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|                                                                             |
| Dissidia Final Fantasy                                                      |
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|Cloud of Darkness Character Guide                                            |
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|V.2.0                                                                        |
|                                                                             |
|By BlueSophia                                                                |
|                                                                             |
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Contents

AI) Legal Information
AII) Update
BI) About Me
CI) Why Cloud of Darkness
CII) Getting to Know Cloud of Darkness
     C1) Brave Attacks
     C2) HP Attacks
     C3) EX Mode
DI) How Cloud of Darkness is used
EI) Character Matchup
     E1) Warrior of Light
     E2) Garland
     E3) Frionel
     E4) Emperor
     E5) Onion Knight
     E6) Cloud of Darkness
     E7) Cecil Harvey
     E8) Golbeza
     E9) Butz Klauser
     E10) Exdeath
     E11) Tina Branford
     E12) Kefka
     E13) Cloud Strife
     E14) Sephiroth
     E15) Squall Leonhart
     E16) Ultimecia
     E17) Zidane Tribal
     E18) Kuja
     E19) Tidus
     E20) Jecht
     EX21) Shantotto
     EX22) Judge Gabranth
FI) Choosing Your Stage
     F1) Chaos Shrine
     F2) Pandaemonium
     F3) World of Darkness
     F4) The Moon
     F5) Dimensional Fortress
     F6) Tower Ruins
     F7) Northern Crater
     F8) Ultimecia�s Tower
     F9) Crystal World
     F10) Dream Zanarkand
     F11) Cosmos Throne
     F12) Chaos Throne
GI) Equipment To Use (unfortunately I have yet to understand equipment so I 
left this part out My apologies)
HI) Summons
II) Questions and Answers (If Any)
JI) Credits and Words of Thanks

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|AI) Legal Information                                                        |
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As a rather informal person as such as myself, I could care less about any 
fancy wording or suchlike but since this is posted up for free, then if you 
have paid to read this guide, you have been royally gypped. The sale of any 
copies of this guide is also prohibited as this guide is meant to be free. Do 
not copy any text from this guide or post it in other places without my 
permission.

This guide is copyrighted by Bluesophia: 2009

The Site allowed to host this FAQ is:

www.Gamefaqs.com
www.Neoseeker.com
www.supercheats.com

Now that all this is out of the way, let us get on with this guide.

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|AII) Update                                                                  |
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This guide has been rewritten to accommodate the changes to the American 
version of Dissidia Final Fantasy. Adjustments have been made to the matching 
and the Move sections. I may still use some of the old attack names so bear 
with it.

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|BI) About Me                                                                 |
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There really is not much to say. I am a casual gamer mostly although I may 
focus on games that I particularly enjoy. But you really would not care to 
listen to all that so let us just get on with the guide and forget whoever I am.

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|CI) Why Cloud of Darkness                                                    |
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Cloud of Darkness is the main antagonist of the game Final Fantasy III and is 
faced as the final boss. The character of Cloud of Darkness does not appear 
many times over the course of Final Fantasy III but the main plot behind the 
game is to stop her from returning the world to the void.

In Final Fantasy Dissidia, Cloud of Darkness Serves as the Main Villain 
representing Final Fantasy III standing opposite the Onion Knight. As her role 
suggests, her character serves as one of the minions of Chaos and acts as a key 
warrior in the defeat of Cosmos.

Now Cloud of Darkness is quite an interesting character. She was redesigned 
based on Yoshitaka Amano�s original artwork to look the way she does in the 
normal form. The form that you see in the original and the remake of the game 
has become Cloud of Darkness� EX mode. The question is why play as her?

Cloud of Darkness is actually a very sophisticated character to use. Those who 
love to use powerful attacks right from the start will be quite at home with 
her movesets. Cloud of Darkness can be quite a strong character if used 
correctly and the important thing about Cloud of Darkness is that she is a very 
offensive minded character, making her an easy choice to use to those who are 
used to playing aggressively. However, she is rather limited early into the 
game, making it crucial to learn how to use her attacks based on the situation 
and not to limit yourself to just a single attack when you have so many to use. 
The main advantage she has is that her HP attacks carry a very large area 
coverage, making her a versatile and deadly attacker.

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|C1) Brave Attacks                                                            |
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Before you even ask about her Brave attacks, it should be stated quite plainly, 
she does not have a lot. However, it should also be noted that because her 
brave attacks can strike from any direction, it means that they come out rather 
quickly and can be very difficult to dodge if you are unfamiliar with how they 
work. However, her brave attacks also come with the ability to change the 
secondary attack based on how you time the presses of the O button. This is 
perhaps one of the most difficult things to master about Cloud of Darkness as 
pressing too fast or too slow may yield completely different attacks altogether.

Ba) Tentacles of pain
LV: Default
Type: Ground
CP: 45/25
AP: 140
Description: Tentacles of Pain consists of a simple lash in the direction of 
your opponent. The attack comes out quick but the important thing to note is 
that this is the attack that is chained into the other moves. Specifically, the 
move does not need to hit in order for you to use the chained moves. Due to the 
fact that Cloud of Darkness can be used effectively on both ground and the Air, 
This move is quite useful and should be equipped at all times.

Chain 1: Tap O immediately after the initial attack.
This attack will hit your opponent 3x times and lead directly into a chase 
sequence. The usefulness of this move depends entirely of how skilled you are 
in a chase sequence. However, due to the nature of Cloud of Darkness� moves, it 
is highly recommended that you avoid using this move frequently unless you know 
you are better in chase sequences because Cloud of Darkness is weak at melee 
range. This attack can also be used to repel your opponent but there is a 
better attack for that.
Rating: 2/5 (Not very useful, there are better attacks.)

Chain 2: Tap O after the tentacles have swiveled away after the initial attack.
This attack will send your opponent 4 times and send them flying very far away. 
This move is very important as it is your setup move to get your opponent into 
the optimal range. If you are cornered by your opponent, block and counter them 
with this attack. This attack also deals more damage than the one before. 
However, due to the timing of the attack and the need to commit to it, you can 
be left open if you miss.
Rating: 4/5 (A good attack and useful for widening the gap between yourself and 
your opponent)

Chain 3: Tap O after the tentacles of doubled around but have not yet returned 
to facing forward yet after the initial attack.
This attack should always be used if your opponent is far away. The important 
thing is that whenever you decide to use this, you will never hit your opponent 
with the initial attack because it should never be used when your opponent is 
close at hand. What it does is that it summons two balls of dark energy that 
will attack your opponent from afar. It is a useful attack for catching your 
opponent by surprise and hitting them while they are in the middle of 
performing a time consuming attack. The only problem is that it has a long 
start up time so use it wisely. It can also be evaded altogether by dashing but 
If you learn to time your HP attacks to your brave attacks, this should not be 
a problem.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Usefulness is limited but it is a good punishment move for 
attacks like Grand Cross.)

Bb) Tentacles of Suffering 
LV: Default
Type: Aerial
CP: 45/25
AP: 120
Description: Tentacles of suffering is pretty much the same as Tentacles of 
Pain due to their extremely similar attack animation. The only real difference 
in them is that one is in the air and the other is on the ground. But once you 
chain them, that is a whole other story altogether.

Chain 1: Tap O immediately after the initial attack.
Practically the same as Chain 1 from tentacles of Pain but the only difference 
is that it hits less times. Again the usefulness is limited and it 
automatically puts you into chase. The difference is that you are in the air 
this time. Do not use this move if you can help it.
Rating: 2/5 (Don�t use this often, it may put you in a bad position if you go 
through with the chase)

Chain 2: Tap O after the tentacles have swung to the side after the initial 
attack.
A vast difference from the ground, this is probably the attack that you should 
rely on the most if your opponent loves aerial melee because the attack has a 
VERY wide range and hits from all angles. This attack also hits many times and 
can be very useful to punish those who try to melee you in the air. Because 
this attack is very difficult to punish, it should be your main weapon when it 
comes to attacking your opponent especially if they relied on dodge to get away 
from the initial attack.
Rating: 5/5 (This is your bread and butter melee move, use it if you can but 
don�t overestimate the reach)

Chain 3: Tap O after the tentacles have swung around twice after the initial 
attack.
Compared to the Tentacle of Pain equivalent of Chain 3, this attack leaves 
something to be desired. The attack sends two orbs of energy at your opponent 
but the movement of the orbs is fairly slow so it should be easy to dodge. 
Never use this attack if you can help it, you are better off dropping onto the 
ground and using Chain 3 of Tentacles of Pain if you want to use a brave 
attack. Also, simply dashing can bounce the attack RIGHT BACK at you. However, 
as a side note, those bounced attacks can be reflected with Wrath particle beam 
for a free attack.
Rating: 3.5/5 (I would stay away from using this attack openly.)

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|C2) HP Attacks                                                               |
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The difference between most characters and Cloud of Darkness is that unlike 
them, she has very few Brave attacks in order to have a very large roster of HP 
attacks. This makes her one of the most offensive minded characters in the game 
and can be quite dangerous to opponents who like to play keep away since her 
attacks were meant to defeat such opponents.

HPa) Anti Aircraft Wave
LV: Default
Type: Ground
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
The default attack that you get and perhaps one of the most misleading at the 
time. When you first get this attack, you may be tempted to stick to the ground 
when you are playing as Cloud of Darkness. This is not true. This attack is 
meant to be an attack that will get you familiarized with Cloud of Darkness� 
roster of moves. The attack goes from the ground up but the main difference 
between this and Ultimecia�s Apocalypse is that it cannot be moved from under 
you. When you use this attack, try to use it if your opponent is either very 
close or has just escaped into the air after a dodge because it comes out 
fairly quickly. However, it has almost no horizontal reach so only use this 
attack if none of your other attacks can be used.

All this changes in EX mode. This attack is one of the most powerful methods of 
attack that Cloud of Darkness has in EX mode because of its activation time and 
priority. It can easily be used to catch your opponent with it for a quick 
breakout hit since it comes out so fast. The range is still an issue but it is 
no longer as easily avoided as before.
Rating: 3/5 <EX Mode 5/5> (Nothing special, would have been more useful if it 
had a wider reach)

HPb) Aura Ball
LV: Default
Type: Aerial
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
This is an example of an attack that will confuse beginners. Most of the time, 
those who are unfamiliar with Cloud of Darkness will just Tap O or stick to the 
ground due to this attack apparently being completely useless due to it having 
no range and takes a long time to use and recover from. That is not the case. 
This is actually one of Cloud of Darkness� most useful trapping moves because 
it is such a strange attack. By holding O, you can control the amount of 
spheres that come out while you create a form of defensive parameter that will 
prevent most opponents from getting close. The important thing to note is that 
this move is very circumstantial but the correct use of it pays off very well. 
However, if you are unwise, you may end up getting hit by other attacks so this 
attack should not be used on certain characters.
Rating: 4/5 (learn to use this move, do not take it for granted)

HPc) Wide Angle Wave 
LV: 6
Type: Ground 
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
This is the first ground HP attack that you get other than AA wave and compared 
to that, this is a slight improvement and a downgrade at the same time. This 
attack is very useful for warding off characters who love to stay on the ground 
like Squall and can be very useful in forcing them back. However, actually 
hitting them with this is also very circumstantial because by itself, it has a 
limited range and the vertical reach is far from infinite (actually it is 
pretty low). Use this as a Bridge attack or a warning attack to get them to 
move away or pay the price of some HP. But You should not rely on this move 
when there are better moves out there.
Rating: 3.5/5 (Try not to use this too often, it has a tendency to be pretty 
avoidable although it is pretty intimidating due to the large hitbox.)

HPd) Wrath Particle Beam 
LV: 12
Type: Ground
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
Learn to love this attack. Now the important thing you should note is how you 
actually use this. The important thing is that doing this attack alone will 
have no effect whatsoever. You need to make your opponent perform a brave 
attack for it to work (may fail on some occasions). But if you succeed, the 
attack will be blocked and a counter attack of a vertical beam up the opponent 
will be dealt. This is practically unavoidable unless the opponent can move 
directly after the attack. This activates as fast as a normal guard but it does 
not last as long.
Rating: 4.5/5 (The timing has changed but it has the exact same use.)
NOTE: This attack does not work against other HP attacks.

HPe) Earth Void Wave
LV: 19
Type: Ground
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
A lovely attack that has you disappear from one location to appear a short 
distance away with a counterattack. This is your priority close range move that 
is not situational and it can be a very useful punisher if you can time the 
attack correctly. Simply make sure your opponent will commit to the attack 
before using this to warp away from the target and give them a quick HP attack 
before moving back to widen the gap again. The important thing to understand is 
that this move is a surprise or a retaliation attack and as a frontal attack, 
it can be quite difficult to use. However, this attack should be able to 
replace ground Retaliation Wave due to the fact that you should not be spending 
a lot of time on the ground in many situations.
Rating: 4.5/5 (A great surprise attack but not the best of frontal assaults. We 
have wide angle wave for that.)

HPf) Wrath Particle Beam  
LV: Default
Type: Aerial
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
There was a reason why this was made an Aerial attack too, that was because you 
will be spending a bit more time in the air then on the ground. Like its ground 
based equivalent, you use this to reflect before counterattacking, the 
difference being that you will probably use this a lot more in the air as 
opposed to guard due to the difficulty to maneuver as it can let you get a free 
hit on your opponent from far away without having to dash towards them (which 
you should rarely do).
Rating: 4.5/5 (The timing has changed but it has the exact same use.)
NOTE: This attack does not work against other HP attacks.

HPg) Fusilade Particle Beam
LV: 17
Type: Aerial
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
... What did they do to this attack? The range is calculated to be less than 
before as the previous version had a higher chance of catching an opponent on 
the return. It still is a great opening volley attack if you can get it off 
(since it is a quick way to attack in all directions) but it has a noticeably 
larger lag and a cut in range. The attack lost a lot of its impact from before 
but it still has its uses as bait or an opportunity attack.
Rating: 3.5/5 (The transition made this attack difficult to use.)

HPh) 0-form Particle Beam
LV: 38
Type: Aerial
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
Ah yes... The one attack that is the joy of all internet leet-speak, the 
ability to shoop da whoop. Zero Wave does exactly what it is supposed to do, 
fire a huge beam cannon at your opponent at point blank range. This is the one 
attack that is of no holds barred. The attack has no funny trajectory, no 
tricks and no follow up. The attack is simply a single straight attack at your 
opponent. Now normally this would be quite easy to dodge but the benefit that 
Zero wave has that moves like Shield of Light or Straight Arrow is that the 
trajectory can move to follow your opponent. The limit to this attack is that 
there is a maximum range for it and it cannot make sharp turns to follow your 
opponent. However this attack has an absolute trajectory so it can shoot 
through walls and other objects.
Rating: 5/5 (As of now your most trusted attack, never leave home without it.)

HPi) Long Range Particle Beam 
LV: Default
Type: Ground
CP: 40/20
AP: 180
A more focused form of AA wave where you send a trail of homing pillars at your 
opponent. The glory of this attack is that while you have limited vertical 
range with this move, it has a very long reach and can be used to attack from 
afar while you try to ascertain your opponents timing or simply follow it up 
with another HP attack. This attacks use is very great because the attack 
passes through walls. This means that it can be used in many situations to 
pressure your opponent.
Rating: 4.5/5 (A very nice method to pressure but stay away from it at close 
range, the amount of lag here is crippling on a whiff.)

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|C3) EX Mode                                                                  |
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The side effects of Cloud of Darkness� EX mode is rather self explanatory. It 
gives her regeneration as a side effect and is the prerequisite to use her EX 
Burst, Super Wave Cannon.

Now As a side effect, her EX mode allows you to cancel your opponent�s HP 
attacks by performing Retaliation Wave. This can be very useful if difficult to 
time because it is often easier to simply dodge and fire off an HP attack since 
they are now faster in EX mode.

Her EX Burst consists of a single gauge where you simply hold O until the guage 
reads 120. Once it reads 120, she will perform Particle Beam to deal 
devastating damage. Letting go too soon or too late will result in her using a 
weaker attack.

Her EX mode simply makes it easier for you to apply pressure on your opponent 
and allows you to focus more on attacking your opponent without having to worry 
about having them retaliate with a brave attack.

Her EX mode is special in that you can now continuously chain together HP 
attacks and in situations even lock your opponent into an infinite combo. While 
this is looked down upon in competitive play it is an option for you to use if 
you come across a difficult opponent.

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|DI) How Cloud of Darkness is used                                            |
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As a forward to this section, let us look at the pros and cons of Cloud of 
Darkness.

+======+
| Pros |
+======+

+ Extremely Versatile HP game
+ Can keep distance fairly well
+ Excellent anti-magic movepool
+ Capable of punishing long range brave attacks with ease

-======-
| Cons |
-======-

- Vulnerable to punishment if played incorrectly
- Relatively limited Brave pool
- Fairly vulnerable Cooldown time
- Lackluster Close range HP game

From this analysis, it should be pretty obvious that Cloud of Darkness is one 
of the few characters that should be played offensively from the get-go. But 
while playing as her, you should do one very important thing, USING YOUR HEAD. 
Remember that she has a variety of moves to suit the situation so remember to 
take advantage of them when you are facing your opponent. Try to establish the 
optimal distance between you and your opponent so that you can comfortably 
attack them without being pulverized yourself. You should also hold back on 
attacking with your HP attacks until you are fairly certain that you have 
established a good rhythm to your attacks. After that, make sure to keep on the 
move so that your opponent does not get the chance to punish you after your HP 
attack because you will be relying on them A LOT.

When you play as Cloud of Darkness, remember to follow these golden rules.

1) Keep your opponent on the defensive. The important thing about Cloud of 
Darkness is that she is geared for head on attacking and the best way to make 
use of it is to prevent your opponent from turning the tides against you.

2) Make sure your opponent cannot effectively counterattack after every HP 
attack. This is the number one priority since you will be HP attacking a lot. 
If you get hit directly after an HP attack, you can pretty much say good bye to 
the entire strategy altogether.

3) Keep your distance. Cloud of Darkness is at the greatest disadvantage when 
she is close to her opponent because attacks have a brief startup time as well 
as a sizable cool down time. Make sure you have enough time to recover.

4) Save your EX mode. Just because it can give you the ability to pressure your 
opponent even greater does not mean that you should use it right away. When 
your opponent scores a lucky attack, use the EX mode to break out and score a 
counter hit before chaining it into your EX burst for a clean hit and to regain 
some lost Brave if your opponent gained a break on you.

5) Alternate between your HP and brave attacks. Just because your HP attacks 
are brutal does not mean you need to rely completely on them.

That should probably about sum up the basics of how to play as Cloud of 
Darkness. Just remember to keep your opponent off balance and you should be 
fine. Unlike most other characters, the lag between attacks means that Cloud of 
Darkness cannot chain her attacks so you should make sure you should not try to 
use any chain attacks because that is retarded.

Extra Note- Cloud of Darkness has moves that have an absolute range. The 
meaning of absolute range is simple, it means that the attack still activates 
regardless of the obstructions on the map. Her 0 Form Particle Beam can still 
hit even if you have a solid wall blocking your way.

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|EI) Character Match ups                                                      |
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This section is dedicated to How Cloud of Darkness matches up against her 
opponent and tips on how to deal with them. Nothing really special. Knowing is  
half the battle.

E1) Warrior of Light (All-Rounder)
The key difference between Warrior of Light and Cloud of Darkness is that 
whatever Warrior of Light can do, Cloud of Darkness can do better. Her Zero 
Wave automatically leaves Shield of Light in the dust, longer range and wider 
reach. Shining Wave is overtaken by Pursuit Wave because Shining Wave is ground 
based and the fight is rarely if ever on the ground. Radiant Sword has a pretty 
good tracking and it has an extremely good attack reach. However, it really is 
of no consequence against Cloud of Darkness. This really is a poor matchup.

E2) Garland (Power Attacker)
In sharp contrast to Warrior of Light, Garland is a major character to watch 
out for. Despite the slow ground speed and the nearly stunted attack reach of 
Garland, it should be noted that Garland is an extremely good HP punisher which 
means that if you landed an HP attack before hand, if you do not evade 
correctly, you will wind up in Break mode. In this case, the best way to fight 
is to keep far away. However, you should also make sure to note the priority of 
his attacks. Both Cyclone and Blaze are low priority and take time to use. You 
can use that window to deal a counterattack for some damage. However, keeping 
off the ground is crucial as Garland�s ground HP attacks are fairly painful.

E3) Frionel (Weapon Master)
A rather tricky character to play against, on one hand a lot of his moves are 
made in combinations so you have to memorize his movesets before you begin to 
fight him. Straight arrow should not be any problem to avoid but Master of 
Weapons is definitely a problem attack since it can be used to punish you 
during your HP attacks. However, one of the things that makes Frionel easier to 
deal with is that his air game consists largely of magic attacks. Do you need 
to hear that again? This means that Cloud of Darkness can use Retaliation wave 
with ease and easily toss Frionel around. Dropping to the ground is not an 
option since none of the attacks can hit Cloud of Darkness if she is not on the 
ground other than Straight Arrow. And what is the problem with that attack? It 
is easy to dodge. Watch out however Lead Axe, it has a pretty dangerous reach 
and can drag you into his range, something you do NOT want to happen. However, 
that is not to say that he is without weakness. Shield Bash is completely 
useless because a good Cloud of Darkness player will never use brave attacks on 
Frionel. Master of Weapons is also an absolute range attack, but it has no 
vertical coverage. This way you can prevent Frionel from taking advantage of 
any options in the air.

E4) Emperor (Trap Maker)
Again like Frionel, the best way to fight him is from the air. The difference 
is that unlike Frionel who has viable air attacks in both categories (still 
disadvantageous), Emperor has nearly no air HP game and unless he can lure 
Cloud of Darkness close, he has no chance to win. The Traps that he sets are 
generally stationary and with the exception of Light Crest and Sticky Bomb, you 
really are pretty much untouchable by Emperor standards unless you run into his 
flare attack. The aerial flare may present a problem but not by much given that 
it is stationary and you have your own methods of trapping him. Even in 
confined spaces, you may have the advantage because while his flares cannot 
strike through walls, your 0 Form Particle beam can!

E5) Onion Knight (Magic Fighter)
A sharp departure from the other two, Onion Knight is one of the more difficult 
opponents and it is highly recommended that you try to keep your distance 
because his attacks come out FAST. Also, it should be noted that no self 
respecting Onion Knight player would use him without Brave to HP attacks so 
this is one of those fights where you will be exercising your greater melee 
range so that you can lower his brave points or even score a break. (He may be 
faster in attack activation but you can still catch him before he hits you). 
The most important thing is to prevent them from gaining a solid lead or land a 
brave attack because it most certainly will be chained into an HP attack that 
you most likely can�t punish in time. This is one of the few characters that 
you absolutely need to use your brave attacks at least half the time.

E6) Cloud of Darkness (HP Breaker)
This can be rather tricky. Cloud of Darkness was pretty much made to counter 
opponents such as herself (A mage killer so to speak) and when you pit her 
against herself, it pretty much evens out but the important thing to note is 
that both sides have attacks that have lethal force. Your brave attacks are not 
as useful while you may be finding yourself using Burst wave a bit too many 
times. Really, in this game, it is who has the better intuition and who can 
pull the trigger faster.

E7) Cecil (Form Changer)
Ah yes, Cecil. It should be noted that outside of Search light and dark wave, 
Cecil has nearly no ranged priority making it relatively easy to range attack 
Cecil. The problem with this is that both of those moves are very powerful and 
they are seeking attacks, making it difficult for you to fight Cecil at most 
ranges. Avoid Search light like the plague because the attack will almost 
always lead into a paladin force as well as giving him the leeway to get up 
close and personal with you. In comparison to Dark Knight Cecil, you are a bit 
safer since you can counter quite a few of his moves on the ground. However, 
you have to watch out for Paladin Arts because it may strike at your 
unprotected brave at close range. Dark Cannon is relatively punishable with 
Earth Void Wave if you step out of the hitbox of the spiraling orbs or evade to 
the side. Try to avoid getting too close to Dark knight Cecil in the air as it 
allows for a quick transition to a Saint Dive or a gravity ball/Dark Cannon 
chain into a Soul Eater/Dark Lance/Dark Wave.

E8) Golbeza (Psychic Fighter)
Final Fantasy 4 is really not Cloud of Darkness� advantageous region. Golbeza�s 
two stage attacks makes it difficult for you to properly evade his moves and 
foolish to block them entirely. However, his HP attacks leave much to be 
desired. His brave attacks are devastating, but as long as you are not within 
their reach, you can stay competent against Golbeza. However, in order to do 
this, you have to keep long range deterrent a constant against Golbeza. Genesis 
Rock is a very versatile attack but you can take advantage of its vulnerability 
to piercing to land a hit while he is in the middle of it. Night Glow has 
guarding properties but it is easy enough to dodge and it can�t block HP 
attacks. Overall you should be wary of his attacks since he can easily punish 
your bravery with a well timed combo.

E9) Butz Klauser (Utility Player)
Butz is a... Rather humorous character. He has a very diverse movepool made of 
moves that are pretty much simply cobbled together from the other characters. 
However, the most important thing to do in this case is to keep your distance 
as Butz is faster than you are at close range. He also has access to a number 
of attacks that you should definitely be aware of like Whirlwind slash and 
Paladin force, both good priority attacks. Watch out for Holy, or to be more 
accurate, block Holy with a Retaliation wave so that you can turn a brave to HP 
combo against them. Other than that, fighting Butz is pretty similar to 
fighting Warrior of Light. Just keep your distance and maintain a constant 
attack from there so that he can�t retaliate against you. Just watch out for 
Holy. He tends to be rather tricky when it comes down to it.

E10) Exdeath (Breath Defender)
Oh boy. The one character that is the exact opposite in the hands of a real 
life player than the computer. Set the computer to max difficulty and you will 
rip him apart with Cloud of Darkness (Burst wave is practically cheating). Turn 
that around and have a slower human player and expect the battle to be a whole 
lot harder. This is because Exdeath can pretty much block your attacks from 
nearly every angle with All Guard. However, your advantage is that any blocked 
attacks will not be as punishing because HP attacks can really only be 
cancelled by other HP attacks and none of Exdeath�s moves are particularly 
dangerous in that regard unless you get too close or careless. The main method 
to defeating an Exdeath player is to use fake outs to trick them into using All 
Guard to early. Exdeath is also one of the few characters that you may be 
inclined to use Fusilade Particle beam more regularly because he moves so 
slowly. Also, you should maintain a constant defensive/Offensive huddle like 
using Aura Ball and Wrath Particle Beam to keep him on the ropes. Black Hole 
Presents a mobility problem but it isn�t like Exdeath is fast all the time.

E11) Terra Branford (Magic Master)
Probably on of the easiest characters to deal with? Terra is SWIMMING in 
opportunities to use Retaliation wave on since her brave attacks consist 
entirely of magic making it almost child�s play to deal with her. Your attacks 
also have greater ranger than hers, Flood being easily evaded, Tornado leaving 
her very vulnerable at the attack climax and Meltdown having an almost 
laughably huge charge up time (that you can simply evade or even hide from by 
ducking behind a solid obstacle). There really is not much strategy in fighting 
her, just time your retaliation wave to her attacks and mix around with the 
range of her attacks.

E12) Kefka Palazzo (Trickster)
Again like Terra, but with a more offensive approach and less trying to fight 
him on even grounds. Unlike Terra, it is entirely possible to outgun Kefka with 
sheer brutality without even bothering to use Retaliation wave because his 
attacks have such a strange pattern. While Kefka has many attacks that can be 
difficult for you to follow, he also has a huge lag time while using them so 
you can do some pretty interesting things against him. There really is not much 
else to say since his attacks tend to be rather narrow in terms of attack 
window. The key is to really understanding the nature of his attacks and 
overwhelming him instead of trying to match him blow for blow.

E13) Cloud Strife (Blow Smasher)
As it should be pointed out, Cloud is a Blow Smasher which means that his 
attacks are singular and meant to hit hard and deal heavy damage to your brave, 
but ONLY IF THEY HIT. With that in mind, stay away from his attack range, evade 
the blade beams and concentrate on attacking him from a range. Really, if you 
do that, Cloud has only two HP moves that can cause some damage to you, Braver 
and Slash blow>Omnislash v.5. Both moves can be countered in very simplistic 
ways. Taking a page out of Cecil�s book, evade out of the way of Braver and use 
0 Form particle Beam or Anti Air particle Beam immediately after you dodge to 
get a clean hit before he has a chance to move out of his Braver attack. Slash 
Blow is pretty easy, to block by itself and by avoiding the ground, you can 
make sure that Climhazzard will not be able to hit you to translate into Slash 
Blow>Omnislash v.5. Pursuit wave is also a great way to warn off dash attempts 
at you since it is a seeking attack with a great vertical range, making evasion 
difficult. Remember that Cloud is only dangerous if he actually hits you.

E14) Sephiroth (Blade Master)
Ironically, Sephiroth is actually harder to fight against than Cloud but not by 
much. His Blade beam is faster and his brave attacks have a large melee range, 
making it difficult to really get close to Sephiroth. But again, why bother 
getting close to him when the only attack that can hit you from a distance is 
Blade Beam and his laughably inaccurate Shadow Flare? Prison gate has nearly no 
chance to hit you whatsoever, Octoslash and Flash are only good if you are 
directly in front of him and in Black Materia�s case, you can barrage him with 
two HP attacks before he even completes it. he can put up a fairly nice brave 
game if the player is skilled enough but the problem is actually hitting with 
those rather lackluster HP attacks.

E15) Squall Leonhart (Combo Master)
Squall is one of the most impressive brave fighters in the game and can combo 
most characters into oblivion with his chains of brave attacks, easily placing 
them into break. However, the key to really defeating him is his HP attacks, 
they are so dastardly hard to hit with that it is almost foolish to even try. 
However, with the transition, Squall was given an attack that allowed him to 
let loose on Cloud of Darkness� air game. Aerial Rough Divide has a longer 
reach than most Absolute charging attacks and in that regard, it allows him to 
not just fight outside Cloud of Darkness� optimal range, but it also allows him 
to easily command the terms of the battle because while you can�t hit him with 
your attacks, the same cannot be said for him. Also, with his melee brave game 
so domineering, you would be ill-advised to take the fight any closer.

E16) Ultimecia (Magic Shooter)
It should be noted, Magic characters will have a hard time with Cloud of 
Darkness. Ultimecia is not one of them. Despite her slow speed and laughable 
charge time, she is an excellent character at dragging out a fight and keeping 
you very far away. It is also notable that even if you activate retaliation 
wave, you cannot actually return it against her unless it is with her Knight 
Sword attack because with every other attack, she is not committed to it and 
strong Ultimecia players USE THEM OFTEN. Dashing at her is also not an option 
because Knight Sword activates faster then you can put a retaliation wave up 
when you come out of the dash. Her HP attacks are also positively brutal and 
with the exception of Great Attractor (Burst Wave), her attacks are brutal 
especially Apocalypse with its infinite vertical range.
The real question is how do we deal with her? Since she outclasses Cloud of 
Darkness in the range game, the only real way to fight her is to get up close 
where you can make use of Wide Angle Wave and Earth Void Wave. Also, if you
can, use Tentacle of Pain chain 3 to force a dodge on her. Ultimecia is one of 
the few where you probably will need to seek cover to really fight effectively. 
In all, you should try to outsmart her instead of trying to outgun her because 
Ultimecia can almost always beat you at that game.

E17) Zidane Tribal (Air Master)
Whew, Air master indeed. Zidane Tribal is one of the fastest characters in the 
game and in EX mode, it maybe difficult to hit him with even a burst wave if he 
uses all 15 of those jumps. Keeping that in mind, it should be noted that while 
his brave pool is pretty large, outside of Grand Lethal, his HP attacks leave 
him wide open (both Tidal Flame and Shift break have some HUGE exploitable 
points). The important thing is to keep away from his Brave attacks so that he 
cannot chain them into his Brave>HP attacks. Pursuit Wave and Burst Wave are 
great attacks if he is not in EX mode, but if he is, by gods get out of the air 
because he will rule them.

E18) Kuja (Range Master)
Another mage, but this time, one with exploitable points. Most of his brave 
attacks can be deflected or countered with Retaliation Wave with the exception 
of his melee brave attacks which are fast and brutal. His Flare Star attack is 
VERY difficult to evade and you should not try to get close enough for him to 
use it. Instead, you should exploit his other 2 HP attacks, Holy Star and 
Ultima. Holy Star is easier to avoid. It can be evaded by being on a different 
elevation, by dodging or simply by running or dropping out of the way. In any 
case, that attack is easily punished while he is busy detonating the attack. 
Similarly, Ultima is also punishable because if you dodge out of the maximum 
reach, you can get a free shot at him while he is completing the attack. In any 
case, as long as you can pre-empt and dodge Kuja�s moves, you can put up a 
fairly solid fight against him. It should be noted that a well timed Tentacle 
of suffering Chain 2 at the right time can beat Flare star to the punch in 
speed. However, most of this is easier said than done and the one major reason 
why Kuja is considerably more difficult to fight than most other mages is 
because he is so blindingly fast. The most important thing to be careful of is 
to make sure that you can see his attacks coming or you will be pummeled.

E19) Tidus (Dodge Attacker)
It should be noted that Tidus is a very fast character and is very skilled at 
counterattacking which means that you should not ever be close to Tidus during 
a battle because he can tear you apart with his lightning fast attacks. While 
playing against Tidus try to make sure you are at least two dash lengths away 
so that you have time to perform your attacks (Jecht shot is about 1 dash 
length long so he has to dash twice to actually use it). However, this is also 
a beautiful case where you can use Tentacles of suffering chain 2 to really put 
the hurt on Tidus because the attack has beautiful range and it covers her 
angles for a long time, enough to make sure that she will not get hit by Tidus� 
dodge attacks (often times both with cancel out). The key to beating Tidus is 
not to let him use any moves that will punish your HP attacks and as long as 
you stay out of his range, he should not be able to do that. However, it is 
noticeably easier to take the fight to face value because while his brave 
options are better, his air HP attacks are of little use compared to yours. 
Again like Frionel, you should try to take the fight to a vertical game since 
you have better timing and angle options than him.

E20) Jecht (Ultimate In-fighter)
Jecht an example of a character that can be completely locked down by Cloud of 
Darkness if you can play her right. On one hand, his brave combos are ruthless 
and damaging but that is only if his attacks connect. With this in mind, you 
should remember to never try to directly engage Jecht in melee combat because 
you will almost certainly fall victim to his death dealing combination attacks. 
Instead, dodge his attacks or keep your distance, in both cases using long 
range attacks to keep him off balance. The main problem with his attacks is 
that he literally has no range game whatsoever. With this in mind, you can 
forget completely about Retaliation wave and focus entirely on an offensive 
moveset because in a battle against Jecht, the only real way to fight is to 
counter his melee combat with long range attack power. Spherical wave is also 
very useful to prevent him from dashing towards you. Also, with the nerf to 
Jecht Block, he falls victim to having too little options against Cloud of 
Darkness.

E21) Shantotto (Level up magic)
Shantotto is rather interesting in that her primary roster of attacks consists 
of her magic spells while her brave pool is mostly incapacitation attacks. With 
that in mind, it should be noted that you should keep your distance from 
Shantotto, but not so much that you will end up far out of her reach (Her HP 
attacks leave her wide open if she misses). However, Shantotto is the major foe 
that you should watch out for while you are HP attacking her. Due to her 
ability to strengthen her attacks by accumulating brave, it is all the more 
important not to let her gain a break on you because if she does, guess what? 
Its EX time! And what does that mean? it means that once she hits once with her 
extremely powered up HP attack, she will follow up with an EX burst with all 
the previous Brave points. So if she succeeded in gaining 4000+ brave in EX 
mode, consider yourself lost because her second attack will hurt like hell and 
even more dangerous, SHE STILL CARRIES THAT SAME AMOUNT FOR HER NEXT HP ATTACK 
AS WELL. Fighting her is not hard, it is trying to recover from the damage and 
actually turning a break around that is the hard part. For a character that is 
so reliant on her HP attacks, no opponent is more fearsome than Lady Shantotto 
and her level up magic.

E22) Judge Gabranth (EX master)
It should be noted, outside of EX mode, Judge Gabranth is not just a pushover, 
he is a sitting duck. Absolutely no ranged attack whatsoever, Gabranth can 
pretty much be destroyed by a barrage of attacks from Cloud of Darkness and he 
is given no luxury to charge his EX gauge if you can keep up a constant 
pressure against the judge. However, by the off chance that Gabranth can enter 
EX mode, you are in for the fight of your life. Gabranth is faster, stronger 
and has a huge range in EX mode. Innocence is a mass of 4 consecutive waves 
which makes it difficult to dodge (its better to hide then to evade). If he 
does that move, HOPE that you are close to a map action trigger because it 
really is the only real way to evade them other than Zidane�s EX jumps. Of 
course the alternative is to cancel his attacks by striking him first but you 
need to be close to him for that and that too is not an option because Hatred 
and Execution are just as dangerous as Innocence. Instead, try to wait out the 
EX mode (fat chance) or use your own so that you can end the fight on your 
terms. By the way, he is not called EX master for nothing, his EX mode attacks 
are UNGODLY powerful and just a few hits can turn you into swiss cheese. The 
solution however is your own EX mode. Cloud of Darkness� quick hit options and 
versatility options are much better over the course of an uneven game. Gabranth 
is very straightforward so it is quite possible to abuse his air game. It does 
not help that his aerial innocence is stopped... by the ceiling.

O=============================================================================O
|FI) Choosing your stage                                                      |
O=============================================================================O

Now the effectiveness of the strategies with Cloud of Darkness is dependent on 
the stage and how you use them. It will also vary depending on the character so 
I will also be listing the characters that you will have the advantage against 
in certain stages as well as what HP attacks you can viably use in the stage.


F1) Chaos Shrine
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your standard Arena type, the exterior having wide open space for all range 
combat with the interior having tight spaces and a large central area. This 
stage will drain your brave points in the alternate selection. This shouldn�t 
be much of a problem as Cloud of Darkness if you keep up the constant attack. 
This actually works to your advantage sometimes because it will let you 
sometimes gain the rare break on your opponent outside of EX mode.

There is not a lot of options in this stage to exploit since it is pretty 
basic. The roof can be broken by an attack and the pillars can also be 
destroyed. There really is not much that this stage has that can limit Cloud 
of Darkness very much save for the space behind the pillars where your 
ability to move is limited. However, this stage gives options to fight 
almost every character in the game since it provides some forms of cover as 
well as open space. 

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Anti Aircraft Wave
Spherical Wave
Wide Angle Wave
Retaliation Wave
Earth Void Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

None (No advantage or disadvantage)

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

None (No advantage or disadvantage)


F2) Pandaemonium
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A sharp turn away from Chaos Shrine, Pandaemonium gives you only one viable 
location for open space with a lot of limited spaces in the battlefield. No 
real destructible objects to take advantage of. The alternate variation of this 
stage has trap zones which further makes this a horrible stage for you to fight 
in.

This stage narrows down your roster a bit. On one hand the stage prevents you 
from effectively using Burst Wave in the small areas because the blasts will 
collide with the walls but it also allows you to more easily hit your opponent 
with moves like wide angle wave or Zero wave. However, cramped spaces do not 
really work for Cloud of Darkness so this stage is quite the handicap.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Spherical Wave
Wide Angle Wave
Retaliation Wave
Earth Void Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Ultimecia
Gabranth (evade EX mode)


X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Tidus
Jecht
Squall
Cloud
Sephiroth
Zidane
Butz
Garland
Cecil
Onion Knight
Golbez
Frionel
Emperor


F3) World of Darkness
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
World of Darkness, Cloud of Darkness� home stage. The stage itself consists of 
a flat plain with a number of large destructible pillars standing in rows with 
a central pathway. Map action allows you to run vertically up the pillars. The 
alternate form of the stage summons you in a large open space with a few 
floating platforms and blank space below or another stage filled with solid 
angular pillars.

Not surprisingly, the world of darkness is one of the stages that Cloud of 
Darkness can be quite at home at. The stage has an abundance of cover that is 
destructible, allowing her leisure to escape certain attacks while still having 
space to use a majority of her attacks. 

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Anti Aircraft Wave
Spherical Wave
Retaliation Wave
Earth Void Wave
Burst Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Squall
Sephiroth
Cloud
Butz
Jecht
Tidus
Zidane
Cecil (Pillars conveniently can block Paladin Force but not search lights)
Garland
Gabranth
Frionel
Emperor
Kefka

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Ultimecia


F4) The Moon
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Moon is a large stage with an abundance of ground obstacles and map action 
triggers but also a huge wide open space above. The stage has little else to 
mention although the alternate form features many destructible rocks.

The Moon is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. Because of the many 
cracks and crevices of the moon, it gives you the liberty to escape the assault 
of many characters while still giving you the freedom of the sky but at the 
same time, it also allows other characters to evade your attacks altogether 
because of the trenches in the stage. However, it does make certain moves that 
you have stronger in battle than you may think.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Anti Aircraft Wave
Spherical Wave
Wide Angle Wave
Retaliation Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Ultimecia
Kuja
Terra (laughably so since Meltdown actually bounces off many of the rocks)
Frionel
Warrior of Light
Garland

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Onion Knight
Tidus
Cecil
Sephiroth (black material anyone?)
Emperor (oh yeah those traps can be hard to see)
Golbez

F5) Dimensional Fortress
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A stage where there is a castle with floating platforms on the corners of the 
stage. There are also surfaces along the stage that features teleportation 
features. The alternate version has teleportation surfaces that move throughout 
the stage.

This stage provides a lot of on and off problems. Although the stage will 
remain like this for the majority of the match, it can be difficult to find 
cover in the more open areas of the map against certain characters. However 
this can also be beneficial because the stage allows you to exercise the 
strengths of Cloud of Darkness in many ways. But the abundance of empty space 
does remove some of her ground effectiveness. This is also due in part to the 
fact that the stage is really just too huge for many of her attacks.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Spherical Wave
Retaliation Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Tidus
Onion Knight
Frionel
Squall
Cloud
Golbez
Garland
Emperor
Kefka
Gabranth
Cecil
Warrior of Light
Butz
Terra

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Ultimecia (most definitely a pain to fight in this stage)
Zidane
Kuja


F6) Tower Ruins
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kefka�s stage, the final battle dungeon. The stage is a mishmash environment 
with a basement area and an upper location with bridges, pipes, destructible 
tubes and funky doodads.

Without a doubt one of the worst stages that Cloud of Darkness can ever fight 
in. The limited environment pretty much renders her strongest move ineffective, 
leaving her in an environment where she can virtually be destroyed because 
unlike Pandeamonium, there really is no place in this stage where you can 
effectively use Burst wave without it being interrupted by the walls.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Spherical Wave
Wide Angle Wave
Retaliation Wave
Earth Void Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Ultimecia
Terra
Kuja
Gabranth (unless he runs away to charge his EX gauge)

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Warrior of Light
Garland
Frionel
Emperor
Onion knight
Cecil
Golbez
Butz
Exdeath
Kefka
Cloud
Sephiroth
Squall
Zidane
Tidus
Jecht
Shantotto


F7) Northern Crater
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The stage of the landing site of Jenova, and the place where the lifestream is 
present within. The stage itself is made up of a series of hovering platforms 
arranged in a spiral around a central large one. Some of the platforms are 
destructible and the stage features many lifestream wisps that can be used with 
map action.

A nice balance of land and air makes this a rather fun stage to play as Cloud 
of Darkness with. There is an abundance of Vertical height to take advantage of 
so that you can move well within and the balance of terrain allows you to hide 
behind objects while still using some of your attacks. Stay conscious of the 
center as that platform is indestructible and may yield an EX core.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Spherical Wave
Retaliation Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Ultimecia
Gabranth

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Zidane (It can be difficult to judge the distance and with the hover platforms 
combined with his jumping ability, you may have a hard time keeping up)
Shantotto (Do not needlessly land. Aero, Stone and Water automatically home in 
on your location)


F8) Ultimecia�s Tower
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The place of the final battle with Ultimecia where she is exacting her ambition 
of time compression. The stage features levels of floors with a central spiral 
staircase in the center. The top and the bottom of the stage will automatically 
teleport you to a set location. The alternate stage features time distortion, 
brittle floors on the spiral staircase and gears that damage you if you go too 
near them.

Whoa, lots of cramped space... This is another example of a stage that Cloud of 
Darkness may have problems on but not as much as she would had she been 
fighting on Tower Ruins. The lack of useful ground terrain makes this a stage 
that pretty much forces you to focus on Cloud of Darkness� air game unless you 
cornered someone in one of the cramped rooms.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Anti Aircraft Wave
Spherical Wave
Wide Angle Wave
Retaliation Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Warrior of Light
Frionel
Kefka
Zidane

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Garland
Tidus
Jecht
Shantotto


F9) Crystal World
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The world of the genomes and the place where Kuja exacts his final battle 
against Zidane and his party. The stage features a single large platform in the 
center with multiple floating platforms around the stage. It also features 
regenerating platforms in the alternate stage.

Crystal stage works very similarly to the Dimensional fortress but less of the 
gimmicks with a more straightforward approach. You can virtually fight on this 
stage the same way you would fight in the dimensional fortress. The only 
difference is that the warps cannot be used unless you drop to the stage floor.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Anti Aircraft Wave
Spherical Wave
Retaliation Wave
Earth Void Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Tidus
Onion Knight
Frionel
Squall
Cloud
Golbez
Garland
Emperor
Kefka
Gabranth
Cecil
Warrior of Light
Butz
Terra

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Ultimecia (most definitely a pain to fight in this stage)
Zidane
Kuja

F10) Dream Zanarkand
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The final stage of battle where Tidus confronts Jecht as the final Aeon and to 
put an end to sin once and for all. The stage is very simplistic, a broken set 
of bleachers dot the side with a central platform that extends to one side of 
the stage. The area in between consists entirely of empty space with only a 
single slide map action rail and a number of broken islands.

Again this stage can be comparable to both Dimensional fortress and the crystal 
world but the difference is that the area you have to fight on in the center 
platform is a lot smaller than usual whereas the side platforms have a larger 
amount of space to fight on. With that in mind, you should make use of the open 
terrain to fight as you wish but again, due to the limited ground territory and 
wide open empty space, you may find yourself relying more on your Air HP 
attacks than your ground ones.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Anti Aircraft Wave
Spherical Wave
Retaliation Wave
Earth Void Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Tidus
Onion Knight
Frionel
Squall
Cloud
Golbez
Garland
Emperor
Kefka
Gabranth
Cecil
Warrior of Light
Butz
Terra

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Ultimecia (most definitely a pain to fight in this stage)
Zidane
Kuja

F11) Cosmos Throne
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A unique stage that is the throne where Cosmos sits when she is guiding the 
warriors of Light. Cosmos Throne is a large flat stage with barely any 
obstructions on the field itself and instead revealing an abundance of sky. 
Various map action trails are there for rapid travel throughout the stage. EX 
cores appear around the edges of the stage or on top of the throne. The 
alternate variation fo this stage sets the Break number at zero and will not 
increase as the battle goes on.

This stage is the default �no special features� stage where everything goes and 
you can pretty much use any attack you want. No teleportation spots whatsoever, 
just one large arena for you to have your fun. Happy fighting!


X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Anti Aircraft Wave
Spherical Wave
Wide Angle Wave
Retaliation Wave
Earth Void Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Warrior of Light
Garland
Frionel
Emperor
Onion Knight
Cecil
Golbeza
Butz
Exdeath
Terra
Kefka
Cloud
Sephiroth
Squall
Zidane
Tidus
Jecht
Shantotto

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Ultimecia
Kuja
Gabranth

F12) Chaos Throne
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The polar opposite of Cosmos Throne, Chaos throne is a small stage that is 
barely adorned, a simple arena with no obstacles, only a single piece of land 
for you to go at it. The true stage for a deathmatch.

A deathmatch is right, this stage pretty much can be used by Cloud of 
Darkness for every move in her arsenal but only if she has the time to use it. 
The stage is literally a deathmatch battlefield and it can be absolutely 
devastating if you are facing a foe that works well in close proximities.

X============X
| HP Attacks |
X============X
Anti Aircraft Wave
Spherical Wave
Wide Angle Wave
Retaliation Wave
Earth Void Wave
Burst Wave
Zero Wave
Pursuit Wave

X=====================X
| Characters to fight |
X=====================X

Warrior of Light
Frionel
Emperor
Terra
Kefka
Sephiroth
Squall
Kuja
Shantotto

X=====================X
| Characters to Avoid |
X=====================X

Garland
Onion Knight
Cecil
Golbez
Cloud
Ultimecia
Zidane
Tidus
Jecht
Gabranth

O=============================================================================O
|GI) What Equipment to use                                                    |
O=============================================================================O

Unfortunately, since my Japanese Kanji readins is quite poor, I cannot really 
decipher them so I always just end up using no equipment anyway when I 
evaluate characters. This also remedies the problem known as the Infinite EX 
mode as that is just complete and total rape.

O=============================================================================O
|HI) Summons                                                                  |
O=============================================================================O

This section is dedicated to the summons that will be particularly useful to 
you in battle. It should be noted that this section will have summons that 
are useful on every character in the game so it would pretty much apply to 
everyone, not just Cloud of Darkness.

Shiva
-----
*The summon that can save your life and give you a free tap of Brave at the 
same time. This is referring specifically to the auto-summon Shiva. The 
manual version will freeze your opponent to a specific spot so they can still 
land an HP attack on you if they choose to. However, an Auto Shiva will only 
activate after they use an HP attack so either one is your choice.

Magic Jar
---------
*Copies your opponent�s brave to your own. Very useful because this lets you 
recover somewhat from a break as well as build up sufficient brave for 
another attack.

Pheonix
-------
*This is probably the one summon that can save your life. Because of the 
offensive nature of Cloud of Darkness, she is prone to being broken due to 
her constant barrage of HP attacks. Pheonix can help to prevent you from 
hitting break and giving your opponent a boost.

Titan
-----
*A summon that can be VERY useful in battle by having you stomach a few HP 
attacks in exchange for ramping up your Brave points exponentially. Can be 
quite risky though because your opponent may catch on and simply brave attack 
you until you are in break and then wait the summon out.

Carbuncle
---------
*Carbuncle is pretty useful in the regard that it can make your opponent 
prone to being broken, thus a chance to net yourself a large amount of brave. 
But be careful as its activation may put you on the downside as well.

Demon Wall
----------
*Other than Pheonix, this summons is also very important because it is 
another way to prevent your opponent from breaking you. In this case, it 
prevents your brave points from dropping, thus a great saving.

Odin
----------
*This summon is based entirely on luck but if it does succeed, you will LOVE 
it. This basically gives auto-break so you can get more brave for your 
trouble.

Iron Giant
----------
*If there was a way to describe this summon, it would be hell yes. The summon 
halves the opponent�s brave points for every successful HP attack. That means 
that a constant barrage of HP attacks from you can lead your opponent that 
much closer to break.

Tiamat
----------
*Although it takes some waiting, it is well worth your effort. For a set 
period of time it does nothing until after it runs out from which you will 
gain a large chunk of brave points in return.

Kraken
----------
*A useful one if you find yourself in the dire situation called break. Last 
until the timer runs out and you swap brave pools. Just try not to get hit by 
their HP attack. 
O=============================================================================O
|II) Questions and Answers                                                    |
O=============================================================================O

If you have any questions or comments, just ask. My E-mail is:

[email protected]

You can also try posting on the Dissidia message board if you have any 
questions of comments, I would be happy to reply when I have the time.

O=============================================================================O
|JI) Credits and Words of Thanks                                              |
O=============================================================================O

Square Enix: For making this great game.
Final Fantasy Wikia: For the translations on some of the attacks.
An Anonymous Friend: For getting me hooked in the first place.