Baiken is back, and this time… she’s packing heat?!

destructoid.com:

In just a few short days, the wandering warrior woman will make her presence felt when she returns to the star-studded roster of Arc System Works’ excellent fighter Guilty Gear Strive. This new iteration of the Baiken has a somewhat overhauled fighting style, boasting more than a few new twists, even for her most ardent followers.

So let’s check out the newest edition of Guilty Gear Strive Starter Guide and see hwhat’s hwhat.

Right off of the bat, the starkest change to Baiken is the almost complete removal of the majority of her Guilty Gear Xrd arsenal, with this iteration of the samurai rolling out only a handful of specials… Some of which are entirely new. Her encyclopedic array of Guard Cancels have been scrapped, mostly consolidated into a single counter known as “Hiragi”.

This, at its very core, almost entirely changes the Baiken gameplan, which might be a tad frustrating for those who have already put in the hours to master Xrd‘s complicated defense system. Conversely, it will open the doors for newcomers or GG amateurs (like yer boy Moyse) to get off to something of a running start. To offset the loss of her cancels, Baiken has some intriguing new tricks up her sleeve. Literally.

The first is a fascinating mechanic that sees Baiken literally tether herself to her opponent, forcing them to remain at close range for a few seconds as she mixes them up with brutal close-quarters attacks. This results in a bizarre “bungee” situation, where the two fighters bounce and retract toward each other until the tether finally breaks. In 30 years of playing fighting games, I can’t really recall anything quite like it!

And if that wasn’t weird enough, THEY GAVE HER A FUCKING GUN.

Well, not quite, but Baiken’s first new super