Ramlethal Guides

Ramlethal in Guilty Gear

Ramlethal is a major character from the Guilty Gear series. She is a Valentine, a group of robot-like creations who submit their will to an entity simply known as ‘Mother’. Ramlethal first appears in Guilty Gear Xrd and is one of the antagonists who claims that she is at war with the entire world. Unknown to Ramlethal, she is actually a failed creation, and her much-vaunted lack of emotions is one of her biggest failings. 

She has a sister ‘Elphelt’ who, unlike Ram, is a bundle of emotions and is sent in place of Ram to carry out Mother’s wises. Elphelt rebels, which confuses Ramlethal, and when she is finally apprehended by the protagonists, she begins to find her emotions, eventually becoming a being capable of feeling and conceding that emotions are indeed important.

Ramlethal’s Playstyle

Ramlethal is a wily character who controls the space around her with the help of two massive swords. The swords make her attacks scary as they have a lot of range and deal a decent amount of damage. She can also extend combos with the help of her thrown swords which explode when in the corner, and they are plus on block, making them quite useful when applying pressure. Ramlethal truly shines when she has her opponents, and she’s capable of unleashing a string of devastating normals that can extinguish the opponent’s life in little to no time. She is incredibly powerful and leaves the opponent little choice in the corner but to either block immaculately (basically impossible) or try to jump out, to which Ramlethal can react by also jumping and using her slash to counter the opponent. 

With all of that said, Ram’s playstyle is heavily dependent on her weapons, and therefore, once they are gone, Ram is a lot more ordinary. Not only is the damage on her normals and OD halved, but their ranges are also significantly reduced. So, before you fire off her swords, be sure that is the absolute best move to do at the moment. It is usually advised to fire off her swords when you have an opponent in the corner as the payoff is always great, and it is easier to retrieve the weapons once there. Her swords can be retrieved in one of two ways:

• They come back to her manually after a while

• Ram has to go to where they are and pick them up.

So, you can see that in the corner, the swords have a much shorter distance to get back to you, and you can continue to use them. Also, if you have to pick them up yourself, this is a lot easier if you are already in the corner. On the other hand, if you let go of your swords in the mid-range, you are leaving Ramlethal very vulnerable and could be leaving yourself open to a world of hurt. 

Without her weapons, Ram isn’t very great, especially in the mid-range battle,  but with swords equipped, she is also deadly in the middle of the stage. However, when playing in the middle of the stage, you must fight responsibly and keep it simple with pokes and throws and look to back the opponent into the corner where the real party can get started.

Ramlethal’s Best Buttons

Ram, as we’ve already discussed, is an amazing character, and in this section, we’ll be having a look at her best buttons and the moves you should definitely prioritize. 

f.S: For Ramlethal, this is a must-know button as it is a great button with great range. With this button, Ram uses one of her swords to poke at the opponent. Once it hits, you can confirm with 5H and keep the combo going from there. If you use it right, you can land your opponent in the corner, which is exactly where you want them, and then continue with the endless harassment with pokes and hits. Thanks to her sword, this is a move with a lot of range and in some instances you can even use it at round start distance. On the flip side, without her sword, this move is heavily nerfed as not only is the damage reduced, but so is the range. Furthermore, there is quite a bit of recovery on this move which means you would prefer it doesn’t whiff as it could lead to an opportunity for the opponent to get some hits in.

5H: 5H is the twin to f.S as they generally tend to go together. If you can get f.S to hit, then the next move should be 5H. It has even greater range than f.S which is great and is a reliable combo tool. Also, even when used on block, the pushback helps to corner the opponent which can then be used to your advantage as you pile on the misery on your foe. As with f.S, this isn’t as effective without her swords and is even -13 on block (with her swords it’s -12) which only goes to show how careful any user must be when utilizing Ramlethal’s pressure tools. 

j.S: Her jump slash button is one of the few air-challenging moves she has. With this, she can compete with opponents in the air and on several occasions can cut off their approach from about half-screen. It is also a safe retreat button as she can use it while jumping back to discourage a chase down. But, it should also be used carefully as an opponent can telegraph the move and punish her upon landing. 

6P: This is by far Ram’s best anti-air button. If an adversary decides to approach from the air, she can use 6P to knock them out and launch an assault of her own. It can also lead to a number of combo routes that will deal decent damage against any opponent. Unfortunately, while it is Ram’s best anti-air, it’s hardly the best in the game. This is because of how it moves, which means that for it to be effective, Ram has to be right in front of the jumping opponent. Therefore, if the opponent is vertical (i.e., right above Ram), the move will likely whiff, which will secure the opponent’s safety.

Special Moves

Bajoneto: This is Ram’s sword toss. When she applies this move, she tosses one of her swords at the foe. It is an amazing move as it pins the opponent, it’s plus on block, and it explodes on impact with the wall, which can obscure things for the opposition player. This lets Ram lay into the fighter and do some serious damage. However, it is necessary to apply some caution with this move as, without her swords, Ram is a lot less effective, and the swords take as much as six seconds to start their return to their owner. Therefore, it is advised that you only use this move when close to the corner. Once there, it is a suffocating move that lets you combo your opponent to oblivion. 

Dauro: This is a move that can be considered ‘situationally good.’ This means that it is great in some circumstances and not so much in others. It is a very useful combo ender or extender. When used on its own, it leaves the foe standing, but when used in combination with other buttons, it is a great linker and is quite useful in such circumstances. 

Ramlethal’s Overdrives

We need to talk about Ram’s overdrives as they are key to her fighting style and how she goes about winning games. The first one, Calvados, uses Ram’s sword as full-screen lasers which can deal a decent amount of damage. This is a useful tool as it calls back her swords immediately from wherever they are on the screen. So if you find yourself in a situation without the swords and unable to do much, you can use this OD to call them back while also making your opposition suffer. 

The second, called Mortobato, also does a lot of damage, but unlike the first, it is heavily dependent on her swords being equipped. If she is without them, the super is a whole lot less powerful and is easier to deal with. Also, it is safe when air blocked as it pushes the opponent far enough to discourage a whiff punish.

Ramlethal’s Pros and Cons

As has been established earlier, Ramlethal is a corner monster, and her ability to deal damage in the corner is one of her biggest weapons.

Pros

• Her damage output is actually insane. Due to the ease with which you can do a lot of combos, any hit could lead to a potentially fatal situation for the opponent. 

• Her range from mid-screen is one of the longest in the game. Therefore, even without using projectiles, she can hold her own against anyone in the middle of the park. 

• Her swords are great projectiles that keep the opponent trapped in the corner with nowhere to go. They also explode when they hit the corner, which further elongates the misery as Ramlethal rains down blows on the enemy. She is also able to easily retrieve her swords in the corner, meaning that she can use her sword toss repeatedly with little to no consequence for her. 

Cons

• Ram is painfully dependent on her swords and, without them is virtually useless. This is not to say she can do nothing without her swords, but she is certainly less powerful without them and can be easily dealt with in such situations

• She doesn’t possess the best anti-air. 6P is a great option, but there are instances where it isn’t useful and can let the enemy escape.

How to Fight Ramlethal

Ram is not the easiest character to play against and her slew of great normals and corner pressure means that going up against her is a daunting task. But, if you do find yourself in the situation, you are not without options. For one, while Ramlethal is lethal (yeah, yeah, I did that on purpose) in the corner and in mid-range, she isn’t as effective when she is zoned out as she doesn’t have many things to counter being zoned. For instance, while she has projectiles, she runs the risk of losing her swords and making herself vulnerable. If you do find yourself in the corner, do whatever you have to do to get out as she is relentless while there. 

Also, you can get the jump in on Ram if you calculate the distance. Her 6P loses out if the opponent is vertical and her other anti-airs usually require her to also jump making it possible to block. If you can get Ram to lose her swords, you’ll be in a much more advantageous position when fighting against her. So, keep that in mind when next you face a Ram online or in person. 

Ramlethal’s Combos

Ram has several combos that should be relatively easy to pull off. Below we have a selection of some of the best to try out.

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