Bleeding Edge has its fair share of exotic characters to play as. Some are big, burly tanks that can take a good beating. Others are smaller, more agile fighters that can keep you on your toes.
No fighter is possibly more exotic in the traditional sense than the Russian dancer Cass. As a more agile fighter in the game, Cass has a rather unique set of tools, bringing significant advantages to her team. She also has a fair number of disadvantages that can be capitalized on when she’s on the map as well. Here are a few of them to keep in mind.
10 Pro: High Mobility
One thing that can’t really be understated is how mobile Cass is. Almost all of her specials have movement utility to them. Her dive bomb super also gives her an escape option if she gets caught in a tough situation. She’s got a super jump that enables her to take high ground relatively quickly. On top of that, she’s one of the fastest characters in the game when she gets up to speed on-foot.
All of this combined makes her a pretty elusive character. Capable of quickly engaging and disengaging almost at will. It allows her to take flanks comfortably and get into position much faster than some other fighters.
9 Con: Low Health Pool
All of that mobility is traded for a pretty low health pool though. At a base 600 hp, Cass isn’t the healthiest fighter on the roster. This means that it can be a little easier to scare her off if she starts getting focused by another fighter.
Less health means fewer mistakes. A bit of self-preservation can go a long way for Cass. Although, too much self-preservation can limit her effectiveness in some situations. Having a good idea of where the nearest health orb is on a map can help mitigate this drawback a bit, but it can still be a rough quality about her.
8 Pro: No Need To Mount Up
A unique feature about Cass is that she’s currently the only character that doesn’t have to mount up. Instead, her momentum passive ability allows her to get to a pretty fast pace. This means that she doesn’t have to stop, wait for an animation to play, and then start moving again.
Besides that pretty obvious benefit, it also means she can’t be slowed down when she gets hit by ranged damage from a Maeve or a Gizmo. That can be a huge edge when engaging in a 1 v. 1 scenario against those particular characters. Cass’s top speed is slightly slower than a mount’s average speed, but in the time it takes for her opponent to mount up after her, she’ll be long gone.
7 Con: Acceleration
The bigger issue with not mounting up is that it takes time to actually get up to speed. It isn’t instant. Effectively, Cass still has to take the time to commit to reaching top speed just like another fighter has to commit to mounting up.
Doing any other action except for charging up a super jump during this time means that she has to restart. Also, if she runs into an obstacle, she loses momentum almost instantly as well. It’s important for Cass to know when to commit to an action or when to just continue to accelerate in a lot of situations.
6 Pro: Melee & Ranged Capabilities
Another unique feature about Cass is that she’s also currently the only hybrid character in the game. She has both melee and ranged tools at her disposal. This means that she can play the keep-away game as well as get in another fighter’s grill and start whacking them. She doesn’t exactly excel at one or the other, but it makes her an unpredictable fighter.
She can sit back and throw feathers all day and just be a nuisance from a distance and then quickly flip the script with a swoop into a melee combo. If distance needs to be created again, she can hightail it out of there, literally.
5 Con: Tool Intensive
As is the case for these team-based character-driven games, every character has abilities. Specials, in this case. As such, every special isn’t created equal. Some fighters need near-constant use of their specials to be effective in most situations like Nidhoggr. Others only need them in specific situations like Gizmo.
Cass is a little bit of both. Depending on the situation, she may only need to make use of one tool, or she may need to make use of all of her tools. She isn’t always dependent on them all of the time to get value. But, if she’s looking to get max value all of the time, intense cycling and management of all of her resources are required.
4 Pro: Autonomy
Cass is a fighter that comes with her a good amount of freedom. She can choose to either play with the rest of her team or be a solo entity on the map. It all depends on how she wants to approach her opposition.
She could play things safe and be the support fighter’s bodyguard, allowing the tanks to get more aggressive while she peppers in damage from a distance. She can also be the aggressor and play a lot looser. Opt into taking more 1 v. 1-situations while playing separate from the team, relying on her specials to get her out of trouble if things go wrong.
3 Con: Ranged & Melee-Limited
Now, while Cass does have ranged and melee capabilities, her ranged and melee options are limited compared to pure ranged or pure melee fighters.
Without her far-flung mod, the default range on her basic attack can’t efficiently contend with a Maeve or a Gizmo’s range. Nor does the damage of her basic attack alone contend with any other damage fighter’s DPS. Her melee attacks also aren’t as efficient as pure melee characters, and since she’s an average-sized character, her melee attacks are essentially useless against tanks like Buttercup and Makutu.
2 Pro: Options
Possibly the best quality Cass has is the abundance of options she possesses. Cass has an almost unfair amount of options; thus, she can be played in many different ways.
Want to play her more defensively? She’s got the tools for that. Want to play her more aggressively? She’s got the tools for that. Want to be an annoying distraction? She’s got the tools for that. Want to be an elusive assassin? She’s got the tools for that. Cass’s basic tools alone have options to accommodate many different playstyles. It is by far her biggest asset.
1 Con: High Difficulty
If Cass’s biggest asset is her flexibility, then her biggest drawback is how difficult it can be to get efficient and consistent value from her. Compared to most other fighters, Cass isn’t exactly easy to get good value out of her.
She has to work harder for that damage than a Gizmo. She has to move more efficiently in pressing situations than Daemon. She has a lot of escape options, but they are all very good offensive options. This means that commitment is key and getting caught out without those options more than likely means death. Juggling all of this can be quite difficult in a match.
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