Josie strategy

Josie

Josie’s moveset and gameplan change quite a bit depending on the range she’s fighting in.

Close Range Moves

Move	Hit Level	Frame Data	Damage	Additional Notes
1	High	10f (+1, +8, +8)	7 dmg	Generic Jab with good range
1,2	H,H (Jails)	10f (-1, +7, +7)	15 dmg	Probably the best generic 1,2 in the game thanks to its numerous followups. Only the maddest of lads would challenge this on block. The D4 F3+4 mixup is actually better on block here because you will never catch anyone with F3+4 on hit.
1,4	H,H	10f (-4,+7,+7)	17 dmg	Duckable, but it's very rare someone does.
B1,1	H,H	11f (-3, +16g, +16g)	30 dmg	D4 can't be parried after this on hit. Be sure to throw out B1,2 as well to discourage ducking this.
B1,2	H,M	11f (-5, +6, +6)	22 dmg	Great noncommittal string to throw out. Even if the first hit gets ducked, the 2 catches most punishes which guarantees the rest of the string.
B1,2,4	H,M,M	11f (-10, +6, +6)	34 dmg	Not a natural combo, but this does combo into the final hit of the string, the high wall bounce. Learning to hit confirm this is highly rewarding.
2,4	H,H	12f (+11, +21g, Launch)	30 dmg	Every option on hit is uninterruptible except CD1+2 and CD3.
F2,3	H,L	12f (-11, 0, 0)	23 dmg	The F2 strings can all be low parried, but that requires the opponent is very on the ball. When used sparingly this is a good poke.
3	Mid	13f (-8, +3, +3)	11 dmg	Not a good poke, but its her fastest mid so it'll have to do.
3,3	M,H	13f (-1, KND, KND)	33 dmg	Natural combo on counterhit. Just throwing this out is very dangerous since the second hit can be ducked. If your opponent is not ducking this string then abuse it. A -1 on block CH string is incredibly strong if you can get away with it.
3,2	M,M	13f (-12, +5, Minicombo)	29 dmg	Natural combo on counterhit. Use this to convince your opponent not to duck 3,3 or interrupt 3,2F.
3,2F	M,(CD)	13f (-12, +4, +4)	11 dmg	This transition is launch punishable on block. 3,2 can help discourage people punishing this transition, but don't get too crazy with this. On hit, only CD1 and CD4 are uninterruptible.
B2	High	14f (+1, +7, Throw)	17 (39 on CH)	A bit slow for a high, but it is plus on block and people don't expect that. After the counterhit throw, df2 will catch most of their options if they try and get up.
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Close range: Close range Josie is a pressure character similar to Hworang and Nina, but not nearly as oppressive. Generally, you want to step right at this range. Everything that isn’t df1, d4 or homing will whiff against SSR here.

Df1, 1, b1 and 3 strings. See their dedicated sections for the specifics of these strings.

4 12f high (-7, +7, Launch) Her magic 4. This move has more range than you might expect, so watch out for this move when she is playing keepout. Pay attention to when your opponent likes to throw this out. It’s among the better 12f magic 4’s in the game, so she is going to be using this move frequently. It’s just a matter of getting a feel for when she likes to throw it out.

Df4 14f mid (+11, +16g, +16) Df4 is closer to Josie’s generic df1 analog than standing 3. It leaves Josie in SWS, so using it puts both you and her into a mixup. See the SWS section for what to do here. Very steppable to the right.

Df2 15f mid (-13, launch, launch) One of the best df2’s in the game. It has great range and can evade some highs during its startup. It tracks SSR but not SSL. In close range it is primarily used for catching steppers and punishment.

D4 15f low basically homing (-10, +1, +6) This low can be very annoying, but its ankle shattering sound effect really oversells the power of this move. It doesn’t do much damage and it’s only +1 on normal hit. What makes it great is that nobody ever punishes this low correctly. You need to dickjab punish, or better yet low parry. Josies love to chain d4's. If you get hit by a d4, then another d4 is probably on its way. If you weren’t counterhit by the first d4 then almost every character has a counterhit launcher that will punish her for trying to chain them. You can also just low parry for a lower risk callout.

1+4 high+low (-13, +11, +11) Covered in the SWS transitions section. Just remember this will punish you for SSL.

3+4 16f high homing (-9, KND, Screw) Josie’s best homing move for the close range. It has pretty mediocre range and is high, so it’s quite punishable if you get the read on them being about to use it.

F3+4 16f mid (-9, KND, CS) Josie’s slower, but mid counterhit launcher. It’s frequently auto piloted as a followup to any hit of 1,2,2. It will counterhit absolutely anything you do other than stand block. People rarely press in that situation though so all the Josie is doing is taking a +9 situation and making it a -9 situation. This is very steppable to the right.

B3+4 Swayback. See the swayback section. Most of the time you see this stance she will do SWB1, which is a high, or crouch dash.

DB2 20f cs6f mid (-11, KND, Launch) Josie's good reward high crush. It is slow and punishable, so you won't see it frequently, but if you're not punishing it then expect to see this move a lot more. Against the wall this move becomes more dangerous as it splats on NH. The CH combo requires a microdash to pick up, so be ready to whiff punish them if they miss the d3,4 pickup.

D3,4 16f low,high (+11, +21g, Launch) Josie should not be doing this string. It is duckable and the window to do so is enormous. The high is only guaranteed if the low counterhit, so duck this whenever you see it. Just the first hit is used sometimes at the end of rounds since it does more damage than d4, but that’s the only time it’s worth doing since it’s -6 on hit.

Mid to long range:

In this range, Josie can transform into a bootleg Kazuya. She has pretty good keepout moves, good whiff punishers and plenty of range. You want to be side stepping left at this range since it beats almost everything here.

Raw CD mixup: See the crouchdash section. CD3 is a really big option here and you will see it frequently.

F1+2 14f High (-9, Minicombo, Minicombo) Josie's 14f punisher and her best whiff punisher when she isn't sure if the punish will land in time since it is safe. I'll go over the oki situation after this minicombo in a later section. Be sure to always tech roll or you risk getting picked up for a full combo. You will see this even more in rage since she can convert into a full combo with rage drive.

Df2 15f mid (-13, launch, launch) The range on this is good enough that it is also useful here. Now it's primarily used for keepout and whiff punishing. Remember to punish this every time you block it.

F4 16f mid (-4, +1, +1) A long range mid poke. This looks like Jin’s f4. The first hit is very good with its range and only being -4 on block. This move is quite linear and is pretty low reward even if you do get hit.

F4,3 16f mid,mid (-10, +1, +1) Josie shouldn't be throwing out this second hit except as a punish. This string is punishable and there's no hit confirming it. I so rarely see people punishing this though.

B4,3 16f mid,mid (-6, +5, +5) Like F4,3 except safe. This is very similar to f4 in that it is a long range mid to throw out in the neutral. This has 3 extensions to follow the second hit, but every single one is interruptible on block so you will rarely see them. Only thing of note is that b4,3,d4 is +3 on hit. It looks like it would be minus on hit so people often press buttons into it. Don’t.

Ff4 16f mid homing (-9, KND, Screw) Josie’s preferred homing move. This move would be as godlike as King’s ff1 if it had any range. If you are just casually backdashing in the neutral then this move will whiff, so be ready for the whiff punish. This launches on counterhit. Her best combos involve immediately dashing in and doing an iWS3. This can be tricky so be ready to punish them if they mess up.

Ff3 24f mid (+6, KND, KND) A slow, but highly plus on block move that forms a bit of a mixup with ff4. Ff3 makes you want to sidestep or interrupt her coming in and ff4 catches sidesteps and launches keepout moves. This move is commonly used for oki, so you may get blasted by it if you wake up ducking.

D2 20f mid (-2, +3s, Launch) Long range counterhit mid. Josie can choose to either be left standing or in full crouch on block and on hit. Unlike other d2’s of this type, this is not plus on block. She isn’t very minus but you do have the advantage. Just be careful following up with highs in case she stays in crouch.