SoulCalibur VI Geralt: Tips for Playing as Geralt

SoulCalibur has a long history of introducing iconic characters as guests, and SoulCalibur VI brings one of the series’ best guests yet with The Witcher’s Geralt. The beloved character sports a movest that’s lifted directly from The Witcher 3, and he plays quite differently from any other character in the game, even having his own gimmick. Because of this, Geralt can be a bit of a tricky character to pick up and play. Luckily, we’ve got a few tips for playing as Geralt in SoulCalibur VI.

Tips For Playing as Geralt in SoulCalibur VI

Geralt’s Dodge Is Super Useful

Geralt has a host of unique moves and abilities at his disposal, but one of his most useful is a quick dodge that lets him dart to the side. The moves can be executed by hitting B+K (traingle+circle on PS4, and Y+B on Xbox). This dodge is a great way to open up your enemy and set up combos, but it can be difficult to use if you don’t have the timing down.

Vertical attacks that your opponent launches your way can be dodged at the right moment with Geralt’s move, leaving them wide open to hit with your own powerful vertical attack. The easiest way to get the hang of this is to simply jump into training mode and pick an opponent that has easily telegraphed verticals, like Siegfried or Seong mi-Na. This will let you test out the timing on Geralt’s dodge as much as you need to, in order to really get the feel for it.

Tips For Playing as Geralt in SoulCalibur VI

Using Witcher Signs Uses Up Your Soul Gauge

Geralt’s Witcher signs are one of the main focal points of his moveset, letting you use Agni to blast your opponent at close range, Ignis to spout fire directly in front of you, Yrden as a guard break, and Quen to rush forward with an attack. These are all mapped to the L1 button in the game, A+B for the input command. The big thing to keep in mind with Geralt’s signs, however, is that each time you use one it takes up a portion of your Soul Gauge, roughly one-third of one gauge.

This means you can’t just spam Geralt’s signs, and using them willy-nilly will leave you without the ability to use a Soul Burst or Critical Edge. It’s absolutely imperative that you keep this factor in mind when playing as Geralt, as smart use of the Signs can make or break you. Again, a good way to figure out how each Sign works is to hop into training mode and just test it out. It’s one of your most useful tools as Geralt, but you need practice, much like anything else.

Tips For Playing as Geralt in SoulCalibur VI

Geralt’s Vertical Attacks are His Strongest

Geralt’s an agile, versatile fighter, and he does quite a bit of damage compared to the other characters in SoulCalibur VI. However, his strongest attacks are easily his vertical ones mapped to triangle or triangle+circle (Y and Y+B on Xbox). The actual input command is B and B+K. While it’s never a good idea to simply focus on one kind of attack, you should absolutely try and work in a majority of vertical attacks as Geralt. His basic standing attack on triangle, or hitting triangle while running will launch a series of strikes. These moves can be useful on knocked down enemies, letting you get in one or two extra blows while they’re vulnerable.

Geralt also has an incredibly useful move if you just hit B+K while standing still. Doing so puts him into a forward roll, with a strong upward strike at the end. It’s easy to take an enemy by surprise with this move, as it puts Geralt in a low stance during the roll and then a surprise attack. The roll can actually dodge under medium and high attacks from your opponent, so using it at the right time will let you simultaneously dodge and attack at once.

Tips For Playing as Geralt in SoulCalibur VI

Soul Charge Lets You Use Multiple Signs

Going back to Geralt’s Signs attacks, oftentimes it’s a better idea to reserve your use of them until you have at least one Soul Gauge full. This is because of Geralt’s Soul Charge, where he downs a Tawny Owl potion that’ll let him use multiple Signs while the effect is active. This means that you’ll be able to use multiple Signs in a row if you want, and it’s easier to weave them into your combos, for a short period of course.

The catch, of course, is that using your Signs means that the length of Geralt’s Soul Charge is reduced. If you find yourself on the losing end of a match, however, activating Soul Charge and popping a few powerful signs can be a good way to make a comeback. Luckily, Geralt can use his Signs for both offense and defense. Use Yrden to stun the enemy if they’re relentlessly attacking, and make an opening. Or use Igni and Quen to push your attack and put on the pressure. We’ve been pounding this drum a lot, but practice is the key to everything, so don’t be afraid to once again pop into training or versus mode and try these things out.

For even more tips and guides, make sure to search Twinfinite and check out our expansive SoulCalibur VI wiki. If you need some basic tips and tricks for getting started in the game, we have that too.