Vaan (Dissidia 012)

Vaan

General	Starter Guide	Combos	Strategy	Frame Data
Matchups	Builds	Match Videos	Gallery	Resources

Info
Name	Vaan (ヴァン)
Original game	Final Fantasy XII
Base ATK (LV100)	109 (Low)
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)
Fastest BRV	19F (Axe & Shield hand, Sword & Shield hand)
Fastest HP	21F (Torrent, up) 45F (Cataclysm)
1-Hit HP	Yes (Cataclysm & Windburst projectile)
HP Links	No
Command Block	Yes (Sword & Shield switch)
Weapon	Parrying Weapons, all normal weapons except instruments
Armor	Shields, Bangles, Hats, Helms, Headbands, Clothing, Light Armor, Chestplates
Exclusive weapons	Reks's Blade, Sword of Kings, Zodiac Blade
Unlock
Alignment	Cosmos
Voice Actor (JP)	Kensho Ono
Voice Actor (ENG)	Bobby Edner

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.

		Switch (SW)	On Hand (OH)	EX Mode
	Base Damage	30	25 (5, 7, 13)	30
	Startup Frame	39F (Block 1~30F)	19F	39F (Block 1~30F)
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Block Mid / Melee Low	Melee Low	Block High / Melee Low
	EX Force	60	90	60
	Effects	Chase, Block	Chase	Chase, Block
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (20)
[Close] Sword and shield attack. Block attacks while switching.	Unlocked at level 22, 24 (air)	Mastered at 90 AP

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 Protect Guard. It will stagger opponents using Melee Mid attacks and Vaan himself will stagger against high priority (HP) attacks.

		Switch (SW)	On Hand (OH)	EX Mode
	Base Damage	30	7~25 (1~2x2, 1~2x4, 13)	29~45 (1~5x4, 25)
	Startup Frame	33F	19F	33F
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Melee High	Melee Low	Melee High
	EX Force	0	30	30
	Effects	Wall Rush	Wall Rush	Wall Rush, extra follow-up
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (20)
[Close] Swipe with axe. Break foe's defense while switching.	Unlocked at level 16, 18 (air)	Mastered at 90 AP

		Switch (SW)	On Hand (OH)	EX Mode
	Base Damage	40 (10, 10, 20)	30 (13, 17)	40 (10, 10, 20)
	Startup Frame	11F / 43F (max charge)	23F	11F / 33F (max charge)
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Melee Low Melee Mid (3rd hit / max charge)	Melee Low	Melee Low Melee Mid (3rd hit / max charge)
	EX Force	30	30	30
	Effects	Wall Rush	Wall Rush	Wall Rush, faster charge
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (20)
[Mid] Two-handed blade slash. Hold button to change range.	Unlocked at level 1	Mastered at 90 AP

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.

		Switch (SW)	On Hand (OH)	EX Mode
	Base Damage	50 (1 x 12, 30, 8)	30 (9,1 x 4, 17)	50 (1 x 12, 30, 8)
	Startup Frame	39F	23F	39F
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Melee Mid	Melee Low	Melee Mid
	EX Force	60 ~ 90	90	60 ~ 90
	Effects	Chase	Chase	Chase, longer finisher timing
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (20)
[Mid] Katana slash. Power rises with slow combo while switching.	Unlocked at level 11, 13 (air)	Mastered at 90 AP

		Switch (SW)	On Hand (OH)	EX Mode
	Base Damage	35 (4 x 5, 15)	28 (2 x 4, 7, 13)	55 (4 x 5, 4 x 5, 15)
	Startup Frame	23F	21F	23F
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Melee Mid	Melee Low	Melee Mid
	EX Force	15	30	24
	Effects	Wall Rush, Absorb	Wall Rush	Wall Rush, Absorb
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (20)
[Mid] Swipe with spear. Draw foe near while switching.	Unlocked at level 1	Mastered at 90 AP

		Switch (SW)	On Hand (OH)	EX Mode
	Base Damage	30 (1 x 8, 22)	20 (3 x 3, 11)	38 (1 x 8, 1 x 8, 22)
	Startup Frame	23F	21F	150
	Damage Type	Magical	Physical	Magical
	Priority	Melee Low	Melee Low	Melee Low
	EX Force	108	114	150
	Effects	Chase	Chase	Chase
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (20)
[Mid] Swipe with staff. Generates extra EX Force. SW: Move OK.	Unlocked at level 31, 33 (air)	Mastered at 90 AP

		Switch (SW)	On Hand (OH)	EX Mode
	Base Damage	30 (1 x 15, 15)	12 (4 x 3)	30 (1 x 15, 15)
	Startup Frame	41F	31F	41F
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Ranged Low	Ranged Low	Ranged Low
	EX Force	max 105	0	max 105
	Effects	Chase	Chase	Chase, increased range
	Cancels
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (20)
[Long] Shoot at foe with bowgun. SW: Hold button for rapid-fire.	Unlocked at level 2, 4 (air)	Mastered at 90 AP

		Switch (SW)	On Hand (OH)	EX Mode
	Base Damage	18 (3 x 6)	18 (3 x 6)	36 (3 x 6, 3 x 6)
	Startup Frame	49F (Dodge 1~20F)	29F	49F (Dodge 1~20F)
	Damage Type	Physical	Physical	Physical
	Priority	Ranged Low	Ranged Low	Ranged Low
	EX Force	0	0	0
	Effects	Wall Rush, Dodge	Wall rush	Wall Rush, Dodge
	Cancels	Dodge	Dodge	Dodge
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	30 (20)
[Long] Shoot at foe with gun. Dodge ability while switching.	Unlocked at level 27, 29 (air)	Mastered at 90 AP

HP Attacks

Ground

	Base Damage	2 [up], 2, 3, 3, [down] (10)
	Startup Frame	21F (up) / 69F (down)
	Damage Type	Magical
	Priority	Ranged High
	EX Force	24
	Effects	Wall rush
	Cancels
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	40 (20)
	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

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

	Base Damage	-
	Startup Frame	45F
	Damage Type	-
	Priority	Melee High (close) / Ranged High (rocks)
	EX Force	30~60
	Effects	-
	Cancels
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	40 (20)
	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

[Mid] Summon multiple boulders that charge at opponent.

Aerial

	Base Damage	1 x 9 (9)
	Startup Frame	51F
	Damage Type	Magical
	Priority	Melee High
	EX Force	3 per hit (27 max)
	Effects	Wall rush
	Cancels
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	40 (20)
	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

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

	Base Damage	15
	Startup Frame	29F (step) / 99F (wind)
	Damage Type	Physical
	Priority	Melee High (step) / Ranged High (wind)
	EX Force	30 / 60
	Effects	Absorb
	Cancels
	Assist Gain (Hit)
	CP (Mastered)	40 (20)
	Unlocked at level	Mastered at AP

[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 or 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)	10 x 3, 5 x 6, 3 x 10 (90) (100 total)	Magical

Builds

Builds here.

Stats
HP	11299
CP	450
BRV	957
ATK	178
DEF	184
LUK	60
Max Booster	x4.4

Special Effect: Seal of Lufenia

Equipment
Assist	Kuja
Weapon	Zodiac Blade
Hand	Lufenian Dirk
Head	Lufenian Headband
Body	Lufenian Vest
Accessory 1	Muscle Belt
Accessory 2	Battle Hammer
Accessory 3	Summon Unused
Accessory 4	Pre-EX Mode
Accessory 5	Pre-EX Revenge
Accessory 6	After 30 Seconds
Accessory 7	After 30 Seconds
Accessory 8	Opponent Summon Unused
Accessory 9	Glutton
Accessory 10	First to Victory
Summon	Rubicante

{{{dataBRV}}} {{{dataHP}}}

Bravery attacks
Ground	Aerial
HP attacks
Ground	Aerial

indicates a "Gear" extra ability or the use of CP / Equipment glitch. The total CP cost will assume the glitch is done.

Ground: Spear, Axe & Shield, Sword & Shield. Air: Katana, Greatsword, Rifle

Equip Master Guardsman for +1000 HP.

Stats
HP
CP
BRV
ATK
DEF
LUK
Max Booster

Special Effect:

Equipment
Assist
Weapon
Hand
Head
Body
Accessory 1
Accessory 2
Accessory 3
Accessory 4
Accessory 5
Accessory 6
Accessory 7
Accessory 8
Accessory 9
Accessory 10
Summon

{{{dataBRV}}} {{{dataHP}}}

Bravery attacks
Ground	Aerial
HP attacks
Ground	Aerial

indicates a "Gear" extra ability or the use of CP / Equipment glitch. The total CP cost will assume the glitch is done.

Assist

Vaan's assist data

Type	Attack	Startup	Position	Spawn	Damage multiplier	Effects
BRV	Greatsword	23F	Ground	Opponent	13, 17 (30)	Wall Rush
BRV	Staff	21F	Air	Opponent	3 x 3, 11 (20)	Chase
HP	Cataclysm	45F	Ground	Opponent	-	Chase
HP	Inferno	45F	Air	Opponent	-	Wall Rush

Assists

Vaan works well with Kuja, Aerith and Jecht assists.

Wiki Roadmap (012 Vaan)

Please edit this page's roadmap template when relevant additions and changes are made.

11,96 % done

   

Page	Completed	In progress	To-do	Score
General				1 / 5 / 86
Pros / Cons			Strengths and weaknesses.	0 / 5 / ?
Overview / Character Data	Done.		Edit if necessary.	5 / 5 / 2
Bravery Attacks	Ability info and greatsword overview.		Overviews for other attacks. Add images.	1 / 5 / 5
HP Attacks	Ability info.		Add overviews and images.	1 / 5 / 5
EX Mode	Basic info		Add overview if possible	1 / 5 / 3
Combos			Add solo and assist combos with video examples. Refer to Cecil page.	0 / 5 / 7
Builds	1 build.		Add more builds with overviews as seen on Tifa's page.	1 / 5 / 10
Assist	Assist data		Add common viable assists with overviews. Write about Vaan as an assist.	1 / 5 / 3
Matchups			Create page. Matchup tips and analysis.	0 / 5 / 32
Frame Data				/ 1
Starter Guide			Create page. Concise pvp guide with core concepts and essentials.	0 / 5 / 8
Strategy			Create page. Strategies and counterplays.	0 / 5 / 10