Fighter

Rostam

The Unstoppable Force

Attack
Defence
Agility
Range

Who he is

Pure rage and brute power. He might be the strongest. All are beneath him.

Rostam does not dodge things. He walks through them. Light hits bounce off him while he is standing still, his beam cuts across the whole arena, and his ultimate is the single most committed move in the game. Play him like a wall that occasionally fires.

How he plays

Rostam has idle armour. While he is standing, walking, running or jumping, the first light hit that lands on him is shrugged off. It costs almost nothing and comes back a couple of seconds after the last hit. Jabs and Powerballs simply do not stop him.
Heavier hits do. Chain finishers, sprint attacks and Freya's arrows all crack it, so it is not a free pass, just a big one.

His beam controls a lane, his grab beats every armour in the game, and his five-stage combo drags people across the stage. Then there is the Large Beam, which needs nearly a full bar and locks you in place for about six seconds. Fire it when everybody is in front of you. You won't regret it.

Specials

Energy Beam

W (hold) 10 energy

Hold for continuous fire. A strong beam great for clearing a lane and for stopping someone mid-approach. The head will knock someone instantly down. Targets too close will be blasted back too.

Grab & Throw

D + ← or → 5 energy

Reach forward, grab, and hurl them behind you. Short range, cheap, and it goes through armour and super-armour, even an ultimate mid-cast. Some say they've seen Rostam grab someone right out of the hands of another. If two grabs meet, both fighters stagger. Perfect for getting enemies into beam-hitting position.

Tiger Claw Combo

D + ↓ 35 energy

Five stages. A leaping overhead claw that covers distance, a judo chop, an axe kick that slams them into the ground, a pickup, and a palm-strike blast that fires up to three grappled bodies backwards as projectiles. Targets turn into bowling balls and knock down any they hit along their trajectory. If the axe kick misses, the combo ends there.

Large Beam

D + ↑ 95 energy, nearly the full bar

The ultimate. Rostams hail-mary. Cover the length of an arena and burn up all in its path. A short charge, then a massive beam for over two seconds. You cannot be knocked out of it but you can take damage the whole time. It destroys almost all projectiles that fly into it, and will clash head-on with another Large Beam. A grab is the only thing that stops it early, and if you soak too much damage while firing you collapse exhausted afterwards.

Large Beam

Basic attacks & natural chain

Tap A. Land a hit and the next one follows.

Punch
Punch
Heavy strike
Finisher Kick

The finisher hits hard enough to crack armour and knock down. It turns enemies into projectiles that will hit others in their path.
From a sprint, A is a clothesline sweep that grabs whoever is in the corridor and slams them into the ground. It beats almost any move you run into.
In the air, A is a heavy kick.
Sprint, jump, in the air, A is an even heavier kick.

Natural combos

Specials or attacks that flow straight into the next:

Grab Throw→Large Energy Beam
Grab Throw→Small Energy Beam
Grab Throw→Air Attack
Grab Throw→Sprint, then Air Attack
Grab Throw→Sprint Attack

Strengths & weaknesses

Strengths

Idle armour ignores jabs and Powerballs
A grab that beats every armour, even an ultimate mid-cast
Two beams, one of which is the biggest projectile on the roster
A sprint attack that grabs and slams

Weaknesses

Slow. Fast fighters run circles around him
The Large Beam locks you in place and empties the bar
Armor only has one charge and needs a breather to return
Freya's arrows pierces his bare skin

Matchups

vs Kinto: His Powerballs do little to your armour, so walk straight at him. The beam kills his Chaseball in flight. The one thing to respect is the Ultimate Powerball. If he has charged it, do not stand still and do not fire the Large Beam into it.
vs Feng: He will try to jab his way in, and the first one bounces off you. Grab him. It ignores the armour on his Triple Kick and throws him behind you into beam range. Do not chase him, make him come to you.
vs Valrik: The other wall. His shield eats your beam, and his idle armour is tougher than yours. Your grab ignores that armour but cannot take him while the shield is simply held up, and he wants to grab you too. Bait the burst, then grab first. The Large Beam is one of only two moves that eventually pierces his shield.
vs Freya: Her arrows are the light hit that actually breaks your armour, and the Light Arrow cannot be blocked. Close the gap in a zig-zag line and grab her. Her sprint slide is invulnerable, so wait for it to end.

Quick tips

Let people hit you first. The armour takes the jab and the chain punishes them for it.
Grab anyone mid-move. It ignores their armour, it is your cheapest special, and it turns their commitment into a throw.
Fire the Large Beam from the edge of the arena, never the middle. Nobody can get behind you there.