Sol Lekz’s Button Check: Aeon Calcos

Welcome to the first issue of Button Check, a brand new informative series in which I will spend a rough total of about 48 hours playing a character from a fighting game title. The idea is to, within the allotted time, discover and develop an understanding of important ground rules that make each character unique, what works best for them and also their weaknesses in a simple, easy to understand formula for all skill levels of players. Statements and discoveries here on the Button Check are not to be taken overly literal all across the board as each player will come to ultimately possess their own unique styles, theories and one technique most definitely will not work for all.

DISCLAIMER: Statements and theories expressed on the Button Check are simply building blocks and ground rules with the sole intent of providing less experienced players solid ground to develop themselves further. These are simply suggestions based on limited time (48 hours) spent on each character for analysis. Players are encouraged to drop in some helpful tips of their own on characters said player possess well enough understanding of. (Please hold back any tears if you think you are godlike, Best in the world, 1337 or possess any other self righteous undeserved sense of accomplishment over any characters reviewed on Button Check. This is a casual digest.)

Aeon Calcos (Soul Calibur V)

Aeon has a rather deceptive learning curve. While it is, for the most part, easy to pick up and play this character since his simplicity makes him user friendly, it’s easy to develop bad habits and lose sight of what he should not be doing at the same time. Calcos isn’t a combo oriented character, his strengths rely primarily on his power and zoning (playing from a certain space and distance). This is a perfect character for a player to understand how to play humble and grounded as he must look for openings, time correctly and punish hard. Playing overly aggressive with this character will actually place the player in a disadvantageous position, especially against the more speed oriented characters, as most of his normal attacks and special moves are slow on start up and can be easily interrupted. Far from being the flashiest on the roster, Aeon by design is meant to do great damage but in controlled intervals. You can easily walk on players with poor defense as he can very easily close a round out very quickly but don’t count on going too crazy with his attacks since he can just as easily fall victim to mindless button mashing to stop his pressure.

Positioning: A medium distance (3-4 body lengths) favors his combination of power and lack of speed. Becoming a good judge of this range will allow for much more safer attacks without running the risk of getting stuffed in mid animation (which he is prone to).

Offensive Play: This guy hurts. Vertical (B) attacks will often be your best friend for hard punishes as well as combo starters. These are slow and can be read easily; mix up movement with Aeon by using horizontal (A) pokes and lows to hide his seemingly repetitive animations. When up close utilize the speed of his grab, should it land or be tech’d (cancelled) by the other player, both scenarios will reset you back into a favorable spaced position.

Defensive Play: While it is crucial for Aeon to play from a medium distance, sitting back too long can prove harmful. Long range or projectile characters can easily outplay him from afar as he lacks any real  range tools. Being knocked down are especially dangerous as Aeon has weak wake up (ground recovery) options. Back rolling and guarding are one of the best ways he can defend himself back to his feet.

Go to combos: B,B,B, from a properly judged range is great, it deals exceptional damage as well as scores a knockdown on the last hit. This can be followed up with almost any of his horizontal ground attacks in addition to being relatively safe on block.

Combo 4 is a great tool to learn, it is highly effective in powering through close range pressure. Learn the timing and slight delay for the <- <- K input and this will easily be one of your best reasons to spend gauge.

Special Move Usage:  Use Aeon’s Special moves SPARINGLY at best. They are highly risky, very punishable and mostly have unpractical setups.  However, it should be noted that his (Back – A) is a normal but has the properties of a special move and should be treated as such. It is a simple 1 hit horizontal but it staggers the opponent if it hits and also knocks them down for a chance to either back away back into a range fight or follow up with ground and pound. (With practice and quick timing, this can be followed up with his Finishing move)