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The main antagonist of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean specializes in grappling and taking away the Style options of his opponents in All-Star Battle R. Maintain Stand-On Mode with Pucci to have access to his deadly sealing move.
Pucci (Whitesnake) is rewarded for playing in Stand-On and sealing his opponent’s specials, even with how his Great Heart Heat Attack (level 2 super) seals the entire Heart Heat gauge for meter usage. Pucci uses sealing, command grabs, and controlling the pace of the match with his neutral options to make up for his poor damage potential without the use of meter.
Discs – Stealing Opponent Abilities
Father Pucci has 3 different techniques to steal the abilities of the opponent.
- “It’s mine!” from 63214 (or half circle backwards) locks opponents out of command normals and special moves or Style actions besides activating their Stand on or off or mounting/dismounting.
- “So it was already done” from your Heart Heat Attack (or level 1 Super) locks opponents out of using their own Heart Heat Attack.
- “This is my Whitesnake’s ability!” from your Great Heart Heat Attack seals the opponents whole Heart Heat gauge and restricts their gain and use of meter.
Stealing Abilities – The Basics
- If multiple abilities have been stolen from the enemy, they will be stored on a single disc.
- Opponents trying to use something they have been sealed out of temporarily get staggered.
- Abilities can be recovered by the opponent picking up their disc.
- Pucci can drop a disc by being hit or grabbed. The disc will usually end up behind him.
- Pucci can also pick up a disc again by crouching down on to it.
- If Pucci lands a disc-stealing move while there already is a disc on the ground, the disc will disappear from the field until Pucci is hit again.
User Mode
Pucci (Whitesnake) features a projectile only in his User Mode, which really shines with his matchups once an opponent’s moves are successfully sealed. His movement is sluggish and damage is slow even with the use of meter, so he needs to watch out for zoning. In Stand-On Mode, his combo potential and defensive options are highly increased because he has access to stronger options like a counter and move sealing from his second command grab.
“Pierced Through The Finger!”
“Pierced through the finger!” from 3H (or forward diagonal heavy) is one of Pucci’s best moves in User Mode. He launches the opponent after lunging forward with a normal that reaches the farthest after his command grab and projectile. Use this move to safely end combos and cancel into 236H (or forward quarter circle heavy) with the projectile “I order you” for a safe way to end a blockstring for Pucci.
“I Order You!”
“I order you!” from 236H (or forward quarter circle) is Pucci’s projectile that allows him tons of versatility and pressure across the field. He can’t compete with natural zoners through the throwing of this disc, but he can extend his aggression — especially once his opponents’ specials are sealed from his second command grab in Stand-On Mode. Switch up the button strength against opponents to catch them off guard with the difference in travel speed. Your neutral is even better by this projectile with the fact that enemies fly very far away upon air hit. In general, you want to use your throwing disc to control the space.
“A Stand That Can Boil Water…”
“A Stand that can boil water…” from 623 (or dragon punch input forwards) is a command grab with surprising range when used with the heavy version. The light and medium versions should be used more for their viable speed, but if you can catch an opponent slipping up in neutral or are desperate for a reset, try the heavy version for its range. The damage from each version of the command grab is all the same.
“You Shall Be Crucified!”
“You shall be crucified!” from 214 (or back quarter circle) is your main damage dealer for some confirmed damage by hitting OTG (on the ground). Only the heavy version hits OTG, and you can even use this after a throw. You can combo the medium version into the heavy version’s OTG hit. This special is Pucci’s only standing overhead, and it should mainly be used to hit enemies OTG.
“So It Was Already Done”
Father Pucci’s Heart Heat Attack “So it was already done” is really viable for its restriction of the opponents own Heart Heat Attack. You can potentially reduce the scale of damage you will take from their own go-to combos. You also have a reliable way to get some extra damage off yourself by easily slipping this move into combos. You’re guaranteed to hit with this move in combos, and opponents can’t even jump above it due to the tall hitbox. You have invincibility during this move too, which is great for letting Pucci get past Reversal Assists. Reversal Assists can make him drop a disc as well.
Stand-On Mode
Pucci’s lethalness and main mechanics to rely on show up in Stand-On Mode, although he loses access to his projectile. “A Stand that can boil water…” returns but launches the opponent back, and “You shall be crucified” is back as well but with longer range.
“Die”
“Die” from 3H (or diagonal forward heavy) has Whitesnake do a punch barrage that can combo into itself. You crumple (make the opponent’s body slowly fall) on hit. Be careful though because it is not safe on block, and its timing that it takes to create a long range does not make it a real safe poke, either. It’s better suited to extend your combos.
“It’s Mine!”
“It’s mine!” from 63214 (or half circle backwards) solidifies Pucci’s kit with his sealing ability. The command grab is so fast and rewarding it is worth throwing out even if you miss. The different versions of the grab change both speed and range, so play around with all of them to get comfortable actually catching people with this game-changer. Once hit, an opponent can’t use any Command Normals, special moves, or Style actions. Since people will rarely know how to win under these conditions, you want to make landing this move your main game plan.
“It’s An Illusion”
“It’s an illusion” from 22 (or double down) and an attack button lets Pucci enter into a counter stance. If you receive a hit with successful activation, the opponent will crumple, and you will switch sides. While it is pretty cool that each character has a different animation for falling for this attack, there is pretty much little to no use that you get out of it. The counter is not worth throwing out for the side switch because it’s just way too slow. Save the move for rare circumstances when you have an accurate read on an aggressive opponent that is lighting you up with normals or special moves.
“This Is My Whitesnake’s Ability!”
Your counters from “It’s an illusion” and your Great Heat Attack “This is my Whitesnake’s ability!” are both just so slow and telegraphed that they barely will have much use. On the other hand, the Great Heat Attack is the second most damaging move in the game. The best part about the super is that it even works against other Heart Heat Attacks (and Great Heat Attacks). Only throws and projectiles can successfully respond to it.
Grade On The Tier List
While he’s a fan-favorite character often seen online and just fun to play as, Father Pucci (Whitesnake) roughly sits between C and B on the tier list. The gaps in his combos, sluggish movement, and unreliable damage options leave him having to work a bit harder to get the upper hand on his opponent. While locking characters out of different parts of their moveset is an extremely powerful tool, he must successfully land a command grab to do so, and that’s while he is in Stand-On Mode to begin with.
To balance this out, Pucci has a strong neutral in his User Mode from his full screen projectile being safe on block, and he has high reward from landing either of his command grabs due to his OTG damage that he can apply from “A Stand that can boil water…” Like with his ability to seal the opponent, you will want to engage the enemy on your own terms and even go for guarding against the fallen disc with your life in order to keep the advantage over them while you can temporarily. Get comfortable switching between both Stand-On Mode and User Mode with Pucci so that you can keep the opponent guessing for when you will eventually use “It’s Mine!” to steal their access to special moves. The lack of combo options in User Mode can be intimidating, but by practicing your projectile variations and command grab range, you can guarantee some damage each time your opponent is on the ground or even when you successfully land a normal grab. Use your meter generously besides when you want to save up and conserve for guaranteeing some damage through his Heart Heat Attack.
