Haku

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Haku

Move list

(With the character facing right)

GROUND STRINGS

- Jab - 1 hit

- Spinning senbon slash – 2 hits

- Another senbon slash - 3 hits

- Finishes with a spinning kick - 5 hits

- Haku jumps back and throws 8 senbons at his opponent - 11 hits

- Finishes with a handstand kick - 5 hits

- Sweep that guard breaks and launches his opponent in the air - 5 hits

- Shoulder tackle – 1 hit

- followed by a spinning senbon slash – 3 hits

- Punch aim toward his opponent's ankle – 1 hit

- Sweep kick from his guard break chain – 2 hits

- Upper punch – 1 hit

- Followed by a backflip kick - 3 hits

- Goes behind his opponent and slash him in the back - 2 hits

AERIAL STRINGS

A. - A stab – 1 hit

A. - Followed by a spinning kick – 2 hits

A. - Air upper punch - 1 hit

A. - Followed by an upper kick - 2 hits

A. - Downward hawk kick - 1 hit

A. - Double hand smash - 2 hits

A. - Goes behind his foe and does a soaring kick that smashes him on the floor - 2 hits

SPECIALS

- Haku's counter jutsu. If he is hit during the counter animation, it triggers a cut scene where Haku does a quick Sensatsu Suishou to his opponent.

- Haku's cut scene jutsu. If it hits, Haku does his Crystal ice mirror jutsu behind his opponent, appears in the latter and slashes his opponent in the back - 4 hits

(Level 1) - Spinning slash - 1 hit

(Reversal) - Long shoulder ram - 4 hits

Kaihou - Awakening - Ice Blade Mode

Activation Condition: Ougi Type (3 bars)

Duration: 20 seconds

Effect: Attack up, Defense up, Speed up, Kaihou/Awakening ougi

Damage Chart

Was done on Sai (C-Class Defence)

Note: Add an additional 2% if you want to count splat damage.

Strategy & Gameplan

OVERVIEW

Pros

- A-Rank Stamina

- Very fast and agile character

- Solid offense

Cons

- Damage output is very low

- Has no reversal ougi

- Shuriken throwing speed on the ground is awful

Haku has been there since the first Narutimate game and is one of those characters that didn't change while the serie was advancing and releasing sequels. Of course, some little tweaks here and there had to be made for him to fit in the respective games but for the most part, Haku's gameplay remained unchanged. In the competitive scene, Haku is perceived as a high-mid or middle tier character depending on each’s opinions but all in all, players all agree that he is a solid pick for tournament play.

Haku is most of the time, not underestimated, but overlooked by players because of all the new flashy and strong characters out there. Also, the fact that he was there since day one and that he hasn't changed until now is not very appealing to players looking for versatility and originality. However, despite the feeling of repetitiveness in his gameplay, the fact that he hasn't change is not necessarily a disadvantage as he was very solid character back then. Now, with solid defence and offense, high movement speed, damaging ougi and counter jutsu at his disposal, Haku is a better bulldog character than ever.

HAWK

Haku's hawk ( Aerial. ) is Haku's most useful and powerful tool for his bulldog playstyle. It can rack up quick and solid damage (around 8~11%), can combo into almost any of Haku's move for more damage and has a lot of priority which is efficient for pressuring. This move can easily link to any other moves but the most used and efficient combos are either A. into ougi big guaranteed damage, , , A. ~ OTG for a good 23% chakra less damage or A. , , A. to keep the opponent away. All these combos are viable because they are very hard to knj since they're all fast and less than 5 hits and also because they are safe. His hawk is pretty much the essence of Haku's solid bulldog character status, so it must be used very often.

GUARD BREAK CHAIN

Like many characters, Haku possesses a guard break chain. In this case though, it is very useful for him because it is another great pressure tool to his repertoire. forces the opponent to knj or, at the very least, have a good teching abilities as if they don’t, they will be open to big damaging combos. Since the guard break puts them in a juggle state similar to his hawk, all the combos previously listed for the latter still applies. Something else to note about Haku’s ground game is that his neutral string starter is very quick, and helps create frame traps for additional pressure. An example would be using Haku's pressure move ( ) on a blocking enemy and then immediately start a chain with his neutral poke. The whole thing doesn't link, but the neutral is so fast that if they do anything but block, they will get hit it. However, if they know about the frame trap and block it, you can go for the guard break chain to force them to knj. It's a win-win situation.

SENSATSU SUISHOU

Is the Japanese name for Thousand Needles of Death which is his level 1 ougi. Sensatsu Suishou ougi plays a big role in Haku's gameplan. Since Haku's damage output is kind of low and he has trouble dealing solid damage outside of landing his hawk, his level 1 ougi helps him cover that disadvantage with its good damage and its combo ability. His ougi's start-up animation has not much range, but it is fast enough to combo after his hawk's bounce, his guard break's juggle launch, and his guard break chain's launch. It is also fast enough to combo in a passion setup (see Tips/Tricks & Extra Notes) which is another efficient way to land an ougi and a good ougi game. With all these ways to land the ougi, landing it more than one time in a match should occur often.

COUNTER

Haku is an offense oriented character but with the lack of a good shuriken throwing speed on the ground, that good offense he has can quickly backfire into a suicidal offensive approach as there is no way to stay safe from it with shuriken cancels. Fortunately for Haku, he has another tool that can cover that flaw and that is his counter jutsu. Unlike TS Neji and TS Shikamaru's counter jutsu, Haku's counter doesn't cost chakra as soon as you activate the jutsu. This little aspect makes this jutsu a lot more viable than the others because it is now safe to throw it out without having to worry about the chakra cost. If the counter is a success, it will take chakra from Haku's bar and if it's not, Haku will remain in his position for 2 seconds waiting for his opponent to hit him. Since this is a jutsu, Haku can cancel any of his normal moves to activate the counter and this is how this jutsu helps Haku to stay safe while being on the offensive. When applying pressure and the opponent knjs a hit, instead of trying to SHC, cancel the hit into his counter jutsu. Usually, after a knj'd hit, players tend to either x-dash to got through your shuriken cancel or immediately hit his opponent in the back, so you can catch them with the counter jutsu and punish them for being too hasty to counter you. It is a good way to keep Haku same but, it has to be used smartly because if it is baited, Haku might suffer from a big damaging combo or ougi despite his good defense. Also, the player playing Haku must be aware that his counter is not always free and costs chakra when it hits.

DIRECTIONAL INFLUENCED HAWK

Typical Dirctional Infuenced Hawk to catch opponents off guard during Knj battles.

- With the character facing right -

[Hold] / ~ ~

Tips/Tricks & Extra Notes

PASSION COMBO

Thanks to Kiba Kid from Shishi-Rendan, Haku has a new way to land his level 1 ougi.

~

FORCE KNJ

Haku has one of the quickest neutral poke in the game and his one of the few that can combo a jab into another jab. With that, you can force the opponent knj by doing the jab link as a block string. The timing can be tight, but it works really well as a pressure tactic. To get the timing right, practice is key. To know if you got it right, the combo counter in the training mode should go up to five.

(close to the opponent)

~ ~ ~ ~ ...

SHURIKEN USE

Haku's shuriken throwing speed on the ground is awful. Winning shuriken wars from afar should be very troublesome for him if he stayson the ground. However, when Haku jumps and throws shurikens, his shurikens throwing speed changes radically for the better. Always jump if you want to throw shurikens with Haku because it is safer if the opponent knjs them.

FREE KAIHOU TRICK

This trick is not an Haku exclusive like the other. This trick is available for anyone that has a Kaihou type of awakening. Haku's Ice Blade Mode is a Kaihou awakening that takes 3 bars of chakra to activate. This awakening shouldn't be used ever because having no bar of chakra is too risky. However, if Haku gets the infinite chakra item and he has less than 50% life, he will be able to use his Kaihou awakening for free!

Specific Matchups

Against...

Chakra Denial - This match-up is pretty favourable for Haku. He has all the tools he needs and the speed to get out of their pressure and keep them out if needed. The counter jutsu is a good move for punishing their excessive pressure during knj wars and his x-dash is fast enough to counter SHCs and punish with either a big and damaging combo or a passion combo. Haku has great defense and their damage output is comparable to his, so Haku can take quite a beating before going down.

Bulldogging - Most of the time, this match is even for Haku. The majority of other bulldoggers has a better damage output than Haku, but he has better speed and defense, so he can take hits or run away if needed. In term of tools, they have what Haku has, so the outcome of the match is pretty much who uses their tools better. Haku is one of the few characters that can go blow for blow with them, use it as an advantage.

Ranged Attackers - Even to favourable match-up depending on the opponent's ranged attacker. Shuriken based ranged attackers don't give Haku problems as his needles rivals their shurikens in numbers. Although, you can play their game, it is advised to rush them down because it is what Haku does best and also because they have a lot of difficulty dealing with up close enemies. Passion is another good tool since they tend to throw shurikens often, and one bad throw can result to ougi, Puppet users, since they don't rely only on shurikens to keep you out, it is a little harder for Haku to work his way around which makes the match more even. Though, when up close, it is hard for them to get out of his pressure

Rushdown - Rushdown opponents are a little harder for Haku than the bulldog match-up, but it is still pretty even. Haku has the speed the escape jutsu setups and awakening rushdown happy opponents. Counter jutsu is also a good tool to counter rushdown happy opponents, but it has to be used wisely as if it is baited, Haku can lose a lot of health despite his good defense. Like in the bulldogging match-up, Haku can easily go blow for blow with them by also applying pressure while still being on his guard.