VOOT MSBS 5.2 Apharmd Battler FAQ Version 0.9
=============================================
  By Peter Cheong Choon Wah AKA Rolander <rolander@pacific.net.sg>

  Updates done:
Version 0.8   Released on 13th September 1998
Version 0.81  Minor corrections and updating of some information.
              I now feel sonic rings are quite useful.
              Released on 21st September 1998
Version 0.9   Released to prevent what I know from being lost :)
              Interium Release with revamped move analysis and
              incomplete Specific VR Versus Mode tactics.
              Released on 3rd February 2001
              (Hopefully not the last release)
Version 0.95  Planned release with more indepth tactics
              Last release by author (Hopefully)
Version 1?    Don't look at me!!!  Go ask the elites to write!!!
              (I've long given up on bugging them ... another
              reason why I'm writing this in the first case)

Apharmd Battler Introduction
============================

  For those who are familiar with Virtual On Operation Moongate (VOOM),
VOOT's predecessor, VOOM Apharmd was well known for his forward speed,
armour/stability and his tongfer, the ultimate in close combat weaponry
(matched only by VOOM Raiden's Laser).  VOOM Apharmd, however, suffered
from horrible ranged weaponry.

  VOOT Apharmd Battler (thereafter referred to as Aph B), as the obvious
descendent of VOOM Apharmd carries on the legacy of being the King of
Close Combat.  Below is a brief summary of his capabilities:

* Armour - Aph B has pretty good armour, but lags behind Temjin, Raiden
  and Dordary.
* Virtual Armour - Aph B has good virtual armour, and can occasionally
  reflect more than the average peashot under optimal conditions.
* Stability - Aph B is very stable for a medium sized VR.
* Speed - Aph B is pretty fast on foot, and his forward-dash is awesome!
* Air Speed - Aph B is not really meant for aerial combat, but he's okay
  in this department.
* Ranged Weapons - Damagewise, Aph B has probably the poorest arsenal,
  with the exception of his soccerbombs.  Note that it is damagewise ...
* Close Combat - Aph B's tongfer is one of the most feared CC attacks in
  the entire game.  Some other VRs do have CC attacks that approach the
  tongfer's damage potential, but Aph B's tongfer is much more useful
  offensively.

  Since the last update about 2 1/2 years ago, VOOT strategy has undergone
a lot of changes as players refine their tactics and develop their reflexes.
Hence the FAQ is in need of an 'overhaul'!

  This FAQ is dedicated to Choon Eng AKA Natas.  He was a close combat
fanatic and strived to win using close combat moves as much as possible.
He led the initial exploration of Aph B's abilities in the early days
of Singapore VOOT and is well remembered by the 1st generation VOOT
community.

Abbreviations used
==================

Aph B/Aph S - Apharmd Battler/Apharmd Striker
CC          - Close Combat 
LW/RW/CW    - Left Weapon/Right Weapon/Centre Weapon
LT/RT/BT    - Left Turbo/Right Turbo/Both Turbos
SLD         - Super Low-attitute Dash
V. Armour   - Virtual Armour
VOOM        - Virtual On Operation Moongate
VOOT        - Virtual On Oratorio Tangram 
VR          - Virtuaroid

Ranged Weaponry
===============

  Like his predecessor, Aph B has horrible straightforward distance
weapons.  However, he does have several viable options at ranged
confrontations.  With proper knowledge and patience, a good pilot can
still chip away at his opponent's energy bar while keeping Aph B ahead,
without any reliance on close combat.  The latter should not be too
difficult given Aph B's armour, speed, and defensive weaponry (Grenade
Discharger).

Right Weapon - Submachinegun

  Aph B's RW suffers from one critical flaw: Submachinegun shells are
very easily deflected by virtual armour.  This problem effectively
prevents Aph B from doing well in a gun battle, especially against the
heavier VRs.  However, proper utilisation of dash-machineguns is still a
fair means of inflicting damage.

[Normal Standing/Walking]
  Aph B fires off a steady stream of shells on holding down the RW
trigger, similar to Fei-Yen Knight's and Cypher's RW.  The ammo gauge
tends to redline easily with sustained weapon fire, but fortunately the
recharge rate is fairly fast.  Unlike other continuous-fire weapons,
submachineguns have quick reload times (i.e. there need only be a very
brief delay in-between consecutive bursts) hence Aph B can elect to fire
short bursts of shells in quick succession.

  Standing submachineguns have average speed, but poor homing, damage
and V. Armour penetration; they are totally useless against
Dordarys/Raidens with 100% V. Armour.  Generally better to use the
crouching variation below.

[Normal Crouching]
  Aph B fires a stream of shells from a crouching positon until 
ammunition is depleted or the RW trigger is released.  Crouch
submachineguns have some minor but significant improvements in speed
and V. Armour, making it somewhat more useful and threatening.

  Normally, crouch attacks force a VR to remain stationary for the
duration, but for crouch non-turbo attacks, a player can elect for a
moving crouch version, whereby the VR slides while firing.  Aph B
slides at slightly greater speed during a moving crouch submachinegun
attack than his walking speed, another bonus.

  Another aspect of this variation is the ability to negate some enemy
fire, mostly normal non-crouching peashots from certain VRs

[Normal Jumping]
  Upon reaching the apex of his jump, Aph B hovers in midair and empty
his submachineguns at his target.  Little better than the normal
standing version, plus a hanging Aph B is an easy target for any weapon
with significant homing.

  Not all jumping attacks are bad; there are several jumping attacks
for several VRs whereby it is quite effective despite the obvious
vulnerability.  However, in this case, it is a definite no-no.

[Dash (All Directions Except Forward and Forward Diagonal)]
  Aph B fires off a single stream of submachinegun shells.  Mostly
ineffective in terms of damage, accuracy, and penetration.  Except
at very close range, definitely an ineffective move.

[Dash Crouching (all directions except Forward and Forward Diagonal)]
  Aph B does a tumble on the ground before letting off a single stream
of shells.  Like the normal crouch variation, the dashing crouch shots
have better speed and penetration making them significantly better
that the normal dashing attack, though still a poor move.

[Forward and Forward Diagonal Dash]
  Aph B fires off a long stream of submachinegun shells, often draining
most of the RW ammo gauge.  Though only slightly better at V. Armour
penetration, the shots are more powerful, and especially at short range,
hitting with most of the shots can do significant damage.  This is Aph
B's most damaging dash attack save for his dashing close combat moves
and his special.

  An unique point to note here:  Aph B's general ground dashing speed
is good, but his forward dash (and only forward, not forward diagonal)
has exceptional speed.  Though forward diagonal dashing have their
places, only in a true ground forward dash is Aph B really fast.

[Forward and Forward Diagonal Dash Crouching]
  Like the other dashing crouching submachinegun attacks, Aph B
executes a tumble before firing.  In this case, instead of firing
a long stream of shots, he fires a concentrated short burst of shots
as he comes out of his tumble.  The lesser number of shots also means
that the ammo guage is not as severely depleted.

  This variation sacrifices some damage for improved speed and V.Armour
penetration, and it is up to the player to decide which variation to use
given the circumstances.  If a close-range pass is guaranteed and the
attack likely to hit, the normal variation will be preferred for maximum
potential damage.  However, at longer ranges, against a fast moving VR,
and/or when faced with a heavily V.Armoured target, the crouch variation
may score a hit while the normal variation will miss or be deflected.

[Air Dash (General Comments)]
  Aph B's air dash speeds are all below average, even his forward dash
aerial.  Generally, this factor alone makes an air dash attack
significantly more risky.  Furthermore, Aph B's lack of maneuverabiliy
in the air also makes him quite vulnerable to counterattack as he lands
after an air dash attack.

  Damagewise, air dash submachineguns are roughly equivalent to the
respective ground dashes, again with the forward and forward-diagonal
dash submachineguns having greater offensive power.  However, the shots
fired in an air dash are fairly slow, so they are only effective at very
short ranges.

[Right Turbo Standing]
  Aph B stands his ground, fires from his shoulders and unleashes a
double stream of submachinegun shells until the ammo gauge redlines.
Aph B is stuck in that position for the whole duration of this attack,
which cannot be cancelled by the pilot.  Hence care must be exercised to
either ensure that Aph B would not be taking unnecessary damage, or the
damage trade-off will be in Aph B's favour.

  This turbo submachinegun attack has two notable properties.  One is
that it is not deflectable by V. Armour AFAIK.  Another is that the
shells, when exploding, has some capacity in blocking lasers (yes,
LASERS) and can also break through Angelan's Ice Shield.  Despite the
above mentioned attributes, the risks far outweigh the benefits here,
and use of this attack is not recommended.

[Right Turbo Crouching]
  Aph B crouches and releases a single stream of exploding submachinegun
shells similar to the standing variation.  The crouching variation boast
a small improvement in accuracy at the expense of damage, making this a
somewhat usable attack under specific conditions, namely to chip away
the last bits of energy off an almost dead VR at short range.  Otherwise
the risks involved in remaining stationary are too great to compensate.

[Right Turbo Jumping]
  At the apex of his jump, Aph B empties his RW ammunition gauge to
release a double stream of exploding submachinegun shells.

  As stated previously, Aph B's jumping attacks are risky due to his
lack of maneuverability in the air, and this variation is no exception.
The shots fired are too slow to hit anything except a slow-moving VR.

[Left Turbo Standing]
  Aph B fires from his hips and unleashes a double stream of fast
submachinegun shells.  Unlike the RT variation, Aph B will stop firing
the moment the trigger is released.  This variation is also cancellable
by either dashing or jumping.  Ammo drain is as fast as the RT variant,
but this time the pilot can elect not to fire off all his ammo.

  LT weapons are nominally stun-effect weapons, and Aph B's LT
submachineguns are no exceptions.  Damage is insignificant, but the stun
effect is real.  Depending on the target VR's stability and condition
(its movement and how many hits have been sustains recently), getting
hit with a burst of LT submachinegun shots can either stagger or
interrupt the target's actions or actually knock it down outright.

  Most of the stun effect is concentrated within the first few shots,
hence short bursts are highly recommendeded to maxiumise efficency.

  The LT shots also have the ability to negate weapon fire like the
normal crouching variation, except that the former are far more capable
and have been known to negate Temjin's CW Sword Beams and prematurely
detonating Fei-Yen Kn's CW Heart Beams.

[Left Turbo Crouching]
  Crouching, Aph B fires a single stream of fast submachinegun shells
which have similar properties to the standing variation.

  Crouching LT submachinegun shots does even less damage than the
standing variation, but the stun effect is even more pronounced; all
but the most stable VRs will be knocked flat on their back if they
suffer a hit from the first bullet of this stream.

  Like the standing variation, the crouching LT shots also have the
ability to negate many forms of incoming projectile attacks.

[Left Turbo Jumping]
  At the apex of the jump, Aph B empties his gauge to release a stream
of fast submachinegun shots similar to the standing LT variation.

  The jumping LT shots are significantly weaker in both stunning ability
and accuracy.  This coupled with the other disadvantages in a jumping
submachinegun attack, makes this variation little better than the others.

Left Weapon - Grenade Discharger

  Aph B's grenade discharger either gives a series of napalm-like
explosions or a medium-sized bomb blast, depending on method of attack.
Most explosive weapons in VOOT are not very damaging on the whole, but
several variants of the grenade discharger can be damaging, VERY
damaging...

[Normal Standing/Walking]
  Aph B drops a napalm canister in front of him to give a row of
explosions.  Low damage (to the order of a few %), but the chain
of explosions cannot be blocked by obstacles and hence is useful for
flushing out opponents hiding behind obstacles.  Explosions also serve
to block most weapon fire except for other explosive attacks.  However,
Aph B's standing LW is not exceptionally good at blocking all projectile
attacks; there are several attacks that can blow through the napalm
explosions, most notably Raiden's RTCW and Specineff's RTCW.

Aph B can also elect to chuck a canister in the general direction of an
opponent and execute a forward dash along the chain of explosions.  This
tactic can be used to close in on an opponent in relative safety, using
the napalm explosions to shield Aph B from most incoming attacks
as he dashes in time with them.

[Normal Crouching]
  Aph B crouches as he lobs the napalm canister slightly forward.  The
lob means that the crouching napalm is slightly slower to come out; also
it does slightly lesser damage.

  The advantage gained from using the crouch variation is that the
resultant chain of explosions are much more effective in blocking out
incoming fire; for instance, Specineff's RTCW will go through the
standing napalm, but not the crouching napalm (though Raiden's RTCW is
rumoured to be able to penetrate through ALL enemy explosions.)

[Normal Jumping]
  Aph B drops a napalm canister on the ground at the apex of his jump.

  An obviously senseless move, as the chain of explosions occur along
the ground while Aph B hangs in midair, receiving no protection.

[Forward Dash and Diagonal Forward Dash]
  While dashing, Aph throws a canister at the opponent.  The canister
explodes on contact or proximity to give a medium-sized spherical
bomb blast, dealing decent damage.

  Aph B has good throwing accuracy using this attack under most
conditions; also, the range of the throw from where Aph B releases the
canister is quite considerable.  Both factors serve to override the
comparitively low damage to give an overall good area-effect attack
for Aph B.  The immediate bomb blast tends to blot out lesser enemy
fire, but like his standing napalm, some of the more powerful attacks
will still go through.

[Forward Dash and Diagonal Forward Dash Crouching]
  Aph B crouches and lobs the canister to give a similar spherical
bomb blast, doing slightly less damage.

  From comments made by other veteran players, the crouching
variation is supposedly even more accurate.  However, I have not
found it to be significantly better and IMHO the standard forward
dash LW is good enough for me.  YMMV (Your Milege May Vary).

[Side Dash and Diagonal Back Dash]
  Aph B dashes and releases a canister to give a row of napalm
explosions.  This can be used to blow off a few % of energy from an
opponent behind cover at medium range.  The attack is not very good on
the whole though, and it is definitely not worth much as a defensive
measure.

[Side Dash and Diagonal Back Dash Crouching]
  - no detailed experiments, but judging from the ineffectiveness of
the standard side dash napalm chain, the crouching variation is unlikely
to be significant -

[Back Dash]
  Aph B backs off and chucks a canister to give a bomb blast similar to
forward/forward diagonal dash.  Given the problems of back dashing, this
move is definitely not advisible.

[Back Dash Crouching]
  - no detailed experiments; the author sees little need to explore this
when the normal back dash LW is already problematic -

[Air Dash]
  As with the air dash submachineguns, air dash grenades are similar to
their respective ground variants - the forward variations give a
spherical bomb blast, the side dash variations give a napalm chain, etc.

  Forward and forward diagonal air dash bomb blasts are effective at
short ranges; though Aph B's air dash bombs have much shorter throw
range compared to the ground dash variation, a well timed forward air
dash LW can often place Aph B above the target in a position to dump the
canister on the enemy VR's head.  The air dash bomb also does slightly
greater damage compared to the ground dash bomb

  Side air dash napalm chain can be surprising more effective that the
ground dash variation.  Aph B's reduced air dash speed actually works to
his advantage in this case, as he does not move out of the obscuring
effects of the napalm explosions as quickly.  Also, while the ground
side dash LW have Aph B dropping the canister in the process, the air
dash variation has him flinging out the canister toward the enemy for
a considerable distance.  That, plus the deceptive blast radius of
the napalm explosion (the actual damaging radius is larger than what
the screen effect appears to show), makes the side air dash napalm a
'surprise' move, useful for shocking a complacent enemy who thinks a
side air dash is not threatening until it is vectored into a forward air
dash.

  There appears to be little point in exploring the back air dash LW's
potential.  As with the air dash submachineguns, care must be taken when
landing, especially with the forward air dash LW as Aph B will be
dangerously close to the enemy.

[Right Turbo Standing]
  Here's where explosive damage becomes significant.  With full ammo,
Aph B creates a bomb the size of an appropriate VR soccerball, and with
a lock on, kicks it up and toward the opponent in a loping trajectory.
The blast radius is considerable and does very good damage as well as
being a guaranteed knockdown

  The flight path of the 'soccerbomb' enables it to sail over most 
obstacles along the way, unless Aph B punts the bomb into the obstacle
itself.  Therefore, the soccerbomb is very effective at flushing out
opponents hiding behind obstacles, as well as hitting jumping/landing
VRs.  At close range however, owning to the means of delivery, the
soccerbomb will often sail harmlessly over the heads of the intended
target, leaving Aph B very vulnerable if he is not behind an obstacle.

  (There is an exception in my memory.  During the latter half of the
year 2000, I had the opportunity to play against Johnson Or of LonVOC
who dropped by for a couple of days.  In one Aph B vs Aph B match, I
had executed a standing soccerbomb against Johnson at about 200 meters
range, which was obviously too close.  However, to our shock and maybe
Johnson's horror :) for some inexplicable reason, the soccerbomb had
a very steep loping trajectory which brought it right down on Johnson's
Aph B's head ... Kabooom)

[Right Turbo Crouching]
  With full ammo, Aph B crouches and throws the soccerbomb with a
shallow trajectory close to the ground.  Damage is much lesser than the
standing variant, but is still considerable, as well as being a guaranteed
knockdown.

  Crouch punt bomb is a powerful option at close ranges below 200
meters, where the opponent has only a split second to react to the
bomb's launch.  An enemy in Aph B's frontal arc who is not already
dashing away when the soccerbomb is thrown is unlikely to escape the
blast.

  Another useful point about the crouch soccerbomb is that if the move
is executed behind a low or medium-height obstacle, the soccerbomb will
just skip over the top of the obstacle and get someone behind it ...
ah, another 'surprise' move.

[Right Turbo Jumping]
  With full ammo, Aph B produces the soccerbomb at the apex of his jump
and executes a bicycle kick to send the bomb at the opponent in a flash.
A well placed bomb can often arrive on top of the head of a standing VR
on the ground...

  Though a difficult weapon to hit, the jumping soccerbomb is the most
devastating of all the 3 variants of punt bomb, able to rip off up to
60% of a VR's energy bar!  Introduced by Natas to the Singapore VOOT
scene, it is a powerful okizeme tool when the jump is timed so that the
bomb comes down immediately right after the opponent gets up and his
invulnerability is lost.  By holding down a turbo button while jumping
up, Aph B can be rotated in the air to face the appropriate direction to
kick the soccerbomb.  This comes in useful if the target dashes out of
sight to the right or left at the initial stages of the jump.

  The weakness of this move, besides Aph B being a slow jumping/landing
target in the air, is that the soccerbomb will miss if the opponent is
roughly right below Aph B; the soccerbomb cannot be kicked straight
down.

[Left Turbo Standing]
  While standing, Aph B ejects a pair of small canisters from his
shoulder launchers.  The canisters travel together, bouncing along low
to the ground until they approach the enemy or impact against an
obstacle, giving a column-like explosion that reaches up quite high
visually but has a narrow horizontal radius.

  The 'bouncing bombs', like most other LT weapons, does low damage but
have stunning potential.  Offensively, this move is relatively weak due
to the poor homing and low speed of the bombs.  The stun effect is not
great; the lighter VRs may be knocked down if they attempt some major
actions, while the more stable VRs will only be stagger on the rare
chance that they get hit with this move.

  'Bouncing bombs' are not totally useless however.  Firstly, the bombs
can bounce over low obstacles when initially released.  They also use
considerably less of the LW ammo gauge compared to the other LW moves.
Hence, they can be used for 'scare' effects to keep an opponent 
preoccupied.

  Another niche use for this move is against knocked down VRs at short
range, as a form of okizeme.  Chances of actually hurting the target
are extremely low due to the short invulnerability enjoyed by all
rising VRs (unless they forfeit it through some major actions), but the
objective is to blind the opponent briefly when he arises, as the
column explosion lasts for several seconds.

[Left Turbo Crouching]
  Aph B crouches and ejects a pair of small canisters from his shoulder
launchers.  This variation of 'bouncing bombs' have much greater speed
and homing but limited range; they either explode on contact/proximity
or they leap up and out to explode about 300 meters in front of Aph B to
give a medium spherical bomb blast.

  The crouch 'bouncing bombs' does nearly non-existent damage, but have
excellent knockdown effects.  A target caught in the blast is almost
guaranteed to be knocked to the ground; only the most stable VRs like
Dordary and Aph B himself might still stand after an indirect hit.

  Use of this move is similar to the stun submachinegun variations: to
interrupt the opponent's actions and possibly knock him down, causing
him to lose initiative.

[Left Turbo Jumping]

  At the apex of his jump, Aph B ejects a pair of 'bouncing bombs' from
his shoulders in mid-air which bounce towards the target in a fashion
similar to the standing variation, but with much greater peak heights
achieved in the bounces.  They explode at proximity to give a spherical
bomb blast.  Like most other jumping moves, Aph B is very vulnerable in
the air.  However, this move does warrent some consideration.

  For starters, this variation of 'bouncing bombs' have average speed
but good homing.  It does small but significant damage (slightly lesser
than that of a normal LW) on a hit and like the crouch variation, has
good knockdown prospects.

  The high bouncing trajectory of this variation has good and bad
aspects:  They can hit targets in the air that are not too high, but
are liable to bounce right over a ground target without exploding.

  Provided that the vulnerabilities of the jump can be circumvented,
the jumping 'bouncing bombs' can be a fairly effective 'irritate' move
at long range, since their homing abilities can not be totally
discounted.

Centre Weapon - Tongfer

  Aph B's tongfer is meant, first and foremost, to be 'the' CC weapon of
VOOT.  The sonic rings generated by using Tongfer at ranged combat are
actually quite decent as ranged weapons despite their poor damage.  They
have good speed and homing and are unaffected by V. Armour unlike RW
submachinegun shots.  They also have some ability to negate enemy weapon
fire and are not easily negated by enemy attacks discounting explosives.

  Aph B also has the tornado variations of the sonic rings, which have
their own distinctive properties and seperate uses.

[Normal Standing/Walking]
  Aph B swings his tongfer blades one after the other to create two sonic
rings.  Their properties are mentioned above.

  Sonic rings are quite decent weapons in their own right.  I generally
find them best as a form of probing attack while moving.  LTRW stun
submachinegun shots are also good at this, but they require that Aph B
be momentarily still to be fired; normal sonic rings can be released
while moving, and they offer greater damage potential.

  A pair of sonic rings drain about half of the CW ammo gauge, so some
care must be taken to avoid draining the ammo gauge totally to avoid the
loss of this useful move at inappropriate times.  The fairly fast rate of
recharge for the CW ammo gauge does not fully alleviate this problem.

  However there is a way to circumvent this via the Infinite Sonic Rings
move, which allows Aph B to fire any number of sonic rings from a full
ammo gauge!  Though I know of this move, I am not fully conversant with
it and dare not attempt to explain it.  I must say that firstly, it is
actually a fairly powerful move at medium-long range, and secondly, it
is more of a bug (similar to 5.2 Cypher's Infinite Daggers trick).

[Normal Crouching]
  Aph B crouches and swings his tongfer to create a stun tornado,
depleting about half of the ammo gauge.  The stun tornado does not
actually stuns the VR, rather it briefly immobilises the target in a
sort of energy field, leaving it vulnerable to further attacks.  Its
reach is high enough to catch the odd VR slightly above ground level.
There is also some damage done on impact.

  The immobilising effect is very powerful as Aph B can tag on a lot of
follow-up attacks; net damage can be extremely high especially if Aph B
can tag on some of his damaging CC moves (More details under Close
Combat section)

  However, such opportunities are not easy to come by.  Though the stun
tornado's speed is quite fast, it dissipates after covering a short
range and has minimal homing.  Catching an alert target with a stun
tornado is next to impossible; Aph B's best bet is to attempt this move
on a landing target at short range.  The 'freeze' effect also has a
very short duration, to the order of a few seconds, and a knowledgable
opponent can shorten this further by 'struggling' (shaking the sticks
rapidly).

[Normal Jumping]
  Aph B swings his tongfer blades forward to create a pair of vertical
sonic rings at the apex of his jump.  The vertical sonic rings are
released simultaneously and move together.

  This move has little redeeming factor to make it stand out among all
the other useless jumping attacks.

[Dash (All Directions except Forward and Forward Diagonal)]
  While dashing, Aph B twirls a tongfer blade and releases a sonic ring.
The sonic ring has only average speed and poor homing; its ability to
negate some enemy fire is only marginally useful.

  As an offensive move, the chances of hitting with this move are quite
low except at point-blank range.  The damage done by sonic rings is
generally weak and in most cases the opponent can simply counter with a
more damaging attack before Aph B recovers from his dash.  Little better
than side-dash submachineguns.

[Forward and Forward Diagonal Dash]
  Aph B faces the opponent and raises both his tongfer blades over his
head before releasing a sonic ring.

  This variation's sonic ring is significantly faster than normal and has
decent homing, enough to make it useful.  It is by far Aph B's best long
range dashing attack.  As with other sonic rings, V. Armour is not a
factor.  This sonic ring attack also does slightly better damage.  It
still retains its shot-negating ability, and sometimes in a long range
exchange it is not uncommon for this attack to cut through a chain of
enemy fire before striking the firer.

  Proper vectoring and timing will give a better than even chance of
scoring with this move even at long range and against some of the faster
VRs.

[Dash Crouching (All Directions)]
  While dashing, Aph B crouches to produce a stun tornado.

  The dashing stun tornado is significantly weaker than the normal
crouching variation.  Unlike the latter, the former's ability to
immobilise the target is very unreliable, maybe one in three or four
attempts.  It also has minimal homing and range.

  This move is not outright useless.  At very short ranges, this move is
preferable to a dashing sonic ring as it does more damage.

  In the rare case when this move successfully freezes a target, often
Aph B stop too far away for much follow-up attacks before the opponent
struggles free.  If Aph B wishes to attack, the best bet is to go for
a crouch soccerbomb which may be fast enough to reach the target, or if
LW ammo is insufficent, crouch RT submachineguns.

[Air Dash (All Directions)]
  While air dashing, Aph B releases a vertical sonic ring like the
jumping variation.

  Again, Aph B is slow and vulnerable in an air dash, so this move is
pretty risky.  Even the forward and forward diagonal air dashes are not
much better.  Most of the time, throwing a LW in an air dash is a much
better prospect.

[Air Forward Dash with Full Tongfer Ammo : Shadowless Kick Special Move]
  With full tongfer ammo, Aph B will fly forward and when both triggers
are depressed, flips into a flying kick.  If the forward dash is aimed
properly in the direction of a standing enemy VR, Aph B will end up
kicking the VR in the head region for a load of damage, about equal to a
clean CC tongfer!

  The Shadowless Kick is a spectacular and damaging move, but however it
has absolute no homing ability; Aph B simply executes the kick in the
direction of the forward dash.  As such, it is a very difficult move to
hit with, as the forward dash must be aligned directly onto the opponent

  The Shadowless Kick is considered a close combat move, and can be
defended against with a guard by an alert opponent, though the kick's
great speed does not make it easy.

  The range of the kick is variable and dependent on the height at which
Aph B executes the kick.  An SLD-into-kick will often cause Aph B to fly
about one-third to half of the stage width, while a very high air dash
prior to the kick will have Aph B descending downwards at a very steep
flying angle, stopping as he reaches groung height after travelling a
short horizontal distance.

[Right Turbo Standing]
  With full tongfer ammo, Aph B swings his tongfer blades to create a
stun tornado.  This stun tornado variation is much more powerful when
compared to the normal crouch variation.  It has similar speed, but has
medium range and significant homing ability.  The immobilising effect is
more pronouced and tends to last longer.  It also does slightly greater
damage upon impact.

  This stun tornado has similar applications to the normal crouching
variation, except that the greater reach and homing ability makes it
viable at medium range, especially against unwary opponents in slower
VRs.

  The RT variation has a disadvantage compared to the normal crouching
variation: being a RT moves means that Aph B is temporay immobile when
executing this move, making him very vulnerable especially if it misses.

[Right Turbo Crouching]
  Aph B crouches to produces a stun tornado similar to the standing
variation.

  I have not explored this move fully, but the crouching variation is
significantly slower to come out (between activation and the release of
the stun tornado, the crouching variation takes much longer than the
standing variation).  There appears to be litte difference between the
effects of the stun tornadoes released in either variation, so I feel
that there is little need to use this move, especially since the 
momentary delay can mean the difference between hitting and missing.

[Right Turbo Jumping]
  Similar to the normal jumping move, Aph B releases a pair of vertical
sonic rings at the jump's apex, draining most of the full ammo gauge
required.

 There is a significant difference in this move: They may not have any
freezing or stunning effect but they can actually do significant damage
about two to three times that of a normal sonic ring.  This is the only
redeeming factor in an otherwise risky move.

[Left Turbo Standing]
  From standing, Aph B flicks his tongfer blades forward quickly to
release a single sonic ring.

  Like other LT weapons, this sonic ring variation does minimal damage
but has good stunning potential.  It flies out fast, but have totally no
homing ability, limiting it to very short effective range.  It also does
not have notable shot-negating properties.  Its ability to stagger a VR
is quite good however for a single projectile.

[Left Turbo Crouching]
  Aph B crouches to produce a homing tornado.  Unlike the stun tornadoes
mentioned previous, the homing tornado has totally different properties.
Firstly, the homing tornado is slow, but has good homing and persists
for several seconds, chasing the target down relentlessly similar to
Specineff's normal LW and RTLW attacks.  Secondly, instead of freezing
an enemy on contact, it stuns the target, staggering or occasionally
knocking it down.  Thirdly, it does significant damage on a hit, both to
energy and to the V. Armour of the target.

  Singly, homing tornadoes are not particular hard to evade.  However,
homing tornadoes require about a quarter of the CW ammo gauge; it is
not hard to release several homing tornadoes in quick succession
(sometimes referred to as 'tornado flood') which, if released so that
they approach the target from different angles, can be maddening to
avoid especially if they converge on the target in quick succession.

[Left Turbo Jumping]
  Aph B releases a horizontal sonic ring at the apex of the jump.  The
sonic ring properties are similar to the standing variation: fast, stuns
but does low damage and no homing.  Definitely to be avoided.

Close Combat Move
=================

  Aph B's greatest strength in CC is his ability to do horrendous damage
to any VR to run foul of his attacks, especially his CW Tongfer.  His
fast ground speed and ability to adsorb minor hits without being stopped
also grant him good prospects of reducing the range close enough for his
CC arsenal to come into play.

  Close Combat Activation Range for Weapons/Triggers:

Right Weapon/Trigger        Below  55.0 meters
Left Weapon/Trigger         Below  75.0 meters
Centre Weapon/Trigger       Below 135.0 meters

Note that Aph B's CC CW activation range is a whopping 135 meters.  This
is far greater than any other VR's.  This means that Aph B can initiate
CC from a relative greater range compared to other VRs.  In the heat of
battle, they may not realise that Aph B may have closed in to CC range
until Aph B actually slides forward with tongfer blades glowing.  The
greater activation range also allows Aph B to have greater leeway in
Quickstepping (discussed later).

  Close Combat Moves:

1) Standing
2) Guard-Cancel
3) Crouching
4) Right Turbo Standing
5) Quick Step
6) Jumping
7) Dashing

  Left Turbo weapon attacks can be used in CC, even if the respective
normal weapon is activated for CC.  Though they are mainly non-damaging
weapons, they can still be effective in dictating the flow of the CC
engagement.

  When an opponent is knocked down, it is possible to inflict a little
extra damage on the prone VR.  In CC ranges, each VR has one special
ground attack to cause much more extra damage.

1: Standing

  Basically, standing attacks are initiated by simply squeezing the
corresponding trigger/s when the weapon is activated for CC.  The latter
is shown by the respective ammo gauge turning yellow in colour.

  Standing attacks are the very basics in CC offensive.  They are also
cancelled easily prior to hit detection by either a jump or a dash.

[Right Weapon : Right Forearm Bash]
  Rushing forward, Aph B raises his right arm and smashes it into the
opponent's face.

  One of Aph B's faster CC attacks, the forearm bash's weak points are
in its relatively low damage potential compared to the rest of Aph B's
CC arsenal and its small contact area, making it quite liable to miss
should the enemy even move slightly to the side.  With the exception of
light VRs, knockdown potential is non-existant

  If RW is pressed another two times, Aph B would attempt to follow up
the bash with a backhand, then an end straight punch.  Hitting with all
three attacks can do a lot of damage, but the series of attacks come
out slow and a decent play can recover in time to defend against the
rest of the combination, or even interrupt Aph B inbetween attacks.
Using the combination is a definite no-no against any player competent
in CC.

[Left Weapon : Left Tongfer Slash]
  Activating both tongfer blades, Aph B slides forward and flicks his
left tongfer upward and diagonally to the right, creating a rough 135
degree clockwise slash from his left.

  Though slightly slower than the forearm bash, the tongfer slash is
still decently fast and does much greater damage.  Its contact area is
quite good, allowing it to hit targets even if they are standing
slightly off to one side.  Knockdown chances are slightly better but
are not guaranteed against all but the lightest of targets.

  If LW is pressed another two times,Aph B  will attempt to follow up
with a right tongfer slash and an ending spinning left heel kick. Like
the RW CC combination described above, the series of attack can do
good total damage but comes out too slow to guarantee that against any
good CC opponent.

[Centre Weapon : Tongfer]
  With both tongfer blades activated, Aph B slides forward, leading with
his right arm/tongfer.  On reaching the opponent (or sometimes bypassing
him), Aph B swings his tongfer blades around with his left tongfer
first, then the right.

  For starters, a major correction from my last FAQ version:  Some other
VRs have CC moves that can do damage on par with Aph B's tongfer, but
those moves' uses are significantly more difficult to hit with than
normal.

  Aph B's tongfer has only average speed, but even a glancing hit will
do damage ranging from 35+% energy on Dordray/Raiden to 80+% energy on
the weaknest VR Specineff.  As Aph B swings his tongfer blades around,
the contact area is quite decent.  Should an intended target attempt to
dash away at the last moment, chances are still good that it will get
nicked in the back for full damage.

  The greatest advantage of Aph B's tongfer is the long activation range
and sliding distance.  The tongfer is a tad too slow to be used as a
mainstray in toe-to-toe encounters.  Nontheless, Aph B should attempt
tongfer in all but near point-blank ranges, on the off chance that the
opponent gets caught unaware or unable to defend.  It is not that risky
as the long slide and average speed also translates into slightly longer
time to cancel out of the tongfer in event of a likely miss.

  As Aph B swings twice when executing CC CW tongfer, there might be a
remote possibility that a opponent can guard against the first swing and
counterattack fast enough to interrupt the second.  However, though I
have encountered a couple of opponents who attempted the above against
my Aph B, none has been successful so far.

[Tongfer in conjunction with Stun Tornado]
  As mentioned in the ranged weapons section, when Aph B successfully
freezes his opponent at very close range using a stun tornado, sometimes
Aph B can march up close enough to activate his CC tongfer, and attempt
tongfer on the hapless VR.  This is a powerful combination, as a frozen
VR cannot guard against the tongfer.  However, it is possible that the
opponent may struggle out of the freeze in time to execute a defensive
move.  Hence Aph B must still be ready to cancel his tongfer attempt.
This is not as likely with the RT variation, which tends to freeze for a
longer duration.

  Occasionally, a VR may be frozen above the ground, high enough to
prevent the tongfer from hitting.  In this case, the quickest response
is to use a CC RT tongfer to give the uppercut, which is capable of
hitting the VR suspended in mid-air.  The uppercut will be discussed in
greater detail in the respective section later.

[Double Tongfer Hit with Stun Tornado]
  Occasionally, when Aph B attacks a target frozen with a stun tornado,
the enemy does not get knocked down after the attack.  Should Aph B use
his tongfer on the frozen VR, there is the potential for double hits as
the tongfer swings twice.

  When Aph B hits with the first swing of his tongfer blades, the target
may either get knocked down, knocked out of the freeze effect or very
rarely remain frozen.  In the latter two cases, chances are very good
(but not guaranteed) that Aph B's second swing will hit as well for
full damage.

  Such a combination is rare, but if it does occur, the stun tornado
into double tongfer will inflict enough damage to kill off any light VR
and most medium VRs from 100% energy.  The heavy VRs Dordary and Raiden
will be severely crippled with the loss of some 80% of their energy bar.
I have both witnessed and played games in which one player was leading
decisively before the stun-tornado-double-tongfer combination totally
turned the match around, quite often killing the victim in the bargain!

  This deadly combination is not fullproof.  For starters, even if the
target does not get knocked down, the second swing may not register as a
hit whether the target remains stunned or not.  And if the target gets
knocked out of the stun by the first swing, a quick opponent who remains
calm can recover in time to guard against the second swing.  Aph B
players are warned of this possibility however rare it can be, and must
be ready to defend themselves as appropriate

2: Guard-Cancel

  Guard-cancel CC attacks are actually a variation of the standing CC
moves.  The player must initiate a guard command at CC activation range,
then release his guard and attack by hitting either or both triggers.
Whether the guard actually stops an incoming CC attack does not affect
the guard-cancel CC unless the VR gets knocked down.

  Guard-cancel CC CW is ignored in this discussion as it does not gain
any significant advantage over the standing CC CW.

  Basically guard-cancel CC RW/LW has the following differences over
standing CC LW/RW:

1)  The RW/LW used need not be activated for CC to be used; the only
    requirement is that the VR itself has achieved double-lock (reaches
    CC activation range for ANY of its three weapons).  Though the VR
    may not be able to use standing CC RW/LW under these circumstances
    guard-cancel RW/LW will automatically work.  (This is a major
    advantage to certain VRs especially Temjin and Cypher)

2)  The forward slide toward the target is greatly reduced in length.
    Most VRs' guard-cancel RW/LW are useful only at very short ranges
    (but NOT all).

3)  Guard-cancel RW/LW has much greater ability to track targets, even
    those off to the side; chances of hitting are much greater.

4)  Guard-cancel RW/LW generally do slightly lesser damage, are faster,
    and have greater knockdown potential compared to the corresponding
    standing CC.

[Right Weapon: Guard-Armbash]

  Similar to the standing version, the guard-cancel CC RW is probably
Aph B's fastest CC attack.  Best used as an immediate counter after
guarding against an opponent's CC attack.  Guard-armbash will easily
knock down light VRs but will only stagger the more steady ones.

[Left Weapon: Guard-Slash]
  The guard-cancel CC LW has Aph B flicking the left tongfer blade at an
angle that is more horizontal, creating what looks more like a 180
degree slash from the left.  The increased speed, contact area and
tracking along with the reduced forward slide makes this move the staple
CC attack at short range.  Chances of catching sidesteppers are very
good provided the opponent is fairly close enough, given the mediocre
reach of the tongfer blade.

  Guard-slash will almost certainly knockdown any VR on a hit.

3: Crouching

  Standing and guard-cancel CC moves have a problem in that they can be
defended against by guarding. Most of the expected damage is lost, and
the defending VR remains upright on his feet, prepared to immediately
counter with a guard-cancel CC attack.

  Crouching CC moves are one way to avoid this outcome.  As the attack
is aimed below the target VR's guard, at the legs, crouching CC moves
cannot be guarded against.  Irregardless of damage done, hitting with
a crouching CC attack is mostly a guaranteed knockdown.  The bad aspects
of using crouching CC moves are that they are significantly slower and
are much more difficult to cancel out of using a dash before hit
detection occurs (cancelling with a jump is unknown of for crouching CC
attacks).

  Crouching CC attacks are best used when the player anticipates that
the opponent is likely to guard instead of dodging or interrupting an
incoming CC attack.  It is not unheard of to feint a standing CC attack
to induce a wary opponent to guard, only to cancel into a crouching CC
move to catch the enemy by surprise.

[Right Weapon : Foot Sweep]

  Aph B crouches and sweeps the opponent's feet off, using his right
foot in a short frontal arc.  A fast move, with fairly decent damage.
The contact area is not large but not too small, as Aph B sweeps from
the right.

[Left Weapon : Crouch Tongfer Flick]
  Sliding in low, Aph B extends both tongfer blades, then flicks the
left blade inwards and low.

  There is a major problem with hitting this move.  Should the target be
more or less directly in front of Aph B, this move somehow fails to hit.
This leaves Aph B very vulnerable.

  Conversely, if the opponent attempts to dodge to the side, chances of
hitting are actually quite good provided the short range requirement is
satisfied!  I even had a versus match that had my opponent dying to this
move in a most freaky manner:  I accidentally executed a crouch CC LW
which slides way past the other Aph B, leaving me very vulnerable as I
was frozen in place.  My opponent was in fact already bearing down on my
back as I missed.  However, he reached my back just as I executed the
crouch tongfer flick.  The flick actuallys starts from the back, so it
ended up that he was about to pound me into the ground when the flick
caught his legs, killing him first!

  Other that this 'unnatural' hit detection problem, the crouching CC LW
would have been a good move due to its decent speed and good damage.

[Centre Weapon : Crouch Tongfer]
  Sliding in low, Aph B brandishes his tongfer blades low and set to
work slashing away at the opponent's legs.

  Crouch tongfer shared some similarities with tongfer: Long activation
range/slide, Aph B swings his blades individually to create two slashes,
and good contact area to the side enables this move to catch sidesteppers
quite well

  Crouch tongfer is quite slow to come out and actually does less damage
comparing to the standing CC CW.  Considering that this move cannot be
blocked, the tradeoff is quite acceptable.

  Crouch tongfer can also achieve double hit on an VR frozen by a stun
tornado.  In such a event, the net damage is less than the standing
variation, but an opponent knocked out of the freeze by the first swing
cannot defend against the first swing.

4: Right Turbo Standing

  In CC, all VRs have their right turbo weapons change into special CC
attacks.  Mostly the attacks are more for eye candy than anything else,
though occasionally, the odd right turbo CC move can be useful.

  Right turbo CC moves can be guarded against with the guard command
like standing CC moves.  However, perhaps as a concession, a hit with a
turbo CC move is a guaranteed knockdown; guarding only cuts down on the
damage inflicted.  Right turbo CC moves can only be cancelled before
they actually hit, but not after.  Hence if it looks as if the intended
turbo CC move is about to miss, immediately cancel it.

[Right Weapon : Spinning Heel Kick]
  Aph B spins around to smash his right heel into his opponent's face.
Definately Aph B's fastest RT CC move with good damage.  It speed nearly
approached Aph B's forearm bash, so it is not a bad choice to use this
move sparingly.

[Left Weapon : Flip Kick]
  Rushing up to the opponent, Aph B executes a flip kick.  Damage
potential is almost up to tongfer level, but the move is quite slow and
hence is better avoided.

[Centre Weapon : Uppercut]
  Rushing up, Aph B activates both tongfer blades and executes an
uppercut with his right fist, with the right tongfer blade slashing
upwards through the opponent.

  A fair slow CC move, but the uppercut's damage potential is actually
slightly more than a standing tongfer!  The uppercut's real usage comes
from catching a VR frozen in mid-air too high for standing tongfer to
hit.  The upward slashing of the right tongfer blade has quite a high
reach for a CC move, and is also quite capable of nailing jumping VRs in
the initial stage of their jump.

5) Quick Step

  Quick step CC attacks is VOOT's equivalent to VOOM's circular slices.
However, probably for the sake of balance, these attacks are much slower
than circular slices and are not cancellable.  Fortunately, the
animation has also been made much more realistic; you can actually see
the VR combining the counterattack with the sidestep/circling very
smoothly.

  Due to his design symmetry, Aph B executes quick step attacks in both
clockwise and anti-clockwise directions identically.  On activation of a
quick step attack, Aph B will start to circle to his left/right and
activate the respective left/right tongfer blade.  Approaching the
actual attack, he will bring the respective arm/tongfer blade to his
waist, then sweep it outwards left/right to hit the target VR while
completing his quick step/circling.

  As mentioned, Aph B's tongfer's one flaw is in its length.  This is
very evident in a quick step attack (and also in dash tongfer swipe).
Under normal circumstances, Aph B can only hope to hit with a quick step
attack when it is initiated at very close range, unless the opponent
kindly narrows the distance during the circling.

  Quick step attacks always knock down on a successful hit, which is
expected given that they are not cancellable.  If initiated on a
opponent already guarding, the quick step would negate the guard command
unless the defending VR releases his guard then inputs the command again
before the quick step attack hits.  Aph B's quick step tongfer is pretty
damaging, though sadly only on par with his standing tongfer slash.

  Quick step attacks should rarely be used as a straightforward attack,
but are more effective in anticipation of an opponent's own CC attack.
The quick step would then send Aph B to one side of the attacker, whose
attack would most often make contact with nothing before Aph B cuts him
down from the side.  However, alert attackers with quick responses may
notice the initial quick stepping and either cancel their attack in an
evasive move or guard against the quick step attack.

  

6) Jumping or Small Hop

  Jumping CC attacks probably evolve as a countermove to crouching CC
attack, in which case the initial jump will take the defending VR over
the crouching CC move of the attacker, only to bring the defender down
on top of the would-be attacker to crush him with another CC move.  Like
quick step CC attacks, jumping CC moves are slow in execution, can not
be cancelled and are a guaranteed knockdown on a hit.  Jumping CC
attacks will also negate an initial guard attempt, unless the opponent
releases and inputs the guard commands after the VR starts his descent
down on top of his head.  Naturally, since the attack comes from above,
evasive action by jumping is mostly useless.  Jump CC attacks are also
able to hit landing VRs quite effectively.

  Some VRs apparently have more than one jumping CC move.  AFAIK,
however, Aph B has only one such attack.  On initiating a jumping CC
attack using either or both triggers, Aph B will leap up and does a
mid-air forward flip to bring the heel of his right foot down on the
enemy VR's head.

  IMHO, Aph B's jumping CC attack, which I would name the heel smash, is
a pretty pathetic move.  Compared with some other VRs', the contact area
of the heel is very small.  Aph B would most likely have to initiate the
heel smash at point blank range, and the opponent must remain nearly
right below Aph B for any chance at a hit. Just one step back on the
enemy's part and the heel smash would meet with nothing but the ground
and leave Aph B very vulnerable as he gets up.  The only good thing
about the heel smash is it being about as damaging as a tongfer slash,
but it's a very risky move.

  To date, I have only hit once with the heel smash in a serious versus
game.  I literally had to bait my Specineff sparring partner by
pretending to be confused at CC range and inviting him to take a swing
with the scythe of his.  Specineff charged in to take a swing, then Aph
B leapt up in the nick of time to hop over the failed swing and smash
his heel into Specineff's head, ending the match.  A very risky attempt
(but it worked!) that I will not be repeating again in a hurry.

7: Dashing (My Favourite!)

  Dashing CC attacks is a great enhancement in VOOT and adds a lot of
spice to the game if put into play.  Sega probably got wind of this
suggestion from several Japanese players; Chris Tan of VOOM Singapore
fame also mentioned in his VOOM Apharmd FAQ that it would be nice to do
a moving slash.

  Aph B has only two major variants of dashing CC attacks, his dashing
centre weapon attack and his dashing left/right weapons attacks, which
mirror each other in execution and damage.  Dashing CC attacks is very
useful to Aph B, who has most of the necessary VR attributes to pull off
such an attack.  His very fast forward dash enables him to close in the
distance easily, and his armour and stability will help him sustain
minor hits along the way without being interrupted.  As will most of his
CC moves, Aph B does great damage with a single dashing CC attack. The
only thing lacking is that Aph B's tongfer blades are not very long and
hence Aph B must be able to dash quite close to his opponent for a
chance at a dashing tongfer swipe.

  As with most other CC moves, dashing CC attacks can be guarded
against.  Skilled veteran players who see an onrushing Aph B bearing
down on them can often guess the intention to employ dash CC and put
up a guard in time to defend.  However, guarding can only be done if
the target is stationary on the ground, though actually hitting a ground
dashing VR is generally very difficult.

[Dashing Centre Weapon]
  Charging forward, Aph B activates and raises both tongfer blades above
his head, then brings them forward and down in an attempt to smash them
onto the opponent.

  Frankly speaking, the overhead smash (my name for this move) may do
good damage, but is nigh difficult to hit even against the AI (most
other dashing CC centre weapon attacks are hard to use too).  Most
dashing CC CW attacks require the attacker to practically dash directly
at the intended target, which is itself a tall order.  Furthermore, Aph
B's dashing CC CW has a extremely long activation time for Aph B to
raise his tongfer blades before smashing them down; the attacker must
time the attack very well to have a chance of hitting the target as it
gets in range.

[Dashing Left/Right Weapon]
  Racing forward, Aph B activates the respective left/right tongfer
blade, then brings forward his arm to swipe the tongfer blade in a wide
horizontal arc at around his chest level.

  The dashing tongfer swipe/slash (as I would call it) is much easier to
hit compared with the overhead smash.  Basically get Aph B to dash past the
enemy VR slightly to one side while activating the tongfer
blade on the side facing the VR just before reaching the opponent.
Though tongfer blades are not very long compared to Temjin's/Cypher's/
Fei-Yen's swords and Specineff's scythe, they are fairly adequate for
the job.  A rough guide is that the player should be able to see about
one side of the enemy VR on his screen when Aph B dashes past him.  A
dashing tongfer swipe executed a bit early can hit a target right in
front of Aph B, as the tongfer blade is brought forward to point to the
front, and can still do damage until it is actually deactivated (the
glowing blade fades away).

  Dashing tongfer swipes do damage roughly equivalent to a standing
tongfer slash.  To my knowledge, dashing tongfer swipes are the only
dash attack that Aph B has that is guaranteed to knock down the opponent
on a successful hit.  All other dashing attacks will at best knock down
the light VRs about one-third of the time.  The knock down effect is
especially significant to Aph B, since a knocked down opponent will not
be able to launch an immediate counterattack as Aph B recovers from his
attack.

[Employing Dash Turning with Dash CC]

  In VOOT, inputting a rotate command during a dash will cause the VR to
turn slightly to the respective side while dash.  This affects both
facing and dash trajectory to some extent, but generally is not signifncant
enough to be of much use.

  However, if a turning command is inputted together with a dash CC attack
command, the rotation effect becomes much more pronounced and can seriously
affect the contact area of the dash CC relative to the attacking VR.  For
instances, if Aph B does a right dash CC while rotating right, he will
swipe to the rear of his dash; if he does the right dash CC with a left
rotation, he will swipe more to his frontal arc.  Similar, if Aph B uses
his overhead smash with rotation, he will execute the smash off to the
respective side instead of to the front.

  The rotation effect is not always useful, but can be used to maximise
hit opportunities for a dash CC attack provided the player spends time to
become familiar with this move.

[Using Left Turbo Weapon Attacks In Close Combat]
  As ranged weapons, left turbo attacks can not be blocked, and hence
useful as a form of unguardable offensive compared with normal standing
CC attacks.  Their advantages over right turbo CC and crouch CC attacks
are speed and greater flexibility to be cancelled.

  Most of Aph B's left turbo attacks are stun or knockdown weapons with
minimal damage.  Crouch bouncing bombs are outright knockdown attacks,
while stun submachineguns and stun sonic ring tends to momentarily stun
most VRs first, unless they interrupt enemy attacks, which increase the
knockdown probability.  If an opponent is momentarily stunned, it may be
possible to follow-up with a CC attack for more damage and/or knockdown.

  Homing tornadoes are unique for Aph B in being the one left turbo
attack able to inflict significant damage on the enemy VR.  Though they
are relative slow, at CC ranges, there is still enough speed to surprise
most opponents.  Their stun effects tends to be more useful defensive at
such short range, asthey often stop many opponents from bearing down on Aph
B, giving him a little more time to evade.

[Ground Attacks or Chase CC]
  When any VR is knocked down onto the stage floor, either by taking
excessive damage or by certain attacks, the VR can still be slightly
damaged once more while lying on the ground.  At all but CC range, most
opposing players will attempt to shoot the prone VR.  However, ranged
weapons will inflict much less damage than normal on a downed VR.

  At CC ranges, each VR has a special ground attack or sometimes termed
Chase CC attack usable on a prone VR, which does a flat 14% damage on the
stricken target.  Most VRs have the ground attack configured as the normal
right weapon, although some VRs (Apharmd Striker, Bal-Bados, Dordary and
Fei-Yen Knight) have it configured as the left weapon.  When a VR is
knocked down within CC activation range of the respective weapon configured
for the ground attack, it is possible to utilise the latter.  The ground
attack is shown to be activated when the ammo gauge of the weapon, which
should be shown in yellow due to CC activation, darkens to light green.
Squeezing the trigger while the ammo gauge is green will cause the VR to
perform the ground attack.

  Ground attacks have a flaw in that once activated, they can not be
cancelled by any means.  Hence it is possible for the attacking VR to
start a ground attack, only for the prone VR to get up before the damage
can be inflicted.  The recovered VR is then able to crush the attacking
VR who must complete his ground attack attempt before putting up any
form of defence.  As such it can be risky to perform a ground attack,
especially since it takes time for the ground attack to be activated and
available.  Due to this problem, some veteran players have come up with
compromises, by using non-dedicated makeshift ground attacks that are
immediately available once the enemy VR is knocked down.  Damage is much
less than the specialised ground attack, but the damage is much more
easily accomplished and less hazardous on failing to hit.

  The right weapon activates Aph B's normal down attack.  The move
consists of Aph B energising and raising his right tongfer blade, before
smashing it down on the prone VR.  This ground attack is risky due to
its relatively slow activation time compared to some others (Fei-Yen
Knight, Temjin and Specineff simply stick their CC weapon straight down
at the prone VR).  Fortunately, Aph B's standing tongfer serves as a
surprisingly effective makeshift ground attack in terms of damage
potential and availability.  By using tongfer at CC ranges, Aph B will
slide beside the prone VR and slash away at the top with the tongfer
blades.  Damage is better than most other makeshift attacks, probably
due to the heavy damage potential of the normal CC tongfer.  Also, the
long CC activation range of the tongfer always Aph B to use it much more
freely.  Even if the opponent is knocked down by non-CC means at a range
slightly greater than 135 meters, Aph B is often able to close in the
distance and use CC tongfer for more damage than what any of his ranged
weapons can inflict on the prone VR.

  Besides CC tongfer, other CC attacks that can easily strike a fallen
opponent include the crouching CC tongfer and the RTCW uppercut.  All
three makeshift attacks does nearly equal damage on a grounded VR, though
some Aph B players prefer the uppercut for 'style', since it looks so ...

  In addition, a well-timed and executed dashing CC CW overhead smash can
hit a grounded VR for similar damage.  The difficulty of actually timing
the overhead smash to strike the target just as Aph B runs right into it
makes this primarily a show-off stunt, though pretty impressive.  This
move is more reserved for medium range knockdowns due to the sheer speed
of Aph B's forward dash.

  As a guideline, if the opponent suffered a powerful blow that accounts
for him being knocked down, a ground attack attempt is acceptable if it
becomes available within a second of the VR hitting the ground.
Otherwise, it is more prudent to just tongfer over the VR's stricken
body.


Putting it all together
=======================

- to be re-written; please be patient as this is not an enviable task q8-S -

Notes against Specific VRs in Versus Mode
=========================================

  This section covers a little of what the author knows of the preferred
tactics and moves of standard and elite players of the other VRs.  The
primary differences between standard and elite players are that the latter
tend to have exceptional reaction time, intimate knowledge of both their
own and opponents' VRs, complex combination moves and ability to switch
between different playing strategies on the fly.   The author himself can
only be considered a 'veteran' at best, having played with the local elites,
but stands little chance of winning a match should the elites go all-out.

  At the start of each section on a specific VR, there is a rough gauge
of how the VR measures up versus Aph B in different areas:

Ground: Overall Ground Speed
Air:    Overall Air Speed
Power:  Weapon Firepower
CC:     Close Combat Effectiveness
Armour: Damage Resistance

  The number of +/- signs show whether the VR referred to is at an advantage
or disadvantage relative to Aph B, and by how much.  A '~' sign means a
rough parity in the relevent field.

[Ajim] -incomplete-

Ground: ~/++
Air: +/++
Power: +
CC: +
Armour: -

  There are basically two types of players who uses Ajim to challenge other
non-Ajim players; those who think picking Ajim is a shortcut to victory and
those elites who really know how to maximise Ajim's biggest strength:  his
insane mobility at Mobility Level 5.

  The following discussion is meant to plumment those newbies who pick Ajim
for lack of skill.  Against an elite player piloting Ajim, most anyone is
dead once Ajim gains the lead (not hard to do) and starts playing runaway
chicken; you have better luck catching a rowing Specineff.

  Against newbie Ajims, remember player Ajim's greatest weakness: he has
nearly uncontrollable rotation ability.  Make the best use of the by staying
close and keep running off to the side to maximise his turning problems.
Though any decent player knows how to jump cancel, even the slightest
rotation command will cause Ajim to spin.

  Learn to negate his standard RW and LW attacks using either sonic rings
or stun submachineguns.  A special note on Ajim's LW, which consist of
him throwing out big homing coloured spheres not unlike Specineff's RTLW.
Besides good homing, they are far faster and does major damage even on
an indirect hit by the explosion.  Fortunately, they can not pass through
obstacles without prematurely detonating and are very easily disrupted by
most weapon fire.  Whenever Ajim throws one out, attempt to prematurely
detonate it with weapon fire or, if luxury permits, stand slightly behind
a large obstacle and let the sphere impact on it.  Definitely do not dodge
and 'forget' about it; unless it explodes prematurely, it has a better than
even chance on catching up to you with disasterous consequences.

  WRT Ajim's CW, his greatest threat comes from his RTCW which throws out
rolling dark boards that reflects incoming fire and slowly homes in on
the target through explosions and obstacles.  There is no way to destroy it
apart from keeping away til it expires, which is not easy at all.  When
doing most dash CW, Ajim throws out varied numbers of small coloured balls
which attempt to home in quickly on the target.  On, impacting they have
different effects on the target, ranging from mere damage to draining
ammo guages to disabling weapons.  Fortunately, they are not hard to dodge
given warning.  Note that of the coloured balls, the dark blue/purple ball
with a white centre actually restores the target to 100% on impact, though
attempting to get hit by this ball alone among a bunch of others is quite
a challenge

  The author has no experience with Ajim at CC range, mostly because most
Ajim player don't stick around to fight it out.  However, Ajim's
guard-cancel LW may be similar to Temjin's (further down).

[Angelan]

Ground: -
Air: ++
Power: +
CC: --
Armour: -

  Angelan is most mobile when rowing in the air; her aerial rowing speed is
enough to allow her to challenge Cypher for the 'King of the Air' title.
The standard Angelan strategy is to use her aerial agility to evade attacks
and keep her distance, perferably behind obstacles where she could set up
her attacks.

  Aph B has little chance of hitting Angelan while she is air-rowing, he
must concentrate on catching her as she lands, not an easy feat.  An
alternative strategy is to hinder her attempts to jump away with crouching
LTLWs

  Angelan's ground movements are below par, but not her attacks.  Her
normal RW shots have fairly high priority over many other VRs' RWs,
including Aph B's submachineguns, though it is not too great a loss.  Sonic
rings cannot stop Angelan's RW shots but neither are they affected by them.
At short range, her crouching LW Ice Pillars are fast enough to surprise
lesser players, though their homing abilities are not as good as standing
Ice Pillars.  Her LTRW fires a fast laser beam that does decent damage and,
more importantly, has excellent chances of knocking down any target; her
LTLW throws out multiple ice crystals in a sweeping move from her right,
and are fast and dense enough to be difficult to dodge at close range.  In
defence, she can throw up a LTCW diamond-shaped Ice Shield that blocks out
almost all non-explosive attacks and lasts for several seconds.

  Avoid giving Angelan any relief from your attacks; given some leeway, she
may start off either her CW Ice Dragon Breath, which besides being fairly
difficult to dodge, also deals serious V. Armour damage, or RTCW Double
Ramming Dragon, which does grevious damage if both dragon head hit the
victim nearly simultaneously, or her RTLW Big Ice Pillar which, besides
good damage, homes in persistantly like Aph B's homing tornados and passes
through most obstacles.  The Big Ice Pillars also tend to survive
encounters with enemy explosive attacks. (gah!)

  When Angelan does an extended jump, she may either be aiming to get away
using her air rowing, or she may try to release an attack in the air.
Staple aerial attacks include CW, RTCW, RTLW or RTRW.  Angelan's RTRW has
her releasing a quick screw-like dragon head that, if it successfully hits,
will literally freezes the target in a block of ice, doing a little
continous damage while the target remains frozen and immobilising the VR
to boot.  The latter effect can be an especially bad proposition if there
is already a previously-launched RTLW or worse, a RTCW chasing after the
now-helpless VR.  Angelan's RTRW is rarely seen on the ground since it
can be easily disrupted by most incoming fire plus she is immoblised and
must have direct line-of-sigh for the attack to hit, but in the air, such
problems are minimised.

  CC-wise, Angelan is very weak offensively as, besides doing poor damage,
her standing and RT CC attacks have horrible reach.  However, when she uses
her crouching CC LW and CW attacks, they generate ice crystals on the floor
which which damage and trip up enemies.  These ice crystals last for a few
seconds unless destroyed by explosives, so watch your step if she lays 
a few ice patches down.  Her LTRW and LTLW can be still used in CC and, at
such short ranges, are very dangerous.  Angelan can also erect LTCW Ice
Shields in CC range, which will knockdown any VR that collides into them.

[Apharmd Battler]

Ground: na
Air: na
Power: na
CC: na
Armour: na

  In any mirror match, VR abilties do not matter that much.  Instead, the
duel will be based literally on individual pilot reflexes, cunning and
usage of abilities.  Watch out for overdependence on any one field and
possible openings.

[Apharmd Striker] -incomplete-

Ground: -
Air: +
Power: +
CC: -
Armour: ~

  Apharmd Striker, or Aph S, loses out to Aph B in CC ability and ground
agility.  In return, his long range firepower is enhanced and his air
dash speed is above average.

  On the surface, Aph B and Aph S seems to retain napalm as a common LW.
However, the weapon performance differs considerably.  Aph S' standard
and dash LW attacks does slightly greater damage and are better when
used defensively in blocking out enemy attacks; Aph B gains the edge in
dash bomb throwing accuracy.  Soccerbomb wise, Aph B wins hands downs
by both damage and throwing accuracy.  There is little difference in the
performance of either's bouncing bombs.

[Bal-series] -unwritten-

Ground: -/+
Air: +
Power: ++
CC: -
Armour: -

  Bal's greatest threat comes from his Ejectable Remote Launcher (ERL)
attack combinations, which range from numerous types of mines to lasers to
beams.

[Cypher] -incomplete

Ground: -
Air: ++
Power: ~
CC: +
Armour: --

  Cypher is almost untouchable in the air; Aph B must either nail him when
he lands, get in close enough to hit him with a bomb blast, or drop him
with stun submachineguns and chase CC him on the ground.  All are difficult
to accomplish especially if Cypher chooses to fight at long range.

  Cypher has only average speed on the ground; most good Cypher players
learn to use his exceptional aerial agility and air dash speed to avoid
getting hit.  Expect lots of diagonal jumps and other aerial moves from
Cypher.  When the Cypher player senses that the coast is relatively clear
he may land and attempt to fire one of his ground-based attacks; this is
also when Cypher tends to be vulnerable.
  
  Cypher's attacks mostly do average damage but they are very effective
at range.  Expect to see his CW homing beam, his LTCW or crouching CW 4-way
missiles (which can be half-cancelled to give 2-way missiles), his RTLW
Laser and his LW daggers as standard attacks.

  Most good Cypher players learn to cancel their standing LW daggers to
fire 2-3 daggers off on Cypher's forward right arc, with the intent of
conserving ammunition.  Naturally, this move is useless against opponents
in or moving to Cypher's left.  Repeated cancelling of standing LW will
lead to practicall infinite LW daggers being fired, which is a scary tactic
at long range.

  Cypher is not a pushover in CC.  Damagewise he may be weak, but his
preferred CC attacks are hard to avoid.  Cypher's guard-RW is very fast and
has very good reach to his front; his guard-LW is only marginally slower but
does much more damage and sweeps his energy sword outward in a 180 degree
frontal arc.  The excellent reach of both attacks are due to his long energy
sword, the longest CC weapon after Temjin's Sword.  Most of his CC attacks
also do significant V. Armour damage.

  A special Cypher trick in CC range is to immediately execute his special
move SLC Dive just as an opponent charges in to attack with CC weapons.  The
difficulty of this move limits it as an elite-level stunt, but if well timed
it can be effective against enemies approach from all sides, even the rear.
Used normally, Cypher's SLC Dive does good damage to both energy and V.
Armour, but loses automatic homing and invulnerability compared to VOOM's
Viper II's SLC Dive.  Still, be prepared to see the occasional short ranged


[Dordary]

Ground: -
Air: -
Power: +
CC: -
Armour: ++

  A good Dordary strategy takes advantage of his enhanced V. Armour when
crouching, and does a lot of dash crouching attacks to maximise this edge.
Aph B, however, is not overly affected by this because he can still fall
back on his sonic rings and bombs to do undeflectable damage.

  Besides his forward and forward diagonal dash (crouching) RW fireball,
which can do serious damage, Dordary's  side dash crouching RW is often
utilised.  This move fires of up to 5 exploding fireball in a chain.  In
addition to good damage, the fireball explosions have significant stunning
and knockdown effect, particularly if most of the fireball chain hits.
The fireball explosions last for a second or two and can stagger VRs who
attempt to walk through even though there is no direct hit scored.

  When Dordary is not dashing, he can probe effective using crouching RW
which fires of a single exploding fireball, and all his LT attacks.  Both
the crouching LTRW claw and crouching LTLW drill have decent speed and
stunning potential, but be especially wary of his crouching LTCW stun
flaming ring, which is fast, does decent damage and has excellent stun
potential that not even Aph B or another Dordary can shirk off.  Many
good Dordary players end a ground dash attack with an immediate crouching
LTCW to give pause to the opponents who have successfully evaded the dash
attack.  Attacking such Dordarys with forward dash attacks are obviously
very difficult.

  My anti-Dordary strategy is to keep moving and chip away slowly with
sonic rings and bombs.  Charging a Dordray is likely to have Aph B
staggered or knocked down by his crouching LTCW with nothing to show for
it.  Using homing tornado is not a bad idea since Dordary is not fast
enough to have a easy time dodging them, plus they would weaken his
V. Armour and allow Aph B to starting doing serious damage with dash
submachineguns when the luxury allows.

  Do not discount Dordary's drill and CD rush; both are fast and does good
damage.  The drill rush makes Dordary invulnerable for the whole duration
and is more maneuverable at some slight expense in damage.  Both rushes
can be blocked as CC attacks, like many other 'ram' attack; of course, you
have to be quick on the controls.

  When Dordary does a jump at long range, be especially wary as he may
use his jumping RTCW, which throws out a whole stream of damaging 
V. Hurricane rings.  A good player knows to hold down the RT and slew
Dordary around, throwing the rings out to cover an insane area.  Even a
single hit will do major damage as well as a guaranteed knockdown. Trying
to dodge them all is chancy, and they tend to pass through most obstacles
with ease.  Fortunately for Aph B, his standing LW napalm is sufficent to
block the rings; dash along with the napalm explosions to ensure Aph B is
protected for the entire duration.

  In CC, Dordary is slow but does heavy damage with each hit.  Be careful
and be ready to outwait him; remember that he can still call on his LT
attacks to stun or drop Aph B long enough to make tracks out of CC range.
Tongfer sliding right in the face of a Dordary is bad, as a fast Dordary
can get up his V. Hurricane fast enough to freeze Aph B right in front of
him, a real bad proposition.  Like Aph B's stun-tornado-tongfer combo,
Dordary can hit twice on a frozen VR using his standing CC CW attack;
elite Dordarys have learned special CC combos which do even more damage
should they be allowed to performed on a frozen victim.

[Fei-Yen Knight] -unwritten-

Ground: ~
Air: +
Power: +/++
CC: +
Armour: -

  Fei-Yen is a fast and fairly powerful opponent for Aph B to face.

  

[Grysvok] -incomplete-

Ground: -
Air: ~
Power: ++
CC: -
Armour: -

  Grysvok is not very well stacked against Aph B.  Though his long range
attacks are powerful, Grysvok is not fast enough nor properly equipped to
prevent a decent Aph B player from closing ranges rapidly where Aph B will
run roughshod over the missile platfrom.

[Raiden] -incomplete-

Ground: -
Air: -
Power: ++
CC: -
Armour: ++

  Raiden is pretty much a fairly difficult VR to master as one must learn to
overcome his below average movement speed, especially his ground walking
speed.  However, for the good players who learn to accomodate his weakness
and maximise his damage potential, he is a real difficult opponent.

  Raiden still retains his trademark CW Lasers which still does massive
damage on a hit, though no longer able to totally waste crouching opponents
from 100% energy.  The usage of the Lasers still remains similar to VOOM,
being used to 'intercept' dashing opponents along predicted paths.  The
Lasers come out slightly slower in VOOT; there is a brief flash around
Raiden's shoulders when his CW is activated.  Unlike VOOM, the Lasers can
now be cancelled prematurely with a dash or jump, giving him the option
to scare using the Lasers as a threat.  Raiden's RTCW Screw Lasers are
slower to come out, but does even more damage and, more importantly are
known to punch right through all forms of explosives or other defensive
weapons used by their opponents.  His LTCW throwns out long lines of
electricity in a cylindrical 'cage' that lasts for several seconds; any
opponent who touches the laser cage in any manner will be frozen quite
effectively for several seconds at the tender mercies of Raiden.  Raiden
also has the option of half-cancelling all his CW variations to save
ammunition and good Raidens make extensive use of this, meaning you can bet
on seeing many single Laser beams and 'half' cages.



[Specineff]

Ground: +
Air: ~
Power: +
CC: ~
Armour: --

  Specineff is probably one of Aph B's worst opponents.  His ground dash
speed is very fast, in almost ALL directions, while only Aph B's ground
forward dash speed is truly fast.

  Most good Specineff players prefer to fight at long range to maximise the
advantages of his powerful CW 'shockwave' attacks.  Chasing such players
down is a task in itself.  Should the Specineff player be conversant with
rowing and has no qualms about playing machi, be ready to admit defeat
unless you are very good.

  Chances of engaging runaway Specineffs in CC are extremely rare, so Aph B
must content himself with a running battle, using his more homing ranged
attacks and attemptting to come out ahead in the exchanges of weapon fire.
By no means an easy task, as Aph B must juggle between attempts to close in
while watching out for Specineff's fast and accurate RW and CW attacks.

  Watch out for Specineff's crouching CW shockwaves at shorter ranges as
they come out extremely fast with good accuracy.  His moving crouch RW
shots are also fairly annoying due to decent speed and damage.  For dash
attacks, his foward and forward diagonal ground dash RW does remarkable
damage, and his ground dash crouching CW shockwaves are as effective as
the non-dashing crouching CW.  Though Specineff is fairly slow in air
dashes, his air dash CW still pose a fair threat.

  At longer ranges, be wary if Specineff pauses behind cover as he may
launch his RTCW homing shockwave, which has deadly homing ability and can
easily hit all but the most nimble of opponents.  In Aph B's defence, only
his crouch LW napalm can hope to block out this attack.  Use crouching LW
more frequently when fighting Specineff as many other variations of his CW
shockwaves can pass through standing LW.  LW-wise, many Specineffs would
try to find enough leeway to stop for long enough to launch a RTLW 'purple
ball' which does significantly more damage and homes in nearly as
persistently as his standard LW plasma balls.  Specineff's jumping RTRW
'turbo dart' has uncanny homing at medium range if he mananges to center
his sights onto the target; his crouching RTRW is surprisingly fast and is
a guaranteed knockdown.  An airborne target hit with the crouching RTRW
also gains the humiliation of having to soar uncontrollably upwards for a
few seconds while additional energy is drained away, before crashing back
down to the ground in a heap at Specineff's feet and tender mercies.

  A little noted weakness of Specineff is that he shows a slight problem
with dash rotation in ground dash attacks (most VRs in VOOT have almost
perfect dash rotation).  If the opponent dash to Specineff's rear and he
responds with a ground dash attack (especially a forward or forward
diagonal RW attack), there is a fair chance that Specineff does not rotate
quite enough to hit with his attack.

  Generally, fighting in arenas littered with obstacles than can provide
cover is advantageous to Aph B.  However, Specineff's standard CW attacks
are unaffected by obstacles; a crowded arena only serves to help Specineff
in hit-and-run tactics while hindering Aph B in trying to catch the bugger
with his already poor ranged arsenal.

  Though many Specineff players avoid CC with Aph B (since a lucky tongfer
by the latter practically spells doom for the former), Specineff can hold
his own in CC.  He does good damage with his attacks, outreaches Aph B due
to his longer scythe and is fast.  His fastest CC move is his guard-LW
which has him does a left claw swipe, though at only very short range.  His
guard-RW slashes his scythe out quickly at a slightly greater reach than
Aph B's guard-LW.  Finally, Specineff can execute one of his special moves,
the multiple plasma balls spread, in CC range with devastating effect if
Aph B rushes forward too eagerly.  The plamsa balls spread is not a major
threat at any other range.

  On the topic of special moves, Specineff also has his sliding tackle
(forward dash crouching CW with 100% CW ammo) and his Death Mode (hit Start
Button twice when lagging in energy).  The sliding tackle does good damage
and can be steered.  However, the duration is very short, and more
importantly, at the end of the tackle, ALL of Specineff's ammo gauges are
drained to 0%.  If Aph B successfully avoid the sliding tackle, this gives
him a few seconds to go all-out on a nearly defenseless Specineff.  The
Death Mode renders Specineff totally invulnerable to all damage for 13 
seconds, after which he automatically dies and loses the round.  The
Specineff player has that much time to win by killing his opponent; if
Death Mode is activated when there is less than 13 seconds of the round to
go, Specineff also automatically loses if the opponent remains alive at
the end of the round.

  The important thing to note is that Specineff can still be knocked down
by attacks even though he can not be killed for the vital 13 seconds.
Hence, upon realising that a Specineff opponent has activated Death Mode
(quite easy as Specineff can not be damaged by any means), Aph B's priority
changes to simply surviving until the 13 seconds are up.  To that end, either
flee and avoid getting killed or shift tactics and concentrate on using
knockdown attacks to force Specineff to waste timegetting up.  Sounds cheesy,
but what else can you do???

[Temjin]

Ground: -
Air: +
Power: +
CC: +
Armour: +

  Temjin's primary bite comes from his famous Big Two (forward dash RW).
Expect his Surboard Ram to come out when the player is desperate.

  Aph B actually has a significant advantage at long range battles.  Most
variations of Temjin's CW Swordbeam has a maximum range of some 400 meters
and his LTRW Stun Beam Rifle (the pioneer Temjin player in Singapore calls
it the 'tractor beam') has a maximum range of around 250 meters.  In
addition, Aph B's standing sonic rings and stun submachineguns can easily
neutralise almost all of Temjin's CW swordbeams and normal RW shots.

  Closer, Temjin gains the advantage with the heavy damage potential of
his Big Two and his dash CC attacks, which has incredible reach due to the
sheer length of his energy sword.  Expect Temjin to probe with moving
crouching CW swordbeams and moving crouching RW beam rifles, besides his
stun attacks LTCW and LTRW.  Temjin's LW is geared toward defense and is
mostly ineffective as an offensive tool, though he can throw a nasty
stun-effect bomb with good accuracy using crouching LTLW, which also serves
well in damaging V. Armour.

  If Temjin seems to cut back on his offensive attacks, he may be saving up
his ammo for a surprise Surfboard Ram.  Good Temjin players will avoid
initiating a Ram in plain sight and at long range, as that is easily
defended against or even interrupted.  Instead, they tend to get out of the
opponent's field of vision at short range before attacking with the Ram,
which gives minimal warning to the intended victim.  In the event of
successfully defeating a Ram attempt, remember that Temjin drains all of
his ammo gauges with this move, and try to whale on him while he recovers.

  In close combat, Temjin's fastest attack comes from his RW rifle poke.
Apart from point-blank range, however, the pokes misses very easily.  His
mainstray CC attack is his guard-CC LW, which has Temjin sweeping out his
sword in a large frontal arc.  This attack has good speed and insane reach
(again due to his long sword), and is almost impossible to ground dash
away from. 

  Temjin has another special move 'Spinning Sword' which causes him to
extend his energy sword and spin toward his opponent.  The Spinning Sword
does good damage on a hit and is very difficult to avoid without dashing
or jumping away out of reach.  However, it is considered a CC move and can
be guarded against; just remember to keep guarding until the spin stops.
The weakness of the Spinning Sword is that it needs a significant amount
of time for Temjin to ready himself before starting the Spin.  However,
a side effect of this special move is that it enhances his V. Armour and
his stability.  I have seen a Temjin initiating the Spinning Sword deflect
the opposing Temjin's standing RW shot at 200 meters; I once hit the AI
Temjin who was spinning towards me with Specineff's RTRW which did damage
but failed to stop the spinning Temjin from slicing my VR into half ... :(
Hence to stop the Spinning Sword, either use powerful LT stun attacks or
guaranteed knockdown attacks like Aph B's crouching RTLW.  


Credits
=======

  Natas, for starting me off on Aph B seriously.  He was the first
diligent player that plays Aph B well enough to impress others.

  The SiVOC scene and other Singapore players for the hours of fun at
each other's expenses.

  VO players on rec.games.video.arcade, for their feedback on VO and
VOOT in general, as well as putting up with my ego at times.

  Tan Hwee Ping, for starting me off on VOOM... where are you now?

  Sega, for making this great game!

Final Request
=============

  For those VOOT Fans out there with any playing experience, please start
writing VOOT FAQs if you want to promote VOOT popularity!!!  Pretty please!


