Laguna (Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy)

Info
Name	Laguna Loire
Original game	Final Fantasy VIII
Weapon	Sword, Dagger, Greatsword, Gun
Armor	Shield, Bangle, Hat, Helm, Clothing, Light Armor, Chestplate
Run Speed tier	9
Dash Speed	81F
Fall Speed	75F
Fall Speed Ratio After Dodge	35
Exclusive weapons	Machine Gun, High-Power Machine Gun, Ragnarok

Overview

Laguna Loire is the deuteragonist of Final Fantasy VIII. Representing the Gunner class, Laguna comes armed with a variety of projectiles for fairly unconventional zoning. Unlike a true keepaway, all his tools come together when in midrange, where he can harass and rack up damage with pokes

Strengths

Weaknesses

Good Long and Midrange: Excels at Long to Midrange zoning with Bazooka, Ricochet and other tools to poke and pressure far away Electro shield: Electro Shield alone limits alot of options, auto-reflects infront of you and synergizes well with the rest of his kit High range HPs: Satellite Laser/Split Laser/Ragnarok Blade together give him a wide range of space he can land and threaten HPs from Niche and Amazing Properties: Satellite Laser's vertical range, Bazooka's „fake“ Mid priority, Sticky Bomb Unblockable etc. allows for options outside the box Damaging Poking Game: Decent damage on his most common pokes and 111 ATK Stat put him above average in damage potential Fairly damaging EX Revenge: EX Revenge combos can hurt quite alot, giving him a good chance to turn the match off of it

Committal Neutral: Long recovery on his best tools, easy assist punishable HPs and a lack of safe poke to throw out locks Laguna into his decisions, and a mistake can leave him open to punishes quickly Limited Combos/ Poke Conversions: Lacks conversions off of alot of pokes, and the ones he has are limited to specific assists/situations. On top of it, he struggles putting together extended combos without very specific scenarios or Sticky Bomb Relies on Electro shield for keepaway: With how good it is, it's the crux of his keepaway as it covers the blind spots of his other moves Bad EX Mode: Cool idea, but hard for him to capitalize on

Moveset Data

Bravery Moves

Ground

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
1x32 (32)	31	Physical	Ranged Low	3x32 (96)	None	30 (15)

[Mid] Fire machine gun. Move with analog stick while holding button

Run'n'Gun, literally. Laguna can't move during startup, but move while firing with his usual walk speed. Limited vertical aim and can't turn while firing, due to it's low hitstun has to close-in to keep the opponent locked..

Not the best move due to it's terrible range for a machine gun, but generates a lot of EX and allows for assist conversions although hard ones due to very low hitstun. Low Priority means they can dash through, but not contestable by alot of the cast while in its path. If used at all, don't get reckless, have a shield up for secondary cover.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
Main Bullet 35 (35)	37, 1 after release 54 Half/70 Full Charge	Physical	Ranged Mid	60	None	30 (15)
Split bullets 5 each		Physical	Ranged Low	3	Chase	30 (15)

[Long] Fire shots that break into smaller pieces after hitting stage.

Your main firearm for ground zoning, who shall keep the bad guys away, There's alot to unpack here

• Laguna can charge it for more split bullets when it collides with the ground/walls. Half Charge gives 3 split shots, Full Charge 5. All Split Bullets can still bounce by themselves
• Split bullets will track the opponents current location when bouncing, making for very good dodge punishes. Due to it's free, although limited, aiming property you can bounce bullets for creative punishes. Hitting behind them hits blocks like Shield of Light or Jecht block
• Potentially the hardest hitting move in his bravery kit if both the main bullet and smaller bullets hit. Mostly only at super close range or with godlike aim at their feet.
• Bounce bullets are Low priority, the main shot Mid. Make good use of that.
• The chase effect will cancel out if hitting someone with a full charge and only a single split bullet, causing normal hitstun

Overall very solid for his zoning game. Paired with Electro shield can be hard to contest by some characters, with the charge time acting for extra mixup potential. Watch your opponents jumps as the bounce bullets are very easy to miss on loose air movement.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
15 (15)	81/91/99	Physical	Ranged Low	0	None	30 (15)

[Long] Throw grenade at foe. Change distance with button presses.

Probably the lowest recovery move he has, this move is slow but very spammable and quick to block and dodge cancel, allowing for good defensive mixups after. It has a floaty hitstun to it, allowing for combos with assists or a preemptively loaded Ricochet Shot right after. Best used to add pressure alongside shield in grounded footsies, as it can be dashed throughed, or prevent opponents from setting up their own tools.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
10 (10)	37	Physical	Ranged Mid	0	Wall rush	30 (15)

[Close] Deploy electromagnetic shield. Can deflect weak attacks.

Your Bread and Butter for keepaway, controlling neutral and slowing down approaches to build meter It's a straightforward move. Laguna deploys a shield infront of him which launches the opponent away on contact and wallrushes, leading to potential assist conversions. Due to it's Ranged Mid priority will win over Ranged Low and Melee Low moves. Laguna can't fully cover himself while standing inside it, be aware of moves with large hitboxes and space yourself accordingly.

Notes about Reflect properties: If a Mid Projectile clashes with it, it does not reflect, and the shield can't reflect the same projectile twice. If this move is blocked, the opponent can dash through it.Melee High moves/blocks will destroy the shield, Ranged High will go through.

Laguna goes airborne during the ground version, giving him access to air dodges/air moves when done out of its recovery. Good for potential mixups or set up low to the ground Bazooka shots.

A staple in Laguna's kit that can only be neglected in select few matchups. Acting as both a tool to slow down the neutral, potential mixup on heavy blocking, and to build meter safely. The ground version can be switched out for niche tools, as Laguna can set up a very low to the ground shield to still fulfill the same purpose. Can be handy in some matchups to have a ground shield set up without additional inputs though

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
6.14 (20)	13	Physical	Melee Low	90	Chase	30 (15)

[Close] Strike with machine gun hilt. Low power, quick strike.

Laguna the first guy in video game history smart enough to use his gun as a melee weapon. This move makes the staple of Laguna's mixup, defensive, and EX game. A 2-hit Melee Low that is easy to hitconfirm with into Chase Setups and has top tier EX Gain. Decently low recovery which makes it decently safe and spammable, low range and vertical homing but 13F meaning it will trade with most moves of it's kind in the game. Ground version will put Laguna in the air, giving access to air dodges/air attacks, similar to Electro Shield.

The only other move you can't miss in your kit in one way or another. Definitely a staple in the air to round up his all-ranges kit, and allows for consistent EX Gain outside of EX Cores. Be aware of blocking habits, don't get predictable with it. The ground version can be substituted for other tools, but it's handy to have on the ground either way.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
1x6, 1x6, 3x6 (30)	21	Physical	Ranged Low	2 (36)	Wall Rush	30 (15)
Charged Version	55	Physical	Ranged Mid	2 (36)	Wall Rush	30 (15)

[Close] Fire shotgun. Charge to change its strength.

It's a shotgun! It fires like one! (except when charged) Takes 55F to be charged and turned into a mid. Although slow and ranged low, it has good range and can be dodge cancelled fairly early. Unfortunately it can't be dodge-cancelled mid charge, making charging it very commital and easily punished by alot of the cast. It can be shot up to 3 times each delayable, making this very easy to convert into assists and combos. The last shot will wallrush close by, adding to this. It's tracking is limited as it only follows the opponent around you with limited vertical tracking. After the first shot it will also not track anymore.

Not a very well-rounded tool, but it can have it's use in some matchups. It's very niche properties and slow startup are a crux without shield up and easily punished on reaction/early shot.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
4 each, Max 6	23	Physical	Ranged Low	2 (36)	None	30 (15)

[Long] Fire multiple missiles. Charge to fire six missiles.

Laguna pulls out a rocket launcher and fires up to 6 missiles, hold down to fire more. The missiles themselves are very small, fire one after another and have terrible tracking. While they do home in on the opponent, they first stray off in different directions and have an awkward turn radius. Can be dashed through and blocked aswell, making them not very useful to stop setups or threaten dashes. Although they do halt and limit movement due to the scattered tracking. Low hitstun with low damage however makes it hard to convert into more.

Likely his worst move and far too niche for how good some of the rest of his moves are. There might be some scenarios worth trying it out, but a ranged low property and horrible homing make it hard to consistently capitalize on.

Air

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
36 (36)	41	Physical	Ranged Mid	0	Wall rush	30 (15)

[Long] Blast foe with bazooka. Press button to change strength.

Big Boy Missile. Laguna fires a big missile, changing it's max travel distance and acceleration with each button press during its startup, up to 2. Can be slightly aimed in a roughly 50° angle infront of Laguna. Huge recovery period, stays out aslong as Laguna doesn't get hit until it disappears or collides with something. Just like Ricochet Shot, this move also has some unusual properties to it

• This move doesn't clash with other projectiles and goes right through. The explosion, which is triggered upon hitting anything, is the actual Ranged Mid projectile. If blocked it staggers Low priority blocks.
• When aimed with the control stick at neutral, this move actually tracks 360° horizontally around and slightly above/below Laguna during it's startup. Sometimes handy on early dodges next to you
• If this move explodes without hitting a player, the resulting explosion will still be a small active hitbox for a short period of time.
• The knockback directly correlates with the angle its hitting from. If it hits from behind it will always send them straight towards you. Getting a feel for it is crucial for wallrush combos

This is where the long-long range zoning starts in the air. An unsafe to throw out recklessly, but amazing tool for disrupting approaches, neutral, and as a general threat. Very easy assist punishable by most assists, be careful of opponents meter and your own and think carefully. The huge recovery period also means a badly spaced shot can be easily punished by a decently timed dodge next to him. Despite it's lack of safety, if you need long range zoning that shoots through counterzoning aswell, you want this.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
20 (20)	29, 9 after Release	Physical	Ranged Low	0	None	30 (15)
20 (20)	186 sticky time	Physical	Unblockable	0	None	30 (15)

[Long] Throw a sticking time bomb at foe. Charge to increase distance.

Laguna pulls out a sticky bomb and throws it, distance based on charge. Fully charged the bomb will blink and can be held a little while. Charged time also affects the bombs speed, useful for some situations. The throw is a ranged low, the explosion however unblockable. If the bomb explosion hits without being stuck to something prior, it will also deal double damage.

Once stickied to someone, it will take ~3 secs (186F) to explode, which can be dodged with good timing but used by Laguna for well timed dodge punishes or mindgames. With relatively good recovery, it also makes for a safe midrange check against other characters' setups. Have a shield up to prevent it just being punished by dash up.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
10 (10)	37	Physical	Ranged Mid	0	Wall rush	30 (15)

[Close] Deploy electromagnetic shield. Can deflect weak attacks.

Your Bread and Butter for keepaway, controlling neutral and slowing down approaches to build meter It's a straightforward move. Laguna deploys a shield infront of him which launches the opponent away on contact and wallrushes, leading to potential assist conversions. Due to it's Ranged Mid priority will win over Ranged Low and Melee Low moves. Laguna can't fully cover himself while standing inside it, be aware of moves with large hitboxes and space yourself accordingly.

Notes about Reflect properties: If a Mid Projectile clashes with it, it does not reflect, and the shield can't reflect the same projectile twice. If this move is blocked, the opponent can dash through it.Melee High moves/blocks will destroy the shield, Ranged High will go through.

Laguna goes airborne during the ground version, giving him access to air dodges/air moves when done out of its recovery. Good for potential mixups or set up low to the ground Bazooka shots.

A staple in Laguna's kit that can only be neglected in select few matchups. Acting as both a tool to slow down the neutral, potential mixup on heavy blocking, and to build meter safely. The ground version can be switched out for niche tools, as Laguna can set up a very low to the ground shield to still fulfill the same purpose. Can be handy in some matchups to have a ground shield set up without additional inputs though

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
6.14 (20)	13	Physical	Melee Low	90	Chase	30 (15)

[Close] Strike with machine gun hilt. Low power, quick strike.

Laguna the first guy in video game history smart enough to use his gun as a melee weapon. This move makes the staple of Laguna's mixup, defensive, and EX game. A 2-hit Melee Low that is easy to hitconfirm with into Chase Setups and has top tier EX Gain. Decently low recovery which makes it decently safe and spammable, low range and vertical homing but 13F meaning it will trade with most moves of it's kind in the game. Ground version will put Laguna in the air, giving access to air dodges/air attacks, similar to Electro Shield.

The only other move you can't miss in your kit in one way or another. Definitely a staple in the air to round up his all-ranges kit, and allows for consistent EX Gain outside of EX Cores. Be aware of blocking habits, don't get predictable with it. The ground version can be substituted for other tools, but it's handy to have on the ground either way.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
1x6, 1x6, 3x6 (30)	21	Physical	Ranged Low	2 (36)	Wall Rush	30 (15)
Charged Version	55	Physical	Ranged Mid	2 (36)	Wall Rush	30 (15)

[Close] Fire shotgun. Charge to change its strength.

It's a shotgun! It fires like one! (except when charged) Takes 55F to be charged and turned into a mid. Although slow and ranged low, it has good range and can be dodge cancelled fairly early. Unfortunately it can't be dodge-cancelled mid charge, making charging it very commital and easily punished by alot of the cast. It can be shot up to 3 times each delayable, making this very easy to convert into assists and combos. The last shot will wallrush close by, adding to this. It's tracking is limited as it only follows the opponent around you with limited vertical tracking. After the first shot it will also not track anymore.

Not a very well-rounded tool, but it can have it's use in some matchups. It's very niche properties and slow startup are a crux without shield up and easily punished on reaction/early shot.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
4 each, Max 6	23	Physical	Ranged Low	2 (36)	None	30 (15)

[Long] Fire multiple missiles. Charge to fire six missiles.

Laguna pulls out a rocket launcher and fires up to 6 missiles, hold down to fire more. The missiles themselves are very small, fire one after another and have terrible tracking. While they do home in on the opponent, they first stray off in different directions and have an awkward turn radius. Can be dashed through and blocked aswell, making them not very useful to stop setups or threaten dashes. Although they do halt and limit movement due to the scattered tracking. Low hitstun with low damage however makes it hard to convert into more.

Likely his worst move and far too niche for how good some of the rest of his moves are. There might be some scenarios worth trying it out, but a ranged low property and horrible homing make it hard to consistently capitalize on.

HP Moves

Ground

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
1x7(7)	53 - 172, 3 after release	Physical	Melee High	21	Wall Rush	40 (20)

[Mid] Bombard with lasers. Charge to adjust timing.

Laguna pulls out a grounded laser that unfortunately does not go infinitely long. TIME TO UNLOAD! Most of the time used to as combo ender and get a wallrush or distance, but has its uses on ground-to-ground interactions. The tracking is just enough to catch grounded side dodges and low air dodges with high fall speed e.g. Kain. At specific spacing it can also catch a grounded forward dodge.

With Long range it still remains fantastic for huge whiff punishes against grounded HPs. Holding the move does not increase damage, but has a niche use in faking out against HP Blocks and against Maelstrom/Holy

Less niche in use than Satellite Laser, but still too niche to be thrown out at all times.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
2x6(12)	83	Physical	Ranged High	36	Wall Rush	40 (20)

[Long] Fire laser from orbiting satellite. Stopped by terrain.

One of the highest startup HPs, and a clutch tool for Laguna's matchups. BOMBS AWAY!

Awful to use as a raw HP as it can be dashed through by the entire cast, however with some niche but amazing properties. It has 'infinite vertical' range with a big horizontal tracking range, making Laguna able to threaten the opponent from ground to infinitely high up. Useful for a few matchups and to prevent easy stalling. In the air. The move when it hits will drag them down, and at most heights cause ground rush and able to be converted off of with assists should it hit. Together with Sticky Bomb and other projectiles it makes for a tricky dodge-punish mixup, and sometimes even guaranteed one if they don't nail the perfect evasion.

Worst raw HP, extremely staple in the areas it shines. Experiment with it.

Air

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
-	43	-	Melee High	0	Wall Rush	40 (20)

[Long] Chop with energy blade. Effective against any height.

Laguna rises up and cuts down vertically with a long energy sword. An absolute staple of his punish game. GET EM!

One of Laguna's fastest immediate HPs Long range, starts instantly right above him, has amazing horizontal tracking. Due to these properties it's fantastic for punishing other whiffed HPs and moves with high recovery/startup safely out of range. Because it starts right above him, it can also be used to get matchup specific punishes where others can't, or without risking getting punished themselves. Has a fairly big wallrush radius, the direction based on where Laguna hits from.

No matter where Laguna will always rise a little, making it something to be considered when used in tight spacing or with shield up.

Damage multiplier	Startup frame	Type	Priority	EX Force	Effects	CP (Mastered)
-	35-117, 3 after release	-	Ranged High	60 per hit	None	40 (20)

[Long] Fire high-pressure energy bullet. Hold button to continue fire, release to split laser.

Laguna fires out a particle infront of him, which splits into 3 energy orbs on release that home in on the opponent. The other risky but still staple HP attack.

The lasers all have a minimum travel time, making their initial turn based on distance between the initial shot and opponent. All 3 shots can be hit fairly consistently with assist setups. Homing is based on their current location with limited turn radius, making this a good dodge punish but not so much to chase an opponent with.

Laguna is strationary for the entire duration of the move, making it easily punished. Be careful about this and your opponents spacing before throwing it out randomly, you can still pop the laser early to try and catch the opponents assist before it punishes too.

EX Mode

Effects:

• Regen
• Critical Boost
• A Faerie's Miracle

One of the coolest on paper, not as amazing in action. Laguna can cancel his braveries' recovery with any other move during. While it can set up for some tricky zoning and defensive mixups, it's difficult to get alot of mileage due to the short time it lasts. If you pop it, make it's best use out of it or.....

EX Burst: Desperado

Damage multiplier (initial)	Damage multiplier	Type
7x3, 11 (32)	1x40, 2x14 (68) Total Damage = 100	Physical

A furious bombardment of bullets. Take aim and press R to shoot or hold down the button for rapid-fire

.....or pop it before an HP hit for Laguna's EX Burst, Desperado! A shooting exercise quick time action, hold down the R button to fire. Every hit you will drift off of them based on the center, effectively the best way is to stick to the edges and fire away. Land 40 hits to fill the gauge and unleash THE GREATEST ATTACK EVER

Actually a notable EX Burst. While the max damage with 100 is average as usual, the 32 base at the start before defense multiplier is the second highest in the game, tied with Lightning. Extremely useful for breaks off of EX Burst for huge damage.

Combos

WIP, adding and recording combos

Combo Notes

RBuster=Ragnarock Buster	RBlade=Ragnarok Blade	SatL=Satellite Laser
Example	Example	Example
Example	Example	Example

Starter	Followup	Base Damage	Notes	Video
Grenade	Ricochet	15+35 (50)	Hard to hitconfirm, both normal and bounce work	Link
	Pummel	15+20 (35)	Forward dodge required	Link
	RBuster	15+7 (22)/HP	Forward dodge required	Link

Assists

WIP

WIP

WIP

Strengths	Weaknesses
Compliments his long range punish game with air assists Conversions off of Ricochet bounce shots and Split Laser Very safe assist to be used for Sticky Bomb and projectile mixups	Ground assist doesn't synergize well Very niche and wall-specific Pummel conversions Low damage output