Mawk's Heroes and Villains Guides: Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker: Force Guide

Overview: Luke is a strong character. His lightsaber I would consider to be above normal power, but still below Mace's (which I'll explain). His health is normal. His force powers are Push and Saber Throw. His aerial attack is very strong, but his dash is average. Luke is one of the easier Jedi to play, but to excel at him you need to use certain skills.

Luke has a normal movement speed. Due to him being a Hero, and most of the slow characters being Villains, he has a very good chance of catching up with most of them. He can catch up to Dooku and the Emperor easily, along with the Fetts. He can also escape from the mentioned Villains if he needs to escape.

Luke's dash is not very powerful. It has its moments but usually it doesn't do very much. His dash does a few left-right slashes as you click after sprint then finishes with a forward flip. Overall this doesn't do much damage unless you are able to hit the enemy with the full dash. This usually happens if they are stuck against a wall and an object, or in a corner. You can dash them after a push (if you stun them) and finish them with one whole dash. Now this may be harder against Greivous or Vader, so I wouldn't recommend trying it against them unless they are lower health. His dash sometimes achieves a knockdown from behind or from the side. To do this you have to time the beginning of the dash just as you reach them, it is the left-right slash that knocks them down. When you knock them down finish them off with a combo. You can also curve left or right with his dash to throw the enemy off and it will sometimes make them vulnerable to a knockdown.

Luke's aerial attack is very powerful. It is very versatile since it can do damage good in the air and also as it lands on the ground. Most of the characters have an aerial attack that does good either on the ground or in the air, but rarely good at both. Luke is different. When you are jumping and click swing he does an overhead slash as he falls. This can be done as many times as needed as you fall from your jump. You can do it as you fall off higher buildings too. If you keep clicking as you land it will do it's powerful landing blow.

The aerial attack does very well in an air battle, as you and an enemy jump across eachother's position. If you are crossing an enemies path in midair click just before you get to them and you should do a lot of damage. If it is a character that requires a ground only attack (Dooku, Vader, Emperor) try to hit them before they have the chance to click, they never may as it is. If you do this they won't fall under you because their click requires them to. The only thing about this, is that most experienced players of the characters mentioned above, know that Luke can damage them heavily in air, so they may just click to dive under you. A floating enemy is the easiest to get a free shot on. Be careful if you are on a roof and someone is floating up, I usually jump and aerial attack to avoid being choked and also take them down a while. Try to keep your saber between you and the enemy, it generally makes you less susceptible to their attack.

There is one flaw to the air attack, that most Luke players have died because of. When you push an enemy and attempt to do an aerial attack, it usually does not do a direct kill. It also seems to make the enemy recover from their push quicker than it normally would. Because of this you will most likely be backslashed and fall on your face and be killed. So unless they are lower health try to avoid the push then aerial attack with Luke. Along the same lines if you aerial someone who is read they could turn around and backhand you and you could go flying and be stunned.

With that said, there are a couple tricks to avoid being killed when you do an aerial attack. Many Luke players use their aerial attack to slash their opponents as they land, but what you really need to try is crushing them. I'll explain: When you start your aerial slash above your target it will most likely still damage them, but you will be susceptible to their attack because it doesn't stun. What I define as crushing someone with Luke has to do with waiting til you are just on their head, then attacking. What I use to look for this is the hilt of my lightsaber. When the hilt is pretty much to their head (you have to aim the jump and landing very well) you click twice, it seems to do more damage and most likely will kill Maul, the Emperor, and the Fetts. You will have more trouble with the higher health characters.

Another very unique trick I have become aware of with Luke, is aerial attack while you are being dashed at. This works particularly well against a Vader due to his dash stopping in one place, giving you an opportunity to do a full aerial attack while they are vulnerable. In order to do this well, you need to time your jump click perfectly with their dash. What you do is pretty much jump and click at the same time, but make sure your click is after your jump. There is no time frame on this, just jump and click quickly. Time this so right when they are dashing you, you jump and land on their head with your saber. This seems to do more damage because they are dashing and open to attack. This trick works if they are dashing you from behind, or from in front. Use your minimap wisely to attempt the attack when they dash from behind. As I said it is easier against Vader so he is the best to practice against. Some of the other characters will continue past you with their dash. I wouldn't recommend trying this on a Maul though, usually if they are dashing they can hit you down from the air.

Luke's combo is very powerful too. I don't define it as powerful as Mace's due to the fact that it takes longer. Mace's is powerful because you can kill very quickly and get out of there. Luke's combo takes a few more swings than Mace's before it finishes. This is a matter of seconds, but every second helps in this game. The final blow of Luke's combo is a killing blow. So you can just hit with that and kill most enemies. This assists you if another enemy joins in your fight just as you are finishing someone else off, it usually kills them too.

There is a hole in his combo though, where the enemy can slip away. This is usually attributed to a vast difference in pings. I use to experience this a lot against an opponent with 50-80 ping and I had 180 ping. My ping is in the middle now so it happens very rarely. To avoid the enemy slipping out as your combo is in the middle, just click faster. This is the only thing you can really do in these cases, especially if ping is involved.

Push is going to be Luke's greatest tool in this game. If you have not read my other guides in regard to pushing I will do a quick run-through of what I consider expert pushing. A good push is a push that stuns the enemy enough to make you be able to move in and kill them. These usually happen on the same ground level, or when you are above the enemy and looking down at them at an angle. Pushes from the same level on a roof or pushing someone above you will not stun them, so save your energy unless you do it to so you can escape.

Be wary of pushing an enemy into a wall at a straight angle. This is known as a wall push or a wall bounce, bounce because they will bounce off the wall fully recovered. You can still push people into walls, but try to do so from higher angles, it is more guaranteed that way. If you happen to wall push someone and they are recovering, push again as you move in. Sometimes it takes a few pushes before you get there or sometimes multiple pushes may stun them. You may get complaints like "What 3 pushes??" Just ignore these, it's just someone whining that they didn't get out of a wall push. I just say something along the lines of "I did what it takes to kill you and survive."

As always, I recommend the roofs for pushers. Since Christmas '07 I have noticed a whole fleet of newcomers to the game who don't use their minimap (this has lessened now in summer of '08). If you are on a roof and they don't see you, push them and go in for the kill. As Luke be sure to get in there with your combo and not the aerial attack. As soon as you finish off the enemy, get your block up and get out of there. Use your minimap and your full vision to make sure you don't have multiple enemies around. Most of my deaths when I first started as a pusher were due to my awareness lacking. If there are multiple enemies around you can always push and saber throw to get them down, stalk them a bit then finish them off. Most tactics about pushing and roofs I have included in the other guides.

To finish, Luke has a very acrobatic ability that you can use to your advantage. At full energy Luke can get in quite a few jumps, and most good Luke's use it as an aggressive move. Leaping here and there over an enemy could confuse them and the final leap you can land on them. Be wary though, my other guides have gone into detail on avoiding this.

Luke vs. Chokers: You need to be extremely careful around chokers. The villains have multiple characters that can choke you and it will stun you in your tracks. When you are moving through open spaces with chokers around, be sure to sprint or jump. You cannot be stunned while sprinting or choking but it will still take your health down. There is one downside to being a hero with enemies around. Sometimes if you do not see who is near you, but see a dot on the minimap, you don't know whether to block or to get away. What I would recommend is try to get a sight of them or above them. Then you can go about getting away to the proper distance if it is a choker. Remember choke has the same distance as push.

Luke vs. Maul: The best tactic against a maul is to be the last to block. So if they approach you with block up, just be sure to have block up later. If they attempt to swing when they get close back up and push them. Sometimes the best tactic is to just keep block up while they try to push you a couple times, it takes more energy for them to try than for you to block. You can also coax the maul into starting their combo by acting like you are getting close to them with block up then backin off, if they start, push them. I wouldn't recommend going head on with a maul due to their knockdown and the beginning of Luke's combo being weak.

Luke vs. The Fetts: Saber throw will be good as will the aerial attack. Push usually won't work against a Fett because they are usually above you. If you can, wait for them to zoom in and jump to their level with the aerial attack. It most likely won't stun them but if they aren't aware their being hit yet you can finish them off with a combo. Hitting them mid-air with the aerial attack is good too. Try to sprint ahead of them and wait for them to land near you, they are pretty predictable as to where they plan on landing, and if you are there when they run out of jet fuel they are an easy kill. Be sure to have block up a lot because as a pusher you are their easiest target. You can take the flame fine so if they land and flame take them out, then go heal.

Luke Skywalker: Non-Force Guide

Luke is a powerful Non-Force Character, he is very versatile and can deal with any situation. His combo is strong and with the third hit doing a great amount of damage. His dash is quick and can be used in multiple ways. His aerial is strong and can be used mid-air and when landing.

Thanks to the new damage chart by iOn, we can see the fact that the "normal" health I've previously described is 1200 hit points, which Luke has. This means Luke will not survive a full combo (if all parts hit) from a Villain. So the first thing you want to avoid is being sucked into a combo. His movement is a normal, so he's able to catch up to the slower characters easily.

Luke's dash has four parts built in. The first two parts can be done alone with a single click and the final two parts with a second and third click. If you complete the full dash, damaging with each part, you should do 1800 damage total, which means you can kill anyone in the game unless they have a damage reduction buff. Many people use just the first half because the second half tends to make him travel further forward and takes twice as long. The full dash can be used best when your opponent is stuck against a wall, or even better in a corner. Due to the fact you are vulnerable to null/sidestep/single-click when dashing, you must be cautious when using it. On top of that, using the full dash makes you vulnerable longer.

In my opinion, the best way to use the dash is starting your sprint on your enemies left side (non saber side usually), then hit the dash just as you reach them and turn left into them, you could try single click or full dash and decide which works best for you. If you have your sensitivity at 100, it's easy to do a 180. I would recommend trying to avoid this. So many Lukes out there are now just 180 dashers that it becomes extremely predictable. Luke's dash does not always stun, so you could be hit while performing a 180 because they know the direction you will end up. Try to be random with the directions you choose.

You can use his dash strategically in many ways too. A great one is to dash someone off a roof as they are coming onto it. You will avoid getting an aerial to the face and it will do some damage. You can also dash someone as they are landing, provided they aren't doing an aerial. Please do not link dash, doing so only proves what an amateur you are at the game.

Luke has a great combo because it can be surprising, though after 3 years it isn't as surprising as it used to be. The first two hits does little damage but the third hit has three parts built in doing a total of 1800 damage (again he can kill anyone who doesn't have damage reduction). The tricky part is timing the final hit. There are moments when the first two hits actually help an enemy to recover from a stun faster, so be careful in those moments. There are other times when the enemy can do nothing while you start the first two hits. The combo is overall pretty quick, but the gap between the first and second part can leave you open to a backhand. Many people move forward and backward while comboing and I also find this very effective.

Start the combo and move backward away from your opponent, and when the final swing comes move closer again. Sometimes you may not catch your opponent with all three parts of damage of the final swing, and generally they will be knocked down. It really comes on feel, sometimes you can feel they won't be stunned and others you can feel that they will. Try not to memorize those moments though because it may feel right and you end up getting backslashed. If you do happen to stun the enemy, start the combo before you get back to them and only get close with the final swing. Strategically you can use the combo in other moments. If you are on a dome and a person is just below you, you can start the combo on top and swing the final hit down upon them, but beware of backslash. You can use the combo for when someone is landing near you, but don't get right under them or else you could get aerial attacked. The combo also has the possibility of killing multiple people at once, so don't fear if it's 2v1.

I would classify Luke's aerial as one of the most powerful in the game. The reason I say this is because of how many ways it can be used compared to others. If you go into single player and watch Luke perform an aerial, you will see that he does two swings in a mid-air twist. The damage is negotiable in single player (it only hits once), but often in multiplayer it hits twice thanks to the lag of the internet, doing double damage. The saber swings from his top front and bottom so it covers a larger area, or protects you if you will. It seems sometimes that the aerial has a built in block that you will want to use to your advantage. If you crossing paths with an enemy in the air, turn to the right so your saber side is facing them and click just as you are reaching them. If it's timed right, you will likely not take any damage and they will.

You can also use the aerial while landing, and this is where the double damage comes into play. When timed properly you can devastate a standing enemy with a single aerial while landing on them. You want to click when your feet are just slightly above their head. It seems the close proximity and the landing throw in an extra hit on the internet. This is why you would die to a single Luke aerial. After reading the damage chart many people talked to me saying "....hey wait a minute..." and discussed many issues, this was one of them. Be sure to use his aerial on floater characters when they are in the air, but beware of Vader's aerial slam if you are close to a surface (it will pull you back down if you're barely off the ground and stun you).

Another great tactic for the aerial is to use it when you are on the ground and someone is on a short roof above you. Many people have the habit of looking over the edge of a building if they can't see their enemy. If you push yourself against the wall and look up you can see these people, quickly do a jumping aerial and slice their curious head off. Sometimes the double hit works here and sometimes it doesn't.

Luke has a decent single click null. You will want to use this on dashing characters, especially when they aren't facing center. Unlike Mace, Luke he pulls his saber back behind his head before throwing it forward. It's only a couple milliseconds but it's enough to throw the timing off. You will find because of this that you will be knocked down at the same time the enemy will, somtimes half a second later (which means you lose double stun fight). Get a friend and practice the timing so you take minimal damage. Side-stepping does help, making your enemy only clash with a saber and not your torso. Avoid CDers when performing this. You can still avoid damage and a stun if you time it right, but the best thing to do is avoid and get them when they most likely will roll. Luke is a great character to kill dash-rollers with because of his fast dash, which 99% of the time stuns when they are rolling.

You will want to use the buildings provided by the levels when using Luke in Non-Force. He is not the best at ground level fights, but he is extremely adept at surprising his enemy if you use the tools randomly. Try to avoid being a predictable acrobatic Luke, the guys who have been around for over 3 years now see this coming a mile away. If you do a series of jumps around the enemy and land, they will be ready. It used to be a good tactic, but generally I only use it to confuse them and not attack. You are extremely vulnerable to the powerful dashing Villains when you land, especially if they dodge and come at you at an angle where backslash doesn't work.

If you plan on using Luke a lot in Non-Force combat, moving around and being random is your best bet. He is very strong if you use him wisely and keep your awareness up. You won't likely be doing just 1v1 in full map Non-Force, so be sure to use your mini-map often. Be careful of bouncy roofs, you know which ones I mean, because for some reason they really affect heroes compared to villains. It may just be the height of the characters versus Vader, but even other villains have always beaten me in combo fights on the bouncy roofs.

This is the final installment of my guides. It has been a long run due to the sporadic typing and uploading of the guides. Over the last two years (my site is now that old) I have enjoyed typing these up and figuring things out with friends and fellow players. Keep up the good work, try to avoid being glitchy & spinny noobs, and enjoy the game while it lasts.

This is -)G(-Mawk signing off, and I'm happy to finally say: This Concludes Heroes and Villains: A Complete Study.