Cloud Strife (Dissidia 012)

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Info
Name Cloud Strife (クラウド・ストライフ)
Original game Final Fantasy VII
Weapon Sword, Greatsword, Katana, Spear
Armor Shields, Bangles, Hats, Helms, Clothing, Light Armor, Large Shields, Chestplates
Base ATK (LV100) 110 (Average)
Base DEF (LV100) 112 (High)
Run Speed 7 (Average)
Dash Speed 77F (Average / Good)
Fall Speed 87F (Below Average)
Fall Speed Ratio After Dodge 39 (Below Average)
Exclusive weapons Buster Sword, Force Stealer, Butterfly Edge, Fenrir
Strengths Weaknesses
  • Solid, easy and straightforward gameplay with Double Cut pokes, Bravery to HP links and standard-fare movement speed.
  • Ground combat. Firaga, Fire + Climhazzard combo, HP
  • Damage assist combos, wall rush, bravery
  • Good meter build, with Double Cut rewarding good EX and HP links enabling assist meter gains on hit
  • Flexible assist synergy thanks to wall rush potential and Double Cut confirms (with either hit)
  • EX Mode lets Cloud to power through guards with bravery Melee High priority and EX Burst deals more damage the more health he has, one of the most damaging bursts in the game.
  • High base defense of 112 at LV100, reducing bravery damage taken more than majority of the cast
  • Vulnerable HP links can limit Cloud's opportunities for HP damage against characters who can escape with Assist Change more often.
  • LV2 Assist Change can also restrict" Cloud's follow-ups or moment-to-moment interactions.
  • Floaty aerial dodges and lack of a potent dodge coover make air dodging risky for Cloud at higher levels of play
  • Aerial gameplay more linear than grounded. While more than serviceable, optimising his air gameplay requires plenty of micro-optimisations and fundamental skills.
  • Lackluster vertical braveries. While good at hitting from their designated angles, reward on hit, tracking and end lag leave something to be desired.

Overview

Cloud Strife is primarily a close-range fighter who utilises a variety of pokes, huge sword swings and projectiles to establish his advantage. When fighting on the ground, Cloud can apply standard fare movement to close gaps and engage with straightforward, yet effective braveries or attempt to sneak in damage from further away with four different projectiles. Keeping his opponent in check with Ranged Mid Firagas, poking with Double Cut, setting up extended combos with Fire and dodge punishing with Sonic Break, it's all here. In the air Cloud trades most ranged tools for melee attacks that cover different positions, lending to a more close-range oriented playstyle.

Regardless of where you play Cloud though, he has access to quick pokes with Double Cut to test waters, punish dodges and safely build assist meter with. Sonic Break (ground) and Slashing Blow (air) braveries can also branch out into a dedicated HP attack with great wall rush potential, enabling meter independent damage output that can grow exponentially with meter. Because of that, his great assist synergy and good base stats, Cloud has a lot of flexibility with builds, whether it's meter depletion, EX or assist oriented builds with Side by Side accessory_special.png. And they're all worth investing in, as Side by Side enables big burst damage while his EX Mode allows him to guard crush with just bravery attacks alone, with increased damage multipliers on attacks that scale with more remaining health.

These traits make Cloud akin to an all-rounder much like Warrior of Light, with an emphasis on damage output instead of defense. But he is not without flaws. For one, his HP links from braveries are fairly long and punishable when Assist Changed out of, which can limit his damage output when the opponent has assist meter. Cloud's air dodges also pose a risk to him, as he is slow to fall after performing one and lacks effective guarding attacks to discourage dodge punishment. He often relies on clashing with Double Cut to make up for this, and if he cannot land braveries that lead to HP damage, he will rely on Double Cut even more to make ends meet.

Cloud's horizontal tracking is good, though not top of the line. With above average movement speed, but below average travel speed and max range with Braver, Cloud can struggle to punish blocks and dodges from further away. While he has no problem whiff punishing with vertical attacks such as Rising Fang and Braver, they have more situational application and reward overall. Similiarly, lingering higher priority projectiles can be powered through with Braver, but will leave him wide open for whiff punishment. Cloud can generate a good amount of EX or Assist meter on hit, but he can also struggle to capitalise on them against characters such as Lightning, Ultimecia and Sephiroth.

Historically Cloud has been ranked at mid tier and high tier in competitive play. A fundamentally sound character, he has tools for many different situations. Verticality, post-dodge defense, Assist Change counterplay, as well as lack of aerial mid range attacks and utility for traps hurt him. However, his straightforward moveset is fairly easy to pick up and lends well to close-range duels such as against Squall and Vaan. A good character who can lay a solid foundation for understanding nuances in the metagame.

Bravery Attacks

Ground

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
7, 13 (20) 13F Physical Melee Low 90 Chase 30 (15)
[Close] Quick slash. Low power, fast execution.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
8, 12, 25 (45) 21F Physical Melee Low 30 Wall Rush, Absorb 30 (15)
[Close] Strike with three powerful blows. Sends foe flying.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
3 x 4, 8, 15 (35) 27F Physical Melee Low 30 Wall Rush 30 (15)
[Mid] Charging attack. Slow strike, easy to wall rush.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
15, 5, 10 (30) 37F Magical Melee Mid (sword), Ranged Low (projectile) 90 Chase 30 (15)
[Mid] Launch shockwave. Fast, but has weak homing.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
each (7, 10) 25F Magical Ranged Mid 0 - 30 (15)
[Long] Shoot three fireballs. Short range, but can restrain opponent with explosions.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
5 x 3 (15) 25F Magical Ranged Low 0 - 30 (15)
[Long] Hurl fireball. Faster than Fire.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
10 25F Magical Ranged Low 0 - 30 (15)
[Long] Hurl fireball. Slowly tracks opponent.

Aerial

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
5, 10, 25 (40) 21F Physical Melee Low 30 Wall Rush 30 (15)
[Close] Powerful slashes. Change combo with analog stick.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
25 25F Physical Melee Low 0 Wall Rush 30 (15)
Diving attack, scooping foe with sword. Useful from above.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
3, 1 x 10, 17 (30) 21F Physical Melee Low 33 Wall Rush 30 (15)
Powerful upward lunge. Effective near ceiling.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
7, 13 (20) 13F Physical Melee Low 90 Chase 30 (15)
[Close] Quick slash. Low power, fast execution.

HP Attacks

Ground

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
5, 5 (10) 41F Physical Melee High 30 Wall Rush 30 (15)
[Close] Break through defenses with cross-shaped slashes.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
each (10) 21F (up), 81F (down) Magical Ranged Mid (up), Ranged High (down) each 60 - 30 (15)
[Long] Send countless meteors towards opponent.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
1 x 4, 2 x 5 (+ = 34) ? Physical Melee High 27 Wall Rush 30 (15)
Branching from Sonic Break. [Combo] A whirlwind of attacks.

Aerial

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
2, 1 x N (4+) 47F Physical Melee High each 15 Wall Rush 30 (15)
[Close] Midair charge. Effective against any height.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
each (10) 21F (up), 81F (down) Magical Ranged Mid (up), Ranged High (down) each 60 - 30 (15)

[Long] Send countless meteors towards opponent.

No horizontal tracking unlike the ground version.

Damage multiplier Startup frame Type Priority EX Force Effects CP (Mastered)
2 x 4, 5, 7 (+ = 35) ? Physical ? 36 Wall Rush 30 (15)
Branching from Slashing Blow. [Combo] Series of speedy slices.

EX Mode: Equipped Ultima Weapon! / The power of mako!

Effects:

  • Regen
  • Critical Boost
  • Ultima Weapon (CRUSH)
  • Ultima Weapon (ATK)

Ultima Weapon (CRUSH)

[Always active while in EX Mode] Each attack becomes even heavier, crushing all attempts at blocking.

All Melee attacks become Melee High priority.

Ultima Weapon (ATK)

[Always active while in EX Mode] The higher the user's HP, the sharper the weapon's blade.

Damage multiplier scales to x1~x2 accordingly to current HP%, round down to nearest integer.

EX Burst: Omnislash

An attack slicing the opponent over and over. Repeatedly press circle to raise the gauge.

Damage multiplier (initial) Damage multiplier (rest) Type
14, 14 (28) 2 x 20 (40) (68 total) Physical

Combos

Solo

Assist

Combo structure
Starter Filler Ender
Climhazzard (2nd hit) Firaga Double Cut (midair)
Sonic Break (2nd hit) Slashing Blow Slashing Blow
Double Cut (ground, wall) Double Cut (1st hit) Rising Fang
Double Cut (1st hit, air) Braver
Wall Rush (Climhazzard, Sonic Break, Slashing Blow,
Rising Fang, Aerial Fang, Cross Slash,
Finishing Touch, Braver, Omnislash Version 5)		 Omnislash Version 5
Stagger (Firaga)

Starter

  • Climhazzard (2nd hit)
  • Sonic Break (2nd hit)
  • Double Cut (2nd hit, ground, wall only)
  • Double Cut (1st hit, air)
  • Wall Rush (Climhazzard, Sonic Break, Slashing Blow, Rising Fang, Aerial Fang, Finishing Touch, Omnislash Version 5)

Filler

  • Firaga
  • Slashing Blow
  • Double Cut (1st hit)

Ender

  • Double Cut (air)
  • Slashing Blow
  • Rising Fang
  • Omnislash Version 5
  • Braver

Builds

Builds here.

Stats
HP 9376
CP 480
BRV 1493
ATK 177
DEF 184
LUK 60
Max Booster x3.5
Special Effect: None
Equipment
Assist Kuja
Weapon Piggy's Stick
Hand Chainsaw (CP Glitch)
Head Royal Crown (CP Glitch)
Armor Maximillian (CP Glitch)
Accessory 1 accessory_basic.png Hyper Ring
Accessory 2 accessory_basic.png Sniper Eye
Accessory 3 accessory_basic.png Dismay Shock
Accessory 4 accessory_basic.png Battle Hammer
Accessory 5 accessory_booster.png Empty EX Gauge
Accessory 6 accessory_booster.png Summon Unused
Accessory 7 accessory_booster.png Pre-EX Mode
Accessory 8 accessory_booster.png Pre-EX Revenge
Accessory 9 accessory_special.png Hero's Essence
Accessory 10 accessory_special.png Side by Side
Summon Rubicante

Best Dresser extra ability equipped.

Substitutes
Equipment Replacement Notes
accessory_basic.png Battle Hammer / accessory_basic.png Dismay Shock accessory_special.png Hero's Seal Initial HP damage increase, raises initial bravery to 2239. If opponent also uses Side by Side, replace Dismay Shock.
Maximillian Auto Crossbow Damage increase, with even lower max health. Instead of equipping Maximillian, Auto Crossbow adds another +79 base bravery and +15 % physical damage on top. Do CP glitch to equip this machine-category equipment.

High burst damage with each wall rush assist combo. With First Strike extra ability, a single Slashing Blow > Omnislash Version 5 wall rush with Kuja assist can output 4,632 HP damage. Even Exdeath with Adamant Chains set at 187 defense can be left near bravery break and if enough critical hits are activated, will break him too. Which is to say, the damage potential is high.

Further investment into damage is possible at the expense of other abilities (equipping Assist Critical Boost instead of Counterattack, for example), maximum health or meter depletion. However, if the opponent uses the Disable First Attack extra ability, Cloud's critical hit rate can fall, greatly reducing the likelihood of reaching a bravery break with a single assist combo.

Stats
HP 9109
CP 450
BRV 1115
ATK 179
DEF 184
LUK 60
Max Booster x1.3
Special Effect: None
Equipment
Assist Kuja
Weapon Fenrir
Hand Chainsaw (CP Glitch)
Head Oath Veil (CP Glitch)
Armor Auto Crossbow (CP Glitch)
Accessory 1 accessory_basic.png Muscle Belt
Accessory 2 accessory_basic.png Sniper Eye
Accessory 3 accessory_basic.png Dismay Shock
Accessory 4 accessory_basic.png Battle Hammer
Accessory 5 accessory_booster.png Summon Unused
Accessory 6 accessory_special.png White Drop
Accessory 7 accessory_special.png White Drop
Accessory 8 accessory_special.png White Gem
Accessory 9 accessory_special.png Tenacious Attacker
Accessory 10 accessory_special.png Glutton
Summon Rubicante
Substitutes
Equipment Replacement Notes

Assist

Cloud's assist data

Type Attack Startup Position Spawn Damage multiplier Effects
BRV Sonic Break 21F Ground Opponent 8, 12, 25 (45) Wall Rush
BRV Slashing Blow 21F Air Opponent 5, 10, 25 (40) Wall Rush
HP Cross-slash 41F Ground Opponent 5, 5 (10) Wall Rush
HP Braver 47F Air Opponent 2, 1 x N (4+) Wall Rush

Assists

One of Cloud's distinct strengths is his synergy with a myriad of assists in the game. In addition to powerhouse assists like Kuja, Aerith and Jecht, Cloud can also work with Onion Knight and Ultimecia.

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