Info
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Name |
The Emperor (皇帝)
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Original game |
Final Fantasy II
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Base ATK (LV100) |
110 (Average)
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Base DEF (LV100) |
112 (High)
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Run Speed |
8 (Below Average)
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Dash Speed |
81 (Below Average)
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Fall Speed |
97 (Slow)
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Fall Speed Ratio After Dodge |
44 (Slow)
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Fastest BRV |
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Fastest HP |
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1-Hit HP |
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HP Links |
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Command Block |
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Weapon |
Daggers, Poles, Rods, Staves
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Armor |
Bangles, Clothing, Hairpins, Hats, Headbands, Robes
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Exclusive weapons |
Diamond Mace, Demon's Rod, Mateus's Malice
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Unlock |
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Alignment |
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Voice Actor (JP) |
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Voice Actor (ENG) |
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Strengths |
Weaknesses
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- Traps and Keepaway: Emperor specializes in Traps and Keepaway, layering multiple projectiles into a space to create a literal minefield for the opponent to deal with
- Unique Win Condition: Starfall gives him a unique win condition in the form of a move that is unavoidable once it started, but takes time to be charged. This gives him a tool to force approaches and force them to interact with his traps in some way to stop it or have meter to assist change/EX Revenge out
- Defensive mixups: Low recovery on most of his moves, projectiles staying while getting hit and low dodge recovery give Emperor plenty of options after any move to keep the opponent guessing on how to approach him
- Assist Gain: Low recovery moves, rotating them and repeated Starfall lets Emperor quickly build assist meter while setting up his gameplan, often staying afloat in the meter economy
- High Damage Punishes: Huge upsides of combining Thunder Crest, Mines and Dynamite. Emperor can deal loads of bravery damage any time an opponents gets hit by Thunder Crest or Dynamite, and with assist into ground rush it can double the damage. A break from 2000 bravery is possible with Thunder Crest
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- Polarizing matchups: Both a good and a bad thing. With all his upsides, Emperor lacks severely in rushdown, giving him the most polarizing matchup spread in the entire game. Some characters are outright denied with the right conditions and some give him absolute hell without tricky setups and clever use of assist. Any character that can play around Starfall and traps requires a different approach to beat
- Polarizing stage strengths: Stages change The Emperor's gameplan harder than many other characters, requiring you to sometimes learn new effective strategies for some of the more unorthodox / smaller stages
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Overview
Emperor Mateus is a keepaway zoning character with loads of trap-style moves, an unblockable cast, high damage and low risk zoning.
Emperor is hard to catch in neutral due to his wide array of traps that stay out when he gets hit, fast and low recovery moves, and Starfall allowing for faster dodge chains. His gameplan focuses around Starfall no matter how effective it is in the matchup, setting up for the opponent to have to stop it in some way and punishing their approach.
Uniquely, Emperor can utilize trade punishes out of the any character, able to throw Flare and Dreary Cell into attacks to punish them even if he gets hit back. Often times its good to manage resources well, and if this results in a worthwhile trade in his favor.
Knowing which traps stop what, trade or punish or the opponent has to play risky into is key to playing him to his highest potential. ALSO you get the satisfaction of free-styling confirms with stray trap hits and assist all day.
Bravery Moves
Ground
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
5, 5 x 3 (20) |
21F |
Physical > Magical |
Melee High |
84
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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Chase |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Close] Sweep with staff. Extra explosion damage on hit.
A 21F Melee High?? What a bargain!
Very low range and awkward hitbox that follows exactly the staff motion, longer active to the right of Mateus.
Amazing move to reflect Blue Flare back first and foremost, but also amazing as a close range poke and whiff punish in grounded footsies. The move sends them away and straight up, and has so much hitstun that a ton of assists can confirm off of it easily. Also it's a nice filler ender after TC if possible since it gives a good position and EX Force.
It can be comboed into the vacuum of Mines and Dreary Cell with specific positioning aswell, making it useful for some setups to trick the opponent even more.
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
each (35) |
29F |
Magical |
Ranged Low |
0
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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Absorb |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Close] Lay mine. Multiples OK; they will persist a long time.
Exactly what it says, throws out landmines that spread out like bombs.
Great non-committal, fast projectile to just litter the ground with and to stop movement aside from dashing. The damage on hit with a damage build is scary enough to get hit by, easily reaching 300 to 400 with crits.
With Vacuum from Dreary Cell and Mine around, you can combo into assists. Be careful as they can mess up ground rush assists into Thunder Crest should the opponent land directly into them without activating Crest first. In that case, landing them into Flare can be a backup.
They explode after a set amount of time on their own, and Mateus can have 8 ground Mines and 8 air Mines out at once.
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
each (7) |
37F |
Magical |
Ranged Low |
0
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
|
- |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Mid] Draw vertical light sigil. Fires when foe enters range; large vertical range.
Mateus draws a Light Crest that points upwards
The sigil spawns slightly above the ground which makes it not hit standing characters immediately as it spawns. If the opponent gets above it, 5 projectiles fire at them that additonally bounce off of walls/projectiles and slightly home in.
Low hitstun makes it hard to use effectively, but excels at keeping opponents out the air above you in pair with Flare and Dreary Cell. If a Mine or Dreary Cell vacuum is near you can combo off of it with assists or set up for trap chains.
If used, using it just for additional pressure keeps aerial characters busy enough while Mateus creates more dangerous setups.
Version |
Damage multiplier |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force |
Effects |
CP (Mastered)
|
LV1 |
1 x 5, 25 (30) |
43F |
Magical |
Ranged Low (Special when sticked on surface) |
60+ |
Absorb, Wall Rush |
30 (15)
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LV2 |
1 x 7, 33 (40) |
80F (charge), 3F (hitbox after shot) |
Magical |
Ranged Mid (Special when sticked on surface) |
60+ |
Absorb, Wall Rush |
-
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LV3 |
1 x 10, 40 (50) |
120F (charge), 3F (hitbox after shot) |
Magical |
Ranged High (Special when sticked on surface) |
each hit 3 |
Absorb, Wall Rush |
-
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[Long] Emit bomb from staff that lands and draws in foe.
Charges a ball that tracks the opponent while aiming, and can be manually adjusted a little into any direction. Can't shoot directly up or down, only at about 45 degrees max.
Has 3 charge levels that change priority, damage, max range, strength of vacuum, and the time it lasts after it hit a surface. As it sticks to a surface it vacuums in and explodes after a set time, which does 80% of its damage and knocks back into a wallrush.
It becomes Special Priority as it sticks, making it dashable and clashable but unblockable. However when clashing, it triggers an explosion which has to be clashed through as well. Moves with little active frames or projectiles that clash with it can lose to it and result in the opponent getting hit by the explosion anyway.
The hitstun as it lands as a ball is great for assist conversions, and if it hits at max charge combos into the vacuum of the sticking ball by itself if hitting a character grounded/at a wall.
Since the knockback always knocks them away from Mateus, it can be controlled into the needed wall/groundrush direction or knocking the opponent into Flare, Mines or Thunder Crest.
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
2 x 17, 6 (40) |
35F |
Magical |
Unblockable |
60
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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Absorb |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Mid] Draw sigil on the ground. Paralyzes foe when in range.
THE trap of all time
Draws a sigil that travels forward on the ground for a little, bounces off of walls and outright stops at edges. Mateus can turn and place the crest into any direction with lock off, if it's set on neutral circle input.
It has a slight upward hitbox and the sigil itself is very accurate to its hitbox, just clipping into it is enough to activate it. When active it slightly draws in characters and assists. It can activate as soon as it's visible right infront of Mateus.
The crest staying out when Mateus is hit makes it extremely annoying for trades since its Unblockable and beats every other priority. Its able to be used as an intentional trade into BRVs, or HPs like Lord of Arms for a guaranteed break, making footsies against him risky to approach.
The damage is amazing already and with Mine skyrockets his damage potential, making any TC hit potentially deadly especially with assist.
Aerial
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
each (35) |
23F |
Magical |
Ranged Low |
0
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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Absorb |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Close] Drop mine. Multiples OK; they will persist a long time.
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
each (7) |
37F |
Magical |
Ranged Low |
0
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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- |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Mid] Draw horizontal light sigil. Fires when foe enters range; faces opponent's direction.
Version |
Damage multiplier |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force |
Effects |
CP (Mastered)
|
LV1 |
1 x 5, 25 (30) |
43F |
Magical |
Ranged Low (Special when sticked on surface) |
60+ |
Absorb, Wall Rush |
30 (15)
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LV2 |
1 x 7, 33 (40) |
80F (charge), 3F (hitbox after shot) |
Magical |
Ranged Mid (Special when sticked on surface) |
60+ |
Absorb, Wall Rush |
-
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LV3 |
1 x 10, 40 (50) |
120F (charge), 3F (hitbox after shot) |
Magical |
Ranged High (Special when sticked on surface) |
each hit 3 |
Absorb, Wall Rush |
-
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[Long] Emit bomb from staff that lands and draws in foe.
Shares traits with the ground version.
HP Attacks
Ground
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
each (3) |
521F |
Magical |
Unblockable |
0
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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Absorb, Wall Rush, Block Low (Ranged) |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Long] Call down giant meteor. Long cast. Aim with analog stick.
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
- |
35F |
- |
Ranged High |
60
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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- |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Mid] Gather globe of blue light that slowly homes in on opponent.
|
Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
- |
69F (total), 43F (activation) |
Magical |
Unblockable |
36/54/72
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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Absorb |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Close] Set discreet light trap. Detonates when foe approaches.
Aerial
|
Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
each (3) |
521F |
Magical |
Unblockable |
0
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
|
Absorb, Wall Rush, Block Low (Ranged) |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Long] Call down giant meteor. Long cast. Aim with analog stick.
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
- |
35F |
- |
Ranged High |
60
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
|
Wall Rush |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Mid] Gather globe of red light that awaits remote detonation.
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Base damage |
Startup frame |
Type |
Priority |
EX Force
|
- |
69F (total), 43F (activation) |
Magical |
Unblockable |
36/54/72
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Effects |
CP (Mastered) |
Cancels |
Assist Gain (Hit)
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Absorb |
30 (15) |
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Unlocked at level |
Mastered at AP |
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[Close] Set discreet light trap. Detonates when foe approaches.
EX Mode: Power of Hellfire!
Effects:
- Regen
- Critical Boost
- Blood Magic
Blood Magic
[Activates when HP attack hits] Absorbs HP equivalent to damage dealt.
EX Burst: Absolute Dominion
An attack that takes over the opponent's mind. Absorbs HP damage dealt. Enter the commands that display on screen.
Damage multiplier (initial) |
Damage multiplier (rest) |
Type
|
6, 13 (19) |
16x4, 17 (100 total) |
Magical
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Combos
Solo
Assist
Builds
Builds here.
Assist
The Emperor's assist data
Type |
Attack |
Startup |
Position |
Spawn |
Damage multiplier |
Effects
|
BRV |
Thunder Crest |
35F |
Ground |
Player |
2 x 17, 6 (40) |
Absorb
|
BRV |
Mine |
23F |
Air |
Opponent |
35 each (up to 70) |
Chase, Absorb
|
HP |
Flare |
35F |
Ground |
Player |
- |
-
|
HP |
Flare |
37F |
Air |
Opponent |
- |
Wall Rush
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Assists
The Emperor works well with Tidus, Yuna and Jecht.
References
Navigation
Wiki Roadmap (012 The Emperor)
Please edit this page's roadmap template when relevant additions and changes are made.
Page |
Completed |
In progress |
To-do |
Score
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General |
Add images for attacks. |
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/ 86
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Strengths and weaknesses |
Done. |
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4 / 5 / ?
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Overview |
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Write overview. |
0 / 5 / 2
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Bravery Attacks |
Ability info added and Thunder Crest overview. |
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Overviews for other braveries. |
1 / 5 / 5
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HP Attacks |
Ability info added. |
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Overviews. |
1 / 5 / 5
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EX Mode |
Basic info added. |
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Detailed info / overview. |
1 / 5 / 3
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Combos |
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Add combo section, solo & assist combos with a video example. |
0 / 5 / 7
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Builds |
1 example build. |
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More builds for EX, brv boost dodge etc. Build overviews like on Tifa page. |
1 / 5 / 10
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Assist |
Assist data added. |
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Add common viable assists with an overview (use tabber). |
1 / 5 / 3
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Matchups |
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Create page. Matchup analysis and tips against each character. |
0 / 32 / 32
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Frame Data |
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/ 1
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Starter Guide |
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Create page. A concise PvP guide with core concepts and bare essentials. |
0 / 5 / 8
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Strategy |
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Create page. More in-depth tips, tricks and counterplay (ground and air) |
0 / 5 / 10
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