Granblue Fantasy Versus | Season 2 Character DLC: Anre

Thanks to Granblue Fantasy Versus' PR I got a chance to spend some time with the latest season 2 DLC character, Anre. When I first saw his trailer he reminded me of characters like Yoda, or Master Roshi from DBZ. He had that peculiar size about him, and the look of an elder. Even his soft spoken voice carried with it an air of wisdom or experience. His signature weapon which is a jeweled spear also has an enigmatic look about it as if it belongs to a wizard of rank, and stature. When it comes to weapon of choice Anre deals damage in magic with his floating spear, and applies said magic to it for added effect. This allows him several ways of bridging the gap between him, and his opponent. He can even play a strong zoning game if need be. Compared to the other characters in the current roster Anre comes off as being somewhat more technical though. A mixture of magic use, and zoning tied to a simultaneous pressing of multiple buttons per skill.

Supposing you give him a try you'll find that A lot of Anre's special skills come from a combination of R1, DPad directions, and the four face buttons. R1 acts as the added trigger whereas SQUARE, TRIANGLE, and CIRCLE add variations to skills. When it comes to special spear focused skills Anre has three main types. There's DPad inclusive twirls, and spins. Both backward, and forward respectively, as well as a standing forward lance attack, and diving aerials. Along with the diving aerials also comes aerial forward lance attacks. With each of these skill types comes the usual damage output variation as well as feinted or stalled versions tied to the TRIANGLE variant. This works with both grounded, and aerial skills. As per usual heavy skill variations act as the charged, or EX versions, and will result in wall bounces, and knockbacks. With some heavy specials Anre can also follow up with an overhead or a sliding sweep via lance attack.

These complex spear skills aren't all Anre has up his armored sleeves. Also in his toolkit is the ability to parry, and summon crystals for amplified damage. The parries work in a similar way as the skills mentioned above. By combining R1 + X you'll perform a parry. This can be done on the ground or in the air. It offers a brief pause after impact with which to retaliate, or punish. The window after parry is very slim, and cause more confusion than it does adding something useful. As far as the crystal shards go they can be summoned when you have enough meter built up. They'll surround Anre, and will hit the player along with any heavy attacks or skills that Anre dishes out. Ultimately enhancing the damage done. Speaking of that Anre also has a super that incorporates the same crystals, but immediately casts them in the direction of the opposing player when the super is used. For his ultimate Anre goes into some sort of electric orb after blasting the opponent with a huge wave of energy, and from there shoots out dark lasers from all angles hitting the opponent 35 times. That ultimate following a corner combo using Anre's backward + R1 + CIRCLE followed by forward + R1 + TRIANGLE, and some basic combo juggling can do some devastating damage. I managed to get a 56 hit combo using that string. Even without the finisher the damage dealt from the two skills, and juggle are nearly 50%. Needless to say Anre is a big damage dealer. Making his size misleading. It's just a matter of getting in with a sliding sweep, an aerial dive or a forward lance skill. That or the basic attacks that add a leap forward. 

The Verdict ...

I like Anre. He is most definitely on the technical side, and the buttons required to pull off combos can take some getting used to, but once he clicks you're in for quite the flashy spectacle. When it comes to match-ups there are some characters tougher for Anre to handle. He's not so much of an up close and personal fighter as he is a zoning /get in, do damage, and retreat kind of guy. A lot of his upfront skills aren't safe, and leave him open to punish. It's best to bait players with the spear at a distance, and sneak in with a slide or a lunge follow by skills if anything connects. It's all about landing the first hit then capitalizing on the opportunity. Corner combos are Anre's biggest strength though even though he can give chase, and follow a knocked back opponent mid screen for added combo hits. Overall I think he's a nice addition to the roster, and not your typical cookie cutter fighting game character.