Vaan (Dissidia 012)

Info
Name	Vaan (ヴァン)
Original game	Final Fantasy XII
Weapon	Parrying Weapons, all normal weapons except instruments
Armor	Shields, Bangles, Hats, Helms, Headbands, Clothing, Light Armor, Chestplates
Base ATK (LV100)	109 (Below Average)
Base DEF (LV100)	112 (High)
Run Speed	6 (Good)
Dash Speed	77F (Average / Good)
Fall Speed	73F (Great)
Fall Speed Ratio After Dodge	28 (Above Average)
Exclusive weapons	Reks's Blade, Sword of Kings, Zodiac Blade

Overview

Vaan is a close to mid range character in Dissidia 012 with a variety of bravery attacks in his arsenal. By utilising his unique "Switch" mechanic, Vaan can access a different bravery attack based on the bravery he previously used.

This is a double-edged sword - While Vaan has access to attacks with an abundance of above average properties, he is forced to commit to attacking if the player wants to use a specific bravery attack in the future. Many of Vaan's attacks have long start-up or long recovery and are designed to work at specific ranges and angles. As such, Vaan's necessity to whiff is mandated not just by the assist mechanic, but also the accessibility of his repertoire.

However, the nature of his gameplay actually lends well to low and intermediate players. Vaan's mechanical diversity exposes players to various aspects of decision making and gameplay interactions. While few staple loadouts exist, each match-up may demand specific combinations. This kind of diversity makes Vaan a compelling character to experiment with. He can crush blocks, engage from mid range, bypass projectiles, he even has infinite combos. Few solo combos exist, but assists expand his combo potential even further. Despite the relatively high damage multipliers on attacks, the below average base ATK stat means Vaan's damage output is only average without heavy investment. He scales well with investment and his mobility is good overall while boasting an above average base defense stat. Vaan's EX intake is slightly above average, but also has one of the most underwhelming EX modes in the game.

Vaan has been ranked mid and low tier throughout the game's competitive history. He is not known to be an effective counterpick character and optimising his play requires a lot of effort one might expect from a specialist. Even at his strongest, Vaan's gameplay is not necessarily polarising. He suffers from a three-slot-bravery dilemma and often times below average frame data or tracking. He is not proficient at building assist meter and he struggles against command blocks designed around mid and high priority attacks.

Players have to make compromises and take advantage of every mechanic, quirk and strategy they can. In a way, Vaan may truly exemplify the saying "jack of all trades is a master of none".

Bravery Attacks

All of Vaan's bravery attacks have two versions. Switch (SW) versions are performed when Vaan has not previously used the attack in question e.g. at the start of a match. On-hand (OH) versions are only performed if Vaan uses the same attack again after the Switch version.

All attacks have a ground and midair version.

Version	Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Switch	30	39F (Block 1~30F)	Physical	Block Mid / Melee Low	60	Chase, block	40 (20)
On-hand	5,7,13 (25)	19F	Physical	Melee Low	90	Chase
EX (Switch)	30	39F (Block 1~30F)	Physical	Block High / Melee Low	60	Chase, block, increased block priority

[Close] Sword and shield attack. Block attacks while switching.

EX Version's blocking priority is upgraded from Block Mid to Block High, the same as few other command blocks such as Cloud of Darkness' Wrath or Exdeath's Protect / Shell Guard. It will stagger opponents using Melee Mid attacks and Vaan himself will stagger against high priority (HP) attacks.

Version	Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Switch	30	33F	Physical	Melee High	0	Wall rush	40 (20)
On-hand	2 hits, 4 hits, 1 hit (7~25)	19F	Physical	Melee Low	30	Wall rush
EX (Switch)	4 hits, 25 (29~45)	33F	Physical	Melee High	30	Wall rush, extra follow-up

[Close] Swipe with axe. Break foe's defense while switching.

Version	Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Switch	10,10,20 (40)	11F / 43F (max charge)	Physical	Melee Low / Melee Mid	30	Wall rush	40 (20)
On-hand	13,17 (30)	23F	Physical	Melee Low	30	Wall rush
EX (Switch)	10,10,20 (40)	11F / 33F (max charge)	Physical	Melee Low / Melee Mid (3rd hit / Max Charge all hits)	30	Wall rush, reduced charge time

[Mid] Two-handed blade slash. Hold button to change range.

One of Vaan's strongest bravery attacks. Close + mid-range. Commonly used as a close-range initiator, combo extender, a gap closer and a commital dodge punish (SW charged).

SW is his fastest attack at 11 frames (60 FPS) and boasts great knockback and good tracking when fully charged. The damage multiplier is great, higher than Garland's Bardiche. Charging increases tracking and turns the attack into a Melee Mid priority attack. The initial hitbox is active for majority of the movement, making it very good at catching dodges that stay within the move's path. However, while it can continue travelling forward and vertically, greatsword is poor at turning around after the initial charge.

SW Greatsword can also be used as a dodge cancel follow-up from SW Katana, SW Staff, SW Crossbow and Windburst.

OH version is a decent advancing poke with relatively good speed, but weaker on hit compared to SW version. It is one of his fastest attacks to whiff in terms of duration and recovery. The first hit can be easily hit-confirmed for an assist without a wall, which is where Vaan is normally a bit worse on average. The tracking up close is deceptively good and the attack works well as an assist combo filler.

Though it is somewhat predictable at it's commonly used range if not used in tandem with Katana or Crossbow, it has a rare upside that's shared among many of Vaan's on-hand braveries - It does not have an instant sound queue on start-up. The animation is not explicit and it does not emit any visual effects early to telegraph the attack. That can make it difficult for the opponent to visually react to OH Greatsword consistently.

EX version only reduces required time for a maximum charge. Can catch unwary opponents off guard, but the EX mode's Free Switch is more valuable overall as it lets Vaan access the SW version more frequently with less risk.

Greatsword is a consistently powerful bravery for Vaan and is a popular choice in many match-ups, such as Cecil, Cloud and Squall.

Version	Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Switch	1x12,30,8 (50)	39F	Physical	Melee Mid	60~90	Chase	40 (20)
On-hand	9,1x4,17 (30)	23F	Physical	Melee Low	90	Chase
EX (Switch)	1x12,30,8 (50)	39F	Physical	Melee Mid	60~90	Chase, longer input for 2nd hit

[Mid] Katana slash. Power rises with slow combo while switching.

Version	Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Switch	4x5,15 (35)	23F	Physical	Melee Mid	15	Wall rush, absorb	40 (20)
On-hand	2x4,7,13 (28)	21F	Physical	Melee Low	30	Wall rush
EX (Switch)	4x5,4x5,15 (55)	23F	Physical	Melee Mid	24	Wall rush, absorb

[Mid] Swipe with spear. Draw foe near while switching.

Version	Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Switch	1x8,22 (30)	23F	Magical	Melee Low	108	Chase	40 (20)
On-hand	3x3,11 (20)	21F	Physical	Melee Low	114	Chase
EX (Switch)	1x8,1x8,22 (38)	150	Magical	Melee Low	150	Chase

[Mid] Swipe with staff. Generates extra EX Force. SW: Move OK.

Version	Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Switch	1x15,15 (30)	41F	Physical	Ranged Low	max 105	Chase	40 (20)
On-hand	4x3 (12)	31F	Physical	Ranged Low	0	Chase
EX (Switch)	1x15,15 (30)	41F	Physical	Ranged Low	max 105	Chase, increased range

[Long] Shoot at foe with bowgun. SW: Hold button for rapid-fire.

Version	Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Switch	3x6 (18)	49F (Dodge 1~20F)	Physical	Ranged Low	0	Wall rush, dodge	40 (20)
On-hand	3x6 (18)	29F	Physical	Ranged Low	0	Wall rush
EX (Switch)	3x6,3x6 (36)	49F (Dodge 1~20F)	Physical	Ranged Low	0	Wall rush, dodge

[Long] Shoot at foe with gun. Dodge ability while switching.

HP Attacks

Ground

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
2 [up], 2,3,3, [down] (10)	21F (up) / 69F (down)	Magical	Ranged High	24	Wall rush	40 (20)

[Long] Call down water torrents. Water fires from magic array.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
--	45F	--	Melee High / Ranged High	30~60		40 (20)

[Mid] Summon multiple boulders that charge at opponent.

Aerial

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
1x9 (9)	51F	Magical	Melee High	3 per hit (27 max)	Wall rush	40 (20)

[Mid] Focus flames and charge. Strong homing capability.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
15	29F (step) / 99F (wind)	Physical	Melee High (step) / Ranged High (wind)	30 / 60	Absorb	40 (20)

[Long] Generate tornado. Draws in foe for a set time.

EX Mode: Obtained all Licenses!

Effects:

• Regen
• Critical Boost
• Free Switch
• Zodiak

Free Switch

[Activate with R + square] Revert to unarmed attacks at any time.

Starts at 1F, ends at 31F, dodge oor attack cancelable at 21F.

Zodiak

[Always active while in EX Mode] Boosts stats and abilities, and greatly strengthens attacks.

Each Switch variant of a bravery attack gains a boost, such as increased range, invincibility, shorter charge time or an additional follow-up. Please refer to the bravery attack section for details.

EX Burst: Quickening

A powerful attack infused with Mist. Shuffle options with R. Press X to select moves to use.

A consistent method for a successful EX Burst is to press R, then press X repeatedly a few times and loop this for a total of three repetitions for each Quickening.

Damage multiplier (initial)	Damage multiplier (rest)	Type
4, 6 (10)	10x3, 5x6, 3x10 (90) (100 total)	Magical