Mechanics
| Health | Speed | Dash Type | Jump Speed/Height |
| 12000 | Average (1.1) | Fixed Dash | Low-Medium jump/ good airspeed |
| Guard | Weight | Flinch resistance | Jump No |
| 95.00% | Upper-medium | High | 2 |
Overview
Rhys is a balanced fighter, boasting decent speed, damage, resistance and agility. He has a strong guard endurance and large parry window thanks to his shield, and his attacks combos are easy to string together and deal a respectable amount of damage despite being a bit on the slow side, with many of his standard attacks being natural combos. Rhys benefits from high acceleration thanks to his gear, possessing a high run speed and good air speed, though weight reduces his overall jump height.
Rhys possesses above average weight and flinch resistance, meaning he is hard to interrupt, and is resistant to knockback and comes back eaisly. In addition, he posses the strongest base guard in the game, boasting the greatest damage reduction and highest barrier percentage, meaning he can be played defensively effectively
A lot of Rhys’ attacks involve him charging into the foe or lunging forwards, giving him a good – if disjointed – range and his attacks hit hard, with both combo options and knockback options. His charge attacks may take time to execute, but they have almost no end lag, letting him keep moving and keep up the pressure once executed
Rhys’ specials all benefit from a quick start up period, making them hard to interrupt and easy to pull out. They also help improve his overall manoeuvrability – with his dashes helping to give him some horizontal distance and boost his jump, as well as giving him a fall delay.
However, this versatility comes at the cost of specialization – Rhys does not possess any major power moves or any lightning fast strikes, besides his charges. He has decent aerial manoeuvrability, and can execute his high speed attacks mid-air for some mobility, but lacks the extreme dash or multi-jump of other characters. He’s tough, but not enough so that he can take punishment, though he can shrug of weaker attacks due to a high flinch resistance, and while not moving his flinch res is increased, blocking with his sword/shield.
Furthermore, Rhys’ slower swings and the disjointed hitbox of the sword risk an enemy pulling within his range and punishing him, and he lacks any form of projectile attack besides firing himself at the foe, so he needs to get in close to cause damage.
Rhy’s dash and dodge is a very high sped set distance lunge, both possessing very little start up or end frames though a bit lacking in versatility due to set distance, though if he would dodge off a platform to his doom, his gravity catches the edge of the
Neutral Attacks
Neutral Light: Performs a quick shield bash, followed by a mid-height kick, and then ending with a straight thrust, can be gattled into the final thrust to extend combo.
Side-Light: Steps forwards into a close range knee strike. Quick start up and moves Rhys forwards, as well as hitting airborne foes
Up-Light: A rising uppercut with his shield arm. Quick start up
Down-Light: stomps downwards a little ahead of himself. Very quick but very light attack.
Neutral Med: performs a forward slash downwards, then one upwards afterwards
Side-Med: Steps forwards into a wide outwards slash at chest height – brilliant range and reasonably fast, but has end lag
Up-Med: A quick, medium strength turning upwards slash. Has some start up, but good range and hits in a wide angle, and will knock a foe upwards.
Down-Med: Slashes downwards before himself then behind himself
Neutral Heavy: Performs a stepping low thrust, before turning into a rotating shield bash, then ending with a side kick.
Side-Heavy: Rotates his body to perform a strong arcing vertical slash going from behind his head to the ground, stepping into the strike. If inputted again, steps forward once more with a horizontal slash, similar to side-med
Up-Heavy: Thrusts his blade directly above himself. The thrust inflicts two hits, one as he begins the thrust to knock foes into the air, then the second at the blades tip at its conclusion.
Down-Heavy: Stabs down into the ground right before him, before turning around with a medium height shield bash and regrabbing his sword.
Air-neutral: rhys kicks outwards in a side thrust kick. Comes out quickly, retains momentum and influcts more damage the closer the foe is to the starting hit box. Useful for starting air combos
Air-Forward: RHys thrusts forwards three times with his sword, at a slight downwards angle. Hits several times and can knock foes away, as well as hitting overhead. Locked into attack until it concludes
Air-Backward: Thrusts his blade backwards twohanded, under his armpit, to impail any foes behind him. High damage and great knockback, but short range
Air-Up: Slices upwards with his sword in an overhead arc. Very similar to up-medium
Air-Down: points his shield dowards and falls, smashing foes with his shield. Spikes anyone that he comes into contact with, and greatly speeds up his descent
Throws
Rhys’ grab is medium ranged, and has average speed. It’s average, just like a lot of things about him
Neutral Throw: Rhys grabs his foe in a headlock, smashes his knee into their chest, then punches them away with his shield. Deals decent damage and a reliable tool to use against guarders, though it has some end lag and due to the three hits, has some windows to be grab-escaped.
Forward Throw: Rhys hits the foe with his sword hilt, then activates his Gear, using the increased momentum to shoulder rush the foe in the chosen direction. If used backwards, he zips behind the foe during the activation. Decent knockback, and the backwards version crosses over the foe.
Up Throw: Rys grabs his foe, pulls back, then smacks them upwards with his shield, followed by a turning kick. Knocks foe into the air, ready to start an air combo, but low damage and fairly fixed knockback growth.
Down Throw: Rhys rolls backwards in a japanese arm drag, before kicking the foe off him towards the end. Decent damage and makes a large amount of distance and knockback, and swift recovery time for loss of combo potential.
Air Throw: Rhy’s air throw is a double foot stop, catching the foe and stomping down on them, sending them to the ground
Paradox: Carpe Diem
Rhys activates his Gear for his special attacks, Carpe Diem; this is a custom combo that replaces his basic attack commands with alternate ones while the combo continues, allowing him to rack up a high amount of damage if successful, though each attack is somewhat light and he remains stationary while executing the combo. Attacks used during Carpe Deim decay quickly for repeated moves, but have next to no endlag and can cancel into one another easily.
Carpe Deim’s special inputs can be used at any time to trigger the combo state. During Carpe Diem, Rhy’s Basic attack inputs are changed to the following. Inputting any other attack after successfully landing 10 hits in the combo will cause him instead to perform his finisher, whereas before that point the input will be dead
Neutral Light: Standard quick shield strike followed by a downwards slash. Combo filler and positive on block, allowing him to extend his combo time. – 90/120
Forward Light: fast series of short stabs using his sword. Inflicts three hits – 90 * 3
Neutral Medium: tosses shield down into ground like a boomerang, where it bounces back to his hand. Quick combo filler – 100*2
Down Medium: Tosses his sword into the air, then grabs it and thrusts downwards into the ground, turning his body into the strike. Longer start up and end lag. 450
Neutral Heavy: brings his sword back to his side then performs a powerful mid-heigh slash outward. – 300
Up Heavy: Drops low then performs a strong upwards turning strike, before throwing his shield at foe like a discus as they rise. Launches foe quickly – 260/120
Neutral Special: Turning sword slash. Knocks down – 240
Up Special: Overhead flip. Slashes downwards at the apex. Lower body invulnerability while airborne, and places him behind his foe while turning him around. – 300
Side Special: performs a quick series of three wild slashes followed by a knee strike. Knocks back and quick for its power, but suffers from major end-lag – 80*3/120
Down Special: Performs a sliding kick, placing him behind the foe. Very quick and next to no endlag means he’s ready for an additional attack almost instantly, and can confuse the foe of the attacks direction. 100
Finisher: Rhys pulls his sword back over his shoulder, charging momentarily, before performing an upwards swing at blinding speeds, his blade followed by afterimages. Some start up time and end lag befiting its power, but knocks the opponent flying away – 700.
Special Attacks
Accel Cuspis [Special + Left + Heavy] – Rhys draws back and sets his shield ahead of himself, drawing back for a second before charging forwards, shield first, at very high speed, in a high speed command dash that moves faster than most characters can run. Rhys’ dash travels half the screen, but will stop upon reaching the end of a platform or the like, or another key being entered
Rhys will cross over most foes during the dash, his attack ending with a downwards sword slash, inflicting light damage to anyone he passes through and stunning them for a second.
While charging, Rhys benefits from super armour, and he is intangible during start up. The attack has very little end lag, though due to the linear path, it can be easy to read and avoid. If used in the air, then Rhy’s vertical momentum is halted and he flies horizontally towards the end of the dash
During the start up of the dash, Rhys can input an additional attack key to change the nature of the attack.
- Accel Extremum [Light] Rhys pauses for a second after the dash, turning on the spot and performing a shorter dash backwards with an inwards slash. Can be chained into itself up to three times, each one rising off the ground slightly
- Accel comminuo [Medium]: Replaces the sword slash with a shield bash, adding a knockback element at around 45 degrees. After start up, Rhys gains a projectile reflect property to his charge, but the end lag for the move is increased.
- Accel Surgo [Heavy]: Replaces the downwards strike, with a low to the ground rising heavy sword swing. Much more end-lag than any other version, but deals the highest damage, and adds a very strong nigh-vertical knockback
Accel Ala [Special + Heavy. Chargeable] Rhys draws his sword outwards over his shoulder and draws back in a half turn while charging. After the charge is complete or when releasing the key, Rhys will perform a spin attack hitting around him, inflicting several hits, with the final hit having high knockback and throwing the foe away at a 30 degree angle, with the knockback increasing for each previous hit on the target.
At minimum charge time, inflicts 2 hits, with 8 at maximum, as well as the full charge having wider range.
If used in the air, automatically uses a middle-charged version for range and damage, as well as causing him to rise higher into the air. Pressing the special key while using the attack will cause him to rise higher
Lamina Infinitum [Special + Medium. Chargeable] – Rhys pulls his blade back behind him, the point brushing the ground, his shield arm outstretched and covering him, before lashing out with a blindly fast series of thrusts and slashes, many overlapping as afterimages as he distorts time to multiply the hits, before ending with a final powerful thrust. By holding the input keys, Rhys will charge the attack, increasing the amount of hits but also leaving himself vulnerable. Inflicts 6 hits at the lowest charge level, and 20 at max
Each individual hit is very light, but they can add up well and will inflict heavy barrier pressure. The attack has an incredibly fast start up and next to no end lag, and the angle of the attack can allow it to function as a very effective anti-air. However, once started, the combo takes some time leaving Rhys very vulnerable on a miss, and due to the low power, foes with high flinch resistance won’t have much to worry about.
Alto lupinum Insilio [down + special + medium/heavy] – A leaping sword strike, driving his sword downards as he jumps forwards, hitting overhead and moving forward a little. The attack can be used either in the air or on the ground. If used from the ground, Rhys will hop backwards and up a bit before setting the sword downwards, and surging down quickly for a heavy hit and a fair amount of stun. When used in the air, it becomes a multi-hitting attack that drags the foe with him, but each subsequent hit after the first deals less damage. The medium version moves at a smooth angle, and the heavy version moving nearly straight down
- Alto matutinus [heavy] – Rhys followed up after landing with a rising thrust kick, knocking the foe back into the air if it connects. average speed and unsafe on block, but good vertical hit box and can make space
- Alto Viniculum [Medium] – Rhys grabs his foe as he goes down, turning into a command grap, before dragging him forwards across the ground, before jumping off him. Inflicts 4 light hits and makes space for rhys.
Alto Lupinum Curabitur [Forward + Light + Med]: Rhys flips forwards into a double overhead kick, aiming around knee height for the foe. Alto Lupinum Carabitur hits the foe twice, and if both hits connect, the foe will be knocked down, and rhys has some armour frames during the kick. The longer that attack key is held, the further rhys moves forward during the flip
Curabitur works as a lunge, though it’s somewhat unsafe on block meaning it needs to be used carefully to avoid being punished, though its safe at maximum range and thus can be used to pindown foes from mid range. The initial flip can go over low attacks and through light hits, letting it be used for pressure.
If used in the air, Rhys gains a slight amount of height, and moves more vertical than horizontal. If both hits of the air version connect, the attack spikes foes down into the ground, rather than forcing knockdown, with some groundbounce.
Alto Lupinum Saliet [Up + Special + Light] – Rhys leaps upwards in a turning leaping slash, blade held sideways then following with a downwards slash at the apex that is a very powerful spike. If the first attack hits, he knocks the foe to his second strike. Very fast start up, but Rhys is rendered vulnerable while he falls back down to the ground, meaning it can be easily punished.
The start of Alto Lupinum Saliet is invincible, and the attack has high priority. Standard Shoryuken style uppercut
Caveat Actor [Special + Guard] Rhys draws back into a low defensive pose after the strike, shield raised and sword set, his gear at full power. If attacked during this time, he will immediately parry the strike, then dash through the foe at intense speed, the screen temporarily shifting to a red and black tone as well as making space. The power of the counter is equal to 1.5 times that of the countered strike. Has some start up time, and leaves him vulnerable if no-one strikes him in time, meaning he’s easy to punish out of it.
Paradox Breaks
Undecimam [special + light + guard] – Rhys fires his gear up into maxiumum, slowly rising his sword up before his face before swiping back into his stance, an afterimage following a few miliseconds behind him. While Undecimam is in effect, Rhys’s movement speed is greatly increased, and the end lag of all his attacks are greatly reduced, allowing him to perform custom combos and unique actions, and to keep the pressure up, as well as being able to cancel attacks into one another he normally would be able to do so. The duration of Undecimam is based on his starting amount of special bar and his remaining HP, draining slower the less HP he has remaining. The mode can be canceled at any time by re-inputting the commands, though it requires at least 50% to activate and will always drain at least 50%
Alto Lupinium Accel Impetu [Special + left/right + medium + heavy] – Rhys pulls his blade back and performs a very close range shield bash. If the bash misses, then Rhys will immediately switch into an enhanced version of Accel Cuspis that travels almost the entire screen, or until he hits a foe, (with edge gravity for cases where it would kill him if on the ground.) and has massive knockback. If the shield bash does connect, then the screen fades to a red background as Rhys performs a series of 11 connecting dashes, colouring the background with black stripes in his trail, that lock the foe in place as he strikes, with the final hit being a spinning upwards slash. Suffers from very short range for the shield bash, and can be somewhat telegraphed, but good power and multiple hits for shield pressure. The knockback variant can be used as an alternate, as it can be disguised as a regular Accel Cuspis, but is significantly faster.
Pandora Paradox 