EntropicByDesign
It's all so very confusing.
So here's the advantage imo. It makes every attack -- no matter the start-up or recovery / hit adv -- have a stagnant "hit advantage". Meaning that a move that would generally be +3, but have a lot of recovery on whiff (for instance, a b3/f3), become punishable on hit. It also allows Hellboy to blow up gaps in some strings, but it definitely requires some labbing to use.
I don't know the exact number of hit advantage frames the armor gives, but it seems pretty short. I give an estimate of about 9-10 hit adv. The math probably works something like Recovery Frames - Hit Adv = new frame data.
Ok, So, I agree.. in a static environment it's powerful.. but in the actual, moving environment of the game, it doesnt last long enough to work properly.. You have to get it out, and that usually requires distance, then you have to close that distance. Now, a leap here could be quite powerful, but its a mindgame on both sides.. Most characters if expecting a leap from 3/4-full screen have some way or another to entirely avoid it. Hellboy of course can anticipate this and try a mid leap, or a cancel to intercept movement.. So that is def an option, but its an iffy one. The other option is to just approach of course, and watch them run like hell.. or challenge the armor itself. Ive been watching sets of Hellboys far better than me (I refuse to make any decisions based on my own play) and every time I see it used.. It comes to little to nothing. In many cases, I see the Hellboy take more damage than he does, you're trying to plow through and get something started, and the entire time the other guy is pecking away..
Or, and this is the real issue.. The other guy just blocks. Hellboy has absolutely no real way to open up a good player off his grounded neutral outside whiff punishment and timing based strings, ie, f23 as they move or as an interrupt or something but if the other guy knows you have armor, he's not motivated to do anything except block or run. Running can open up opportunities, and blocking can build chip, but all in all, I just dont see this being that great in this game.
I should clarify, I dont think the trait, in a vacuum, is bad. I think its pretty powerful.. but in actual games, its duration is so short, and ways to nullify or outright ignore it are so plentiful, I see it being a very niche thing that's solid in some MUs and some situations, but ultimately, doesnt justify the startup, cooldown and duration.
His resurrect is SO short I think it's useless. I guess in a situation where both players are a hit away from death and you somehow manage to get it out (crazy dangerous) it sort of buys you some offense, since the other guy actively doesnt *want* to kill you, unless you dont have any meter, then fuck it, why not? You'll still be a hit away from death after the resurrect.. But its much easier to just wait a damn second.
Damage buff though.. I think this is going to be stronger than it seems, though it suffers from the same issues armor does.. long-ish startup, low duration and long cooldown.. but if his aerial mixup game is strong, I could see getting this out and trying for some of his 600+ damage stuff. I mean, my personal Inj2 highlight was an idiotic trait damage buff into a full screen leap that I cancelled, landed right in front, leapt again, cancelled above (we were in the corner), crossed up behind, landed into j2, 22u3, mb.b3, j3, b22, db2.mb b22 x db2 for like 640 damage or whatever it is. - Id like to point out I lost this match.
Just my thoughts here.
I cant use my ps4 atm, but, in the corner, f23, d2, trait - does this work? i mean is the juggle off f23 d2 (highest bounce I can find) long enough to get trait out with any kind of advantage? No idea if its opimal, or stupid, just a thought I had, but cant test atm.