Archive / Ramblings / Building Unika's Moveset (4/7/2025)

With Unika being Strive's next DLC character and also being a complete mystery, I thought it would be fun to compile every power she is shown to have into a single theoretical moveset. Obviously her playstyle is a complete mystery, so I am mainly focusing on individual moves rather than overall playstyle.

Also in an ideal world Unika's playstyle will be a sequel to Holy Order Sol since he is obviously never coming back... it's unlikely but I would be so happy if it was true.

With this being Unika's introduction, it mainly serves to show off her main array of powers. The more these come back in the future, the more likely they are to be in the moveset.

Giant Gun / Cannon - Certainly her main weapon, likely what she uses for S and H normals similarly to Ram's swords.

Lizard Demon Things - These are either going to be a core part of her moveset or just a super. As a special, she could summon them similarly to Thunderbird, and as a super they could work similarly to Nostrovia.

Big Lightning Bullet - A slow but powerful projectile. Potentially even leading to combos with a wallbounce or something?

Laser Blast - A weaker but faster projectile.

Glowing Tentacle Ball - Either her normal grab a command grab. Maybe even a command grab super?

Light Wings - A DP similar to the first hit of Winger.

Returning Abilities : Giant Gun / Cannon, Lizard Demon Things, Lightning Bullets, Light Wings.

Lightning Tethers - Same uses as Glowing Tentacle Ball from the previous episode. A bit less flashy and used a bit more often, so probably her normal grab?

Super Speed - Likely doesn't mean anything since Sin does the same thing, but it is still worth noting.

Enraged Form - It's an install. I could also see some kind of character gimmick where it powers up later in the match. Maybe even with a health threshold like Ky's Dragon install?

Ground Eruption - Could theoretically be a massive anti-air, but likely just won't show up at all.

Cloning - Probably not usable in a moveset since it isn't neccessarily her power, but the fact that she can access it still means something.

--- Bonus : Sol's New Move? ---

My theory is that Sol's new move is coming from Dual Rulers. Based on this episode, it could either be the cluster bombs or the gauntlet he builds. He already punches a lot so probably the grenades? I'm not really sure how he would use them though. Maybe as an oki tool?

Returning Abilities : Giant Gun / Cannon, Lightning Bullets, Light Wings (Mentioned), Lightning Tethers (Red), Super Speed, Laser Blast

Unika didn't really get any new abilities in this episode, mostly just character development and action scenes. Really good ones, but not with new abilities.

--- Bonus : Sol's New Move? ---

Sol gets a sniper rifle. No magic. Literally nothing special. Just a gun.

Unika was decommissioned for this entire episode. I wouldn't be surpised if there is only a single major battle left honestly. Also Unika recieved bandages, which will likely show up in game similar to Ramlethal. They probably won't be visible due to her clothes but they will be there.

In other news, every single mayburi enjoyer has been found dead. The uniburi empire begins to grow...

Returning Abilities : Giant Gun / Cannon, Laser Blast,

Command-Type Gear - Probably not something with gameplay purpose, but still important.

From The Future - Again not a tangible ability, but she could easily have magic / tech that no other character can access.

Unika will be playable at Evo Japan. So her moveset will be fully known, defeating the entire point of this. Therefore I am speedrunning the rest of it! Here is all the stuff that was supposed to come later after Dual Rulers was over. I will probably still track her powers and complete a "full" version of the fake moveset, entirely ignoring what her real one looks like.

It has been stated that they will be preventing people from taking pictures at this event, but there is nothing to stop an extremely detailed description.

Unika's render also released, showing that her gun also functions as a motorcycle. Sure, why not!

*All names are also not actual predictions as I am bad at naming things.

Overview -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unika will not have a major gimmick, or at least not one that is too major. She needs to appeal to the new people the anime picks up, after all. Not that I agree with that sentiment, but it is probably what they will do.

(Update 5/3/2025) The seeds of an idea were planted by @ManzIsMe and I will now be expanding upon that:
Unika builds Gears with every attack, similarly to Sol's Overture mechanic for Dragon Install. The more that are built, the more powerful Dragon Install will be. This is a bit like A.B.A's Jealous Rage, but inherently more risky; it is activated with a super, so wasting Gears is a really big potential issue. Unlike that game, there also won't be any weird thing where 50 Gears is better than 100 Gears. The more Gears the better, so do the longest combo possible since Gear gain does not change with damage scaling. She starts with 0 Gears, and can hold up to 100. Dragon Install also gives access to the unique special move "Gear Dash" based on her extreme speed when fighting Sin.

(Also they would need to change the name. Just calling them "Gears" gets confusing since we have an entire species tied to that.)

Chart on how to gain Gears:

Action

Gears

5P, 2P, j.P

+1

5K, 2K, 6P, j.K

+2

c.S, f.S, 2S, j.S, 6K, Summon Lizard Demon

+3

5H, 2H, 6H, j.H, j.D

+4

5D, 2D, Gun Blast S

+5

Motorcycle Ride, Lightwings S/H

+6

Gun Blast H

+8

Throw

+10

Tentacle Ball

+15

[PROBABLY SPOILER]

+25

On block, all attacks give half Gears rounded down (so P buttons give 0).

Normals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unika's normals will all use her gunsword, generally being a bit slow but having decent range. They are somewhere between Sin and Ramlethal's normals. Some of them also make use of the motorcycle aspect of the sword.

Her grab is a lightning tether.

Specials -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

623P : Tentacle Ball - A long ranged command grab. Builds more Gears than the basic grab, though is obviously slower.

236K : Motorcycle Ride - Rides the gun's motorcycle form forward. The same as every other gap closer (Elphelt's Out of Repair, Slayer's K Mappa Hunch).

236S : Gun Blast S - A fullscreen laser with very fast travel speed, but generally poor frame data. Also gives a soft knockdown. Primarily an anti-zoning tool.

236H : Gun Blast H - A big laser bullet with even slower frame data, but way better damage, gives a hard knockdown, gives a wallbounce in the corner, and is plus. Good for combos or very strong whiff punishes.

623S : Lightwings S - A standard invincible DP, reminiscent of the first hit of Millia's Winger.

623H : Lightwings H - The "combo" version. Launches way higher along with Unika going way higher. Uniquely recovers mid-air, allowing for air combos afterwards. Still very punishable on block though. Also is heavily effected by combo gravity, so it has to be really early in a combo to get anything out of it.

214P/K/S/H : Summon Lizard Demon - Summons one of the lizard demon things. Each button goes in a unique arc, similarly to Zappa's Please Don't Come Back in XX. On hit they bite twice and then leave. Good for screen control, combos, and oki.

214P : Gear Dash - Only availible during Dragon Install. Very quick glowing dash/teleport in 8 directions similar to Asuka's Go To Marker or Bang's FuRinKaZan Dash in Blazblue (I think. I haven't played it.)

Supers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

632146S : [PROBABLY SPOILER] - A cinematic reversal that references whatever Unika's most powerful move in the anime is. Probably something she does during the rage after Episode 5.

214214H : Rage Form - An install similar to Bedman?'s call 13C. Improves all damage and defense. Also improves the lizard demons from 214X, making them count as super projectiles (not going away on hit or being reflectable) while making them also go faster and hit more times. Unlike call 13C, they do not cause a super wallbreak.

214214H : Dragon Install - Most similar to Dragon Install in Overture. The more Gears Unika has, the more powerful this super will be. It always lasts 7 seconds. Has an additional damage multiplier equal to roughly 1.0 + (Gears x 0.01). For example, at 50 Gears she would deal 1.5x damage, and 2.0x at 100 Gears. She also has an equivalent defense multiplier. As always, Dragon Install also greatly augments her specials. Also gives access to Gear Dash

*SPOILERS FOR LEAKED INFORMATION*
Overview -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unika's main gimmick is Mode: Arbalest, a pseudo stance that powers up special moves used out of them. Accessed from S5S, S2S, H5H, H2H, j.D, or 6H.

Normals ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pretty much spot on. Her normals are big but a bit slow. She does however have a fairly unique set of command normals, mostly to tie into Mode: Arbalest.

Specials -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

236H : A.M.T.G. Streak - A fullscreen laser blast.

j.236H : A.A.T.G. Blitz - Air fireball. Pretty weak but flies at a decent angle.

236K : A.T.T.G. Penetrate - It's Stun Dipper, but bigger.

214K : A.T.T.G. Top-Attack - Essentially Greed Sever. Really big overhead that is nearly unreactable

623S : A.C.T.G. Blast-Off - Gigantic grounded DP, and also a decent combo tool.

214S : Blaze a Trail - Really weird. Named differently from all of her other specials, but is literally just a strike forward. More bizarrely, it doesn't interact with Mode: Arbalest in any way. My assumption is this is basically what her 6H would be if it wasn't tied to Mode: Arbalest.

Unsurprisingly, most of my assumptions were wrong here. I was right about the gunshot at least, and the fact she would have a DP. I do find it weird though that she is entirely missing the lizard things, motorcycle, and especially the light wings.

Supers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

632146S : Megadeath Buster - Fairly standard reversal / combo ender super. Sends fullscreen.

214214H : Weapons Free - Best described as an overdrive version of a 5[D]. Similarly to Ky's Dragon Install, it can only be used at low health. Replaces all of Unika's air normals to make a custom air combo along with free movement.

[Automatic] : Star Deviation - The automatic ender to Weapons Free. Very similar to a Finish Blow during a homing jump.

S + H : Star Deviation: Annihilate - Pay extra meter for an even more powerful finisher during Weapons Free.

I was suprisingly close here. The reversal isn't all that special, but I was kind of close with Weapons Free. Mainly in that it is an install (My idea being Dragon Install) that gives access to really fast movement (My idea being Gear Dash), even if that movement ended up being limited to an air combo.

Unika almost died. That's all that happened.

Unika has the ability to detect any time Bridget gets hurt. Magical psychic yuri powers.

Unika has the powers of a god... when merged with Sin. Doesn't count.

In related news, I am very happy with how Dual Rulers turned out. All of it. I really enjoyed this.

Debut

Ability

Appearances

Image

E1

Giant Gun / Cannon

4