump-out or a laggy attack which makes it a great punisher. On hit, the opponent floats for a long time giving you ample time to combo out of it and there's not much scaling either.
- A+D - Brain Pulverizer: Zenia grabs the opponent and delivers an Edinorog blast to their head. Hold down any button to charge the meter and release it as close to the sweet spot as possible to maximize the damage. It is possible to combo out of this throw provided you hit the sweet spot or the red zone. This move is fairly telegraphed though since it has some noticeable startup and she even speaks before performing the throw, so try not to rely on this too often.
214A/B/C - Edinorog Blast: Zenia charges up her pilebunker and releases a powerful burst of energy. Charging the meter to the appropriate color increases its effectiveness. It has a surprisingly large hitbox but try not to whiff this attack since it is very punishable. Can be used during combos for big damage.
623A/B/C - Upward Edinorog Blast: Similar to the one above except it's angled upwards. Not surprisingly that useful in combos since it knocks them up much higher which can make corner combos more difficult. Stick to the above version.
j.623A/B/C - Downward Edinorog Blast: An Edinorog Blast angled downwards from the air. The uncharged version is another move that's popular for ending combos and it deals some pretty decent damage as well. All versions of this move hit overhead and must be blocked high. The charged version of this move is very useful for resetting opponents during a combo or an air block string since it's unblockable if charged correctly and will bounce the opponent off the floor setting up a combo opportunity.
[4]6A/B/C - Flash Punch: Zenia performs a straight. On hit, the opponent is sent flying across the screen and is unable to tech for a good while. The button pressed determines how fast it comes out. A version is the fastest while the C version has the most startup but causes guard crush. You can input the following:
- 214A/B/C - Edinorog Blast: Identical to the normal Edinorog Blast listed above. This can only be performed if the Flash Punch hits the opponent.
[2]8A/B/C - Upward Flash Punch: Zenia performs a straight angled upwards. On hit, the opponent is sent flying across the screen and is unable to tech for a good while. The button pressed determines how fast it comes out. A version is the fastest and makes a decent wakeup attack since it has some invincibility while the C version has the most startup but causes guard crush. You can input the following
- 623A/B/C - Upward Edinorog Blast: Identical to the Upward Edinorog Blast listed above. This can only be performed if the Upward Flash Punch hits the opponent.
Super Moves
236A+B - Beat Rush: Zenia rushes forward and delivers a series of punches like an SNK-style rush super. She does 7 punches followed by an uppercut and then a quick j.E for the finish. This is quite possibly her most useful super since it can combo off many of her ground normals and it works very well for extending her combos. (S!AH2.6) This super has shorter hit stun.
421A+B - Edinorog Super Charge: Zenia points Edinorog upwards and charges up the Edinorog meter so that it's completely filled with the red zone. The benefit is that you can produce a powered up (not just frame) Edinorog Blast without the need to charge the meter. So you get all the effects of the orange effect pretty much instantly and an unblockable air attack. Remember that this powerup only lasts until you use a pilebunker attack. Once you use a pilebunker attack, you will need to perform this super again.
j.214A+B - Operation Ground & Pound: Zenia plummets straight down from the air while punching the ground with Edinorog. This attack hits full screen and must be blocked LOW in spite of its appearance. This super can be used at the end of an air combo if the opponent is almost out of life. Against a grounded opponent, you can combo into this super from a j.C or j.E so long as it's not a counter hit and you can homing cancel it into a combo for some ridiculous damage. This super is also great for punishing opponents who are camping at full screen.
Critical Heart
(during 236X) 63214A+B: Zenia rushes forward and performs 4 punches where the last hit holds onto the opponent and causes an explosion that looks like it could be mistaken for a Falcon Punch. During this attack, be sure to hold a button to begin charging up the meter. The meter charges VERY slowly so hitting the sweet spot is really easy. Each of the attacks cause guard crush but they can be escaped without too much trouble. This is probably one of the best Critical Hearts in the game since it does a lot of damage and is very easy to combo into.
Strategy
Arcana Evaluation
As always, arcana usage will usually boil down to personal preference, but here is a list of commonly used arcanas for Zenia.
Shadow/Gier: There is an extra learning curve to Gier Zenia, but it is well worth it, for it is probably the scariest arcana to see alongside a Zenia user. Gier is here because of its properties of being able to let a player turn the opponent into a mini-Gier while they are unable to defend themselves temporarily after a fully charged 5E or 2E connects. For example, after Gier's Triple Strike (236236E), Arcana Homing immediately and charge preferably 2E if they begin to get comboed by Gier. While the Gier super is hitting them, you will turn them into a mini-Gier after the 3rd hit of the super. When someone breaks free of the Gier trap, they are in the air very shortly. What does this mean? Free damage with a charged Edinorog Blast and another 2[E] attempt! Or air throw. It's nasty, but you can't do it everytime since the opponent can using Homing to avoid the 2/5E if you get predictable with this setup and you try it when they are blocking(if they block the 2/5E, it will guard crush them but not turn them into a mini-Gier.) The Arcana Blaze is worth noting too, as it is a command grab and there will be times where you burst something and have time to get your opponent. Repeating 2E into homing into 2E into Homing etc...with a just-frame Edinorog blast before they break out is the fastest way to deal damage when they are stuck as a mini-Gier, so it is a great way to end a round if you ever have the chance to do so. The ability to loop pilebunker into 2[E] makes this a very popular choice for Zenia players.
Love/Partinias: A great Arcana for veterans and rookies alike. It's another popular choice for Zenia players since it gives her awesome range and can help her pressure with the Love orbs, especially the 3 orb super. The Arcana Blaze is not good to throw out randomly and you can only combo it after the universal launcher (2E) in most cases. It IS unblockable in the air, but if they manage to block it on the ground you can do a mix up while the opponent is blinded by the attack! Zenia has the ability to combo into the super Love laser against cornered opponents after her pilebunker attacks which increases the damage on her frightening corner combos. Great damage overall for this arcana.
Lightning/Bhanri: This arcana is a good choice if you like to stay in your opponent's face using brute force because of all the clash frames you get from this arcana. Zenia's 236 series is already invincible, and add to the fact that Lightning gives you clash frames on your ground dash and your 5/2E attacks. During any clash, you can do the 623E clash counter special, or much better, 2A 5A or 5B depending on where the opponent is at the time of clashing. As long as you don't spam 2/5E a lot, it is very likely to throw the opponent off, especially if they try an air dash approach. It is a bad idea to spam 236E bolts unless your opponent insists on staying on the opposite side of the screen because the arcana homing from this move is very late and you are left open if your opponent decides to rush at you as you do 236E. The 236236E/214214E lightning super can be used for okizeme, and while not as powerful as Gier's 236236E, it still merits usage.
Fire/Lang-Gong: Zenia has a small weakness of reliable anti-airs that extend past her hittable box. Lang-Gong's 236E upward moving fireball helps her deal with that problem. 632146E is a great combo extender from Zenia's 236A+B and 236236+E is an ok wakeup option if you swing that way and you have a homing to spare in case it gets blocked.
Combos
Notes:
- Any time 2C is listed, it is assumed that both hits connect unless otherwise specified.
- 'X' means press any attack button (A/B/C)
- ... means there is a pause/delay between hits.
Finishers:
Zenia has different options for oki to finish air combos. All versions can be super-cancelled into an arcana super.
- dj.B/dj.6B/dj.A dj.E: Use this if you want to remain close to your opponent to apply pressure.
- dj.B/dj.6B dj.C xx 623X: Use this if you want to put yourself in a relatively safer position for an arcana super. This variant does slightly more damage than the one above.
General Combos
-These combos do not require any specific arcana but they are written assuming you're not using Rock or Time due to their different 6D homing dashes.
-Against Nazuna after 2C > 6D, use 2A to relaunch her because 5A will whiff.
-Using 5A, a jump-in, or omitting 2A at the start will noticeably increase the damage on every combo.
-After every pilebunker attack that requires [X], it is implied that you release the button when the charge meter is as close to the sweet spot as possible.
Simple B&B (1 Homing bar, 0 supers)
- 2A 2B 2C > 6D > 5A 5B > j.A j.B j.6B > Finisher
A simple low-damage combo that is more or less universal and doesn't require any difficult links. Knowing the spacing when starting a combo is important when using 2C because if you're too far, the 2nd hit will not connect and thus the combo does not work. Even if the 2nd hit connects, it is possible to be too far to connect the 5A, substitute 2A after 5D if you're unsure whether 5A will hit them or not.
Intermediate B&B (1 Homing bar, 0 supers)
- 2A 2B 2C > 6D > 5B 5C xx 236A~A > 5A 5C xx 236B~A > 5A 5B > j.B j.6B > Finisher
This combo is more complicated than the one above but it does some respectable damage. If the 5A 5B part of the combo isn't connecting, then you can omit the 5A 5C xx 236B~A and it will still work.
j.6B j.C Loop Variant 1 (1 Homing bar, 0 supers)
- 2A 2B 2C > 6D > 2A 5B > j.6B...j.C > (land) j.6B...j.C > (land) j.A j.B j.6B > Finisher
This combo is the j.6B...j.C loop. It does some pretty good damage and it builds a fair amount of meter as well. There are many different setups for the loop but this is quite possibly the easiest one. Every time you land, you MUST dash before jumping in order to continue the combo, otherwise the opponent will be too far. It is also possible to use j.B instead of j.6B so if you accidentally get a j.B instead of j.6B you can still continue the combo in most cases.
j.6B j.C Loop Variant 2 (1 Homing bar, 0 supers)
- 2A 2B 6B > 6D > 2A 5B > j.6B...j.C > (land) j.6B...j.C > (land) j.A j.B j.6B > Finisher
j.6B...j.C loop off 6B. This is much safer to use if the opponent activates since 6B recovers so fast. But at the same time, it can be really tricky to combo off 6B since the opponent falls so fast.
Corner B&B (1 Homing bar, 0 supers)
- 1A 1A 1B > 6A 214[X] > 6D > * 5B 6B > 5A > j.6B...j.C > (land) j.A j.B j.6B > Finisher
Basic corner combo. Zenia can deal painfully damaging combos against cornered opponents thanks to her pilebunker attacks. Ideally you want to nail the sweet spot to score a just frame pilebunker, but a critical one works fine too for less damage. At the *, you can spend additional homing meter to loop pilebunkers or insert arcana supers and then finish the combo however you like.
