I think I need more information on this push/pull system. I did not understand the whole idea of push/pull guarding at all when the game told me. I understand how to pull off the moves (thrusts and spins and such) but apparently I'm supposed to read opponents and use certain moves against them? Match push with push then?
I'm confused even though I've managed to not die in fights on Normal even though everyone says to play it first on easy.
Figured since only WotS1 did a reasonable job explaining this, some short videos might help people recognise what to look for and identify what's what and if they're "doing it right". I won't cover every permutation but this should highlight what to look for. Hopefully the videos embed properly.
To break it down:
Regular attacks - pressing X/Y on their own, can be in a combo.
Push attacks- any attack that is executed while holding the analogue stick forwards (towards your enemy.) (the attack must exist in the style's move list)
Pull attacks-any attack that is executed while holding the analogue stick backward (away your opponent.) (the attack must exist in the style's move list)
Regular guard - guarding with the guard button held on its own
Push guard- guarding while holding the analogue stick in the direction of your opponent
Pull guard- guarding while holding the analogue stick away your opponent
Some examples:
Enemy's push attack vs my pull guard
This shows the enemy launching a push attack (executing the attack involves pushing the analogue stick towards your opponent). When the enemy uses a push you should pull guard to knock them off balance.
Pull Guard>Push Attack
http://gfycat.com/NaughtyFeistyArrowana
Enemy's push guard against my regular attack
This is an enemy executing a push guard against my regular attack. I'm not pushing or pulling during this attack, thus, his push guard bests my attack, knocking me off balance. This occurs when you use attacks without a push/pull modifier and your opponent pushes against you.
Push Guard>Regular attack
http://gfycat.com/PortlyConsiderateCarp
Enemy's pull guard against my regular attack
However, it's not wise to just use pull/push all the time. For example, if you execute a pull guard and your opponent is not pushing, you leave yourself open. Here I execute a regular attack combo (no direction is being held) and the enemy uses pull guard, leaving himself open immediately after my second strike.
Regular attack>pull guard
http://gfycat.com/RemarkableEnormousKronosaurus
Each style also has a defense break, executed with back, forward + Y. This takes a moment to charge up for but will break through the enemy's guard, ignoring push/pull. High damage, but you're vulnerable.
http://gfycat.com/FakeUnequaledCaudata
There are other outcomes too, if you attack with a Pull move and the enemy is pulling away (Pull Guard vs Pull Attack), you both pull back and end up looking like a pair of idiots and nobody gains an advantage. Same thing with Push, they cancel each other out.
Finally, to sum up, look at the move list, I'll use the starting style as an example:
1-kiri,2-kiri,3-kiri are executed with X, therefore they have no push/pull capacity. Think of them as regular attacks. Any moves which are listed without a direction are neither push nor pull.
Gato is executed with forwards + X, so it is considered a push move. It's follow up Sen Gato is the same.
Tenshin Senda is executed with backward + X and thus is considered a pull move. From there you could perform the same move again (2 pull attacks in a row) or branch to Tenshin Shozan, which is a Push move (forward + Y to execute). Attacks strings which mix things up can be useful against some of the tougher foes.
Push/Pull becomes very important on the harder difficulty modes (which is where the nicer weapons reside) as named NPCs and random spawns like Duelists will use it to knock you off balance and deliver a very punishing blow to your character if you don't understand the systems.
_/¯
