C.Viper Guide & Overview

An operative belonging to a certain intelligence organization. A cold, hard realist. She complements her fighting abilities using a number of gadgets hidden in her outfit.

Returning from Street Fighter IV, C. Viper is a rushdown character with a wide array of tools to keep the pressure on. While she requires considerable execution and careful meter management to unlock her full potential, Viper's suite of safe special moves, feints, and full screen presence can pile on the opponent's mental stack, leaving them no room to breathe.

C. Viper's core gameplay centers around three special moves. Thunder Dash is a lunge attack combined with an anti-air for close range combos. Burning Kick is a flying kick that both knocks down on hit and while being safe (and even plus on block when used properly), while also being capable of crossing up when done in the air. Seismic Hammer is a low projectile that strikes from a set distance and launches on hit. While they may be useful, their extra functions serve as C. Viper's secret weapon. Seismic Hammer can be feinted during its startup, letting C. Viper psyche her opponent out and recover in time to react with a Heavy Thunder Dash, much like the typical zoner gameplan. Thunder Dash similarly can be feinted as a cancel option for damaging combos and tricky pressure. If that wasn't enough, C. Viper can follow up her Thunder Dash and Burning Kick at the cost of a Drive Gauge, turning stray hits into knockdowns with both Tracer Combination and Knuckled Pursuit, or further plus frames with Double Burn. Finally, C. Viper can pull out an old favorite in Focus Force, an armored counterattack much like a SFIV Focus Attack. While not as versatile as it used to be, Focus Force can absorb projectiles and counter strikes, and after a stun, can lead to tons of damage. All of these gadgets come together to make for a powerful kit.

However, C. Viper's greatest tool isn't up her sleeves, but on her heels with her High Jump, a jet-boosted leap that sends her flying across the screen in exchange for a bar of Drive Gauge. Nearly all of her grounded normals are cancelable into High Jump, on top of Seismic Hammer canceling into High Jump for a Burning Kick, letting C. Viper get in safely from a distance. Delving deeper, C. Viper can then cancel the early pre-jump frames of her High Jump into other special moves, leading to conversions such as her infamous Seismic Hammer High Jump Cancel loop, locking an opponent down so long as she has the Drive Gauge to keep it going, or her 5MK and 2MK going from simple pokes to potential combo starters. A savvy C. Viper can capitalize on any opening, forcing the opponent into her pressure game when they least expect it.

If all this Drive Gauge management ever feels like too much, C. Viper has one last tool at her disposal. Her Level 1 Super Art Limit Decoupler functions as not just a combo ender and reversal, but as an install as well. While active, all follow-ups and High Jumps can be used for free, letting her trademark offense loose and turning the next eleven seconds into her domain. When combined with a healthy Drive Gauge, nothing can stop a coiled viper from striking.

All of these fancy gadgets come neither cheap nor easy, however. It cannot be understated how vital execution and meter management are to C. Viper's playstyle, and without one or the other, Viper is left with only a handful of good pokes, a below-average Drive Rush, and limited opportunities. C. Viper in Burnout not only loses her universal options but her unique ones as well, and even her Level 1 install is cut down to a single usage of her Drive techniques. Knowing when to go wild and when to back off is crucial to success, lest you get caught on the back foot without any resources. If you feel the benefits are worth putting in the hours and can stay in control amidst a fast-paced environment, give C. Viper a call.