Faust

Story

During his prime, Faust was a world-renowned surgeon. In 2177 a young girl was under his care. Her situation was critical, and normal methods were powerless to heal her. Many times Faust requested to do an unauthorized procedure to save her life but was denied over and over again. Faust didn’t know that this procedure held the secret to the resurrection that Conclave wanted to keep secret. Fed up with constant denials, Faust decided to go ahead with the operation regardless. Knowing this, Conclave orchestrated an assassination that made it look like the girl died during an operation due to Faust’s mistake. Driven mad by grief and sorrow, he snapped and went on a killing spree before being caught and put in a dimensional prison. Unexpectedly, during his time in prison, he received a visit from Testament, who freed him and made him attend the Holy Order tournament.

The tournament was nothing but a setup for the bloodshed that would awaken Justice, but Faust managed to survive. Awakening after the battle, he regained most of his sanity. However, he was still haunted by the guilt of his past actions and the death of his patient. Guilt almost drives Faust to take his own life, but before he does it, he learns that he was set up. With this new information, he sets out to find the truth behind what really happened and atone for his actions.

At some point, the news about a bounty being placed on Dizzy reaches Faust, and he sets out to save her. Eventually, he convinced her to leave the forest she lived in to avoid future attacks. A few weeks later, he encounters I-No and sets out after her to prevent the damage she could cause to other people. Instead, he finds Venom, a member of the Assassins Guild. Venom reveals to Faust that his former colleague hired the assassins on behalf of the Post-War Administration Bureau, but before he can tell more, the two are attacked by a group of Robo-Kys.

In October of 2187, Slayer invited Faust to give him some information regarding the assassination. Slayer tells him that Convclave was behind the whole thing and that he might find out more from the assassin who did the job, Zato. Faust finds him at the opera house that served as Convlave’s secret base, and Zato confirms his involvement. The two fight and Faust emerges victorious, yet spares Zato’s life. The latter gives him more information about the contract and about Convlave’s plan to cause global conflict.

Later the same month, Faust works as a doctor in a small Eastern European village when he is suddenly approached by Johnny, who wants the doctor to treat unconscious May. He initially declines, suggesting they find a local hospital, but after Johnny admits they’re a part of a pirate crew, Faust accepts his request. Within their conversation, Johnny informs that May is Japanese, and due to her serious condition, Faust suggests having doctors at the colonies treat her. Johnny is apprehensive about that, saying that May is like family to him. Touched by those words, Faust takes on the task of treating her. Over the course of his treatment, Faust discovers something terrible about the colonies. After some time, when Johnny arrives, Faust refuses to share his findings as not to endanger Johnny, but he does provide him with a medicine that would keep May’s condition in check.

After assisting Sol Badguy and others in stopping Conclave’s attempt to revive Justice, Faust confronts Chronus about the Japanese, only to realize that he is not aware of what’s happening himself. Faust suspects that there must be a step above Conclave controlling the situation and sets out for a Japanese colony alongside Chronus to confirm this. Initially, the plan was to meet up with Kum Haehyun for intel, but when Faust and Chronus arrive at the colony, they are confronted by Leo Whitefang, who tries to arrest them. They manage to escape and contact Kum over the radio. She reports that all people living in the colony are experiencing symptoms Faust described, and their temperature is slowly rising.

To find materials that would aid in developing the cure, Faust travels to Illyarian Royal Library.  While he isn’t allowed in, he meets Zappa, who is looking into the same issue, and they exchange information with Ky, Sol, Dr. Paradigm, and Leo. After sharing his theory about the disease, Faust begins to work on a cure while others investigate the virus’s origins. Later on, his vaccines proved crucial in defending the capital from Antimatter Gears, which were theorized to be the infected Japanese.

After that, Faust continued his travels with Chronus as an underground doctor, still trying to atone for his sins.

Personality

While a terrible accident drove Faust to madness, the brilliant mind and pure heart still shine through. Faust has genuine comparison and empathy for those who might require his skills, and even his insane ramblings sometimes contain an ounce of wisdom. Even when he’s up against people he has every reason to hate, the dedication to saving lives comes first.

Appearance

Faust is an extraordinarily tall and thin man with a body that’s covered in stitches and scars. He wears a paper bag with a hole for his eye, blue doctor scrubs, white gloves, and sneakers. On his neck, Faust carries a stethoscope and on his belt hangs a large syringe filled with bright red liquid.

Playstyle

Faust is a trickly character with many unusual setups and attacks. His defining features are his very long-reaching normals and a random item toss special that can radically alter the flow of the match depending on what Faust throws. While rather bad on its own, his Scarecrow move leads to unique opportunities when combined with RC, allowing Faust to mix up his opponents and punish otherwise safe attacks. Faust also has unusual hitboxes, which is both a pro and a con. When standing, his large body makes him very easy to hit, but when he’s crouching, Faust goes very low, allowing him to not only evade but move under specific attacks and projectiles.

Despite some decent strengths, Faust isn’t lacking in drawbacks either. Many of his better offensive options are very meter reliant. Random item toss can be detrimental if the opponent catches a trumpet or sends back Faust’s bombs. Many of his normals and specials are also rather committal and risky, forcing Faust to be very careful when using them.