MOD Kryojenix here welcoming you all to the long awaited 2nd article of the Kryojenix Lab.

Here we discuss things that are PvP related from the characters and players perspectives. I’ll ask the players some questions and see what we can get out of them.

The person that I am interviewing today is a player that plays multiple characters but it’s his Wind Sneaker and Sakra Devanam that shine with various tournament wins within the PvP community. Showing everyone that not only he can win tournaments with his Wind Sneaker but recently proving that he can also win a tournament with Sakra Devanam. He was also my training partner at one point with our Grand Archers. It’s my pleasure to introduce Syndicate’s HFD/Seiche but most of us know him as Safety.

Welcome to the lab Safety!


K: Tell us a bit about yourself?

S: I am a sophomore in college who has been playing Elsword since late 2010. I started off on GER server originally to familiarize myself with some of the game's mechanics before the NA release. I originally started off with Grand Archer, but made a few transitions to different classes over time.

K: We've started as GA's and trained together at one point, I’m still a fan of GA over her other job classes but by the looks of your successes, the switch to WS definitely paid off for you. You are not only one of the top ranked players on our server but also from my knowledge, won a few tournaments with WS. Namely: Quitter’s East Coast tournament, Kirbyblader’s, and Tekneek’s tournament. A lot of these players are you’ve beaten are not to be messed with but you were able to pull off wins. What do you think separates you from other Wind Sneakers with the results you’ve shown?

S: I think it was mainly just experience that put me over my peers. I believe I also had quite a drive for playing WS back then as well.

K: I guess this is where your Sakra Devanam comes in. you are not only known for your Wind Sneaker but recently in 2 other tournaments hosted by Kurvii and Mabel you brought out your SD and took first place in a mirror match against Rearou’s SD Laystritt. How do you feel about Ara since she came out? Was it difficult transitioning from WS to SD?

S: I was always looking forward to Ara, but I never expected to enjoy her as much as I ended up doing. I definitely think playing WS for a while helped me prepare for SD, because they both share core strength in their vertical mobility -- the difference being that Ara excels at dominating air space whereas WS leans more towards ground control. Overall, the transition was very smooth and I am very grateful that I played WS for so long prior to Ara.

I do believe she is among the best picks for PvP at the moment!


K: Awesome! Let’s talk about matchups! In your opinion, what bad match ups do WS and SD have?

S: Prior to the recent skill-note patch, WS matchups weren't exactly as great as they were in previous patches. She had trouble forcing MP breaks against similar-geared opponents and could not tank much, so classes who had no issues with tanking her for MP could easily give her trouble (RS, SD, GM, etc.). Fortunately, the Low Kick note gave her a strong boost in the damage department through Bleed, so that will definitely fix the aforementioned problem.
As for SD, the only matchup I believe she is slightly disadvantaged in is against GM. Other than that, she goes even or better against the rest of the cast.

K: Makes sense but from a player’s perspective, how should one handle fighting against a WS or SD?

S: Against WS, you just need to be ready to punish whatever she throws at you, especially reckless slides. As I mentioned, WS struggles with controlling aerial space, so proper spacing with aerial attacks can force her into taking a risk to counter the opponent. Also, baiting Nature Force in neutral-situations is essential if the WS uses it a lot. She is completely defenseless whenever NF is whiffed, so it surprises me when I see players letting multiple whiffed NFs go unpunished.

Fighting SD is pretty difficult, but she has a few weaknesses. The main one is that while she has strong range on her normals, she has relatively few active frames on them. Additionally, Ara's spear does not transition through curves. It's very hard to fight SD if she lands the first combo, so it is very important to prevent that in order to limit her snowballing potential.

As for the Flashy Wit passive, do not launch SD if you are facing her unless a better option is unavailable. I realize that some characters don't have a choice due to RNG, but certain ones (such as Elesis @ midscreen) have the tools to prevent the passive from limiting their combos.

Naturally, the most effective way to play against these classes will vary depending on your class, but these are just a few basic ideas I think everyone should keep in mind.

K: Well I learned something new! I’ll keep that in mind for myself. Do you have any tips for first time WS and SD players who are looking to start PvPing?

S: For WS players, play a lot of matches. Play a lot of different people. Keep a mental handbook of things you have trouble with. Find answers to your problems -- don't hope for them to solve themselves. There's a lot of WS hate due to the nature of the class, but don't let that discourage you from the class if you enjoy it. Most of the people who trash-talk the class know very little about it.

For SD players, the most important tip I can give is learn how to properly combo with her. SD corner combos are devastating, so not abusing that fact would be a grave mistake.

K: Words from the wise! Thank you very much for visiting my lab. Do you have any last minute shout outs and/or some where we can watch some of your skills at work?

S: I have a YT channel where I post videos sparingly at https://www.youtube.com/user/safetyxd.

I don't stream much since my current net is kinda bad for that, but you can find it at www.twitch.tv/notsafety. I definitely plan to stream more after I can get an upgrade.

Lastly, I'd like to give shout outs to all the generous tournament organizers and people who donate their time to commentate. I think these guys should get
more appreciation for what they are doing for the community.

Thanks for having me at the lab!

K: No problem! Till next time everyone!