Seems like every single MultiVersus character on the roster, including the newcomer Morty, is getting a ton of content made about them whether it's guides, combo videos, or even Perk setups. But, there are a certain few characters who aren't getting nearly the amount of recognition they deserve, and Garnet is one of them.
This "two-kids-in-a-trenchcoat" experience of a Crystal Gem is one of the fan-favorite characters from Steven Universe, and she's actually a fantastic fighter as well. So, to help an aspiring Garnet mains out there, or people just struggling with the game in general, let's go over exactly what MultiVersus players might need to know in order to master her.
What Type Of Fighter Is Garnet?
First and foremost, players need to understand Garnet as a character before they can even take the first step towards "mastering" her, so let's go into that. By design, Garnet is a Bruiser-Class character who excels in Horizontal damage. But, in practice, Garnet is much more of a Tank-type character who has a lot of both Horizontal and Vertical options. To put it as simply as possible, she's both simplistic and predictable, yet very hard to deal with.
To be frank, Garnet is different from most other Bruisers. The Bruiser Class, so far, seems to be used to describe characters with a lot of reliable Normal Attacks that allow for an aggressive playstyle and easy combos. And, they're constantly in the thick of the fight, racking up damage.
But, Garnet is much more of a "let them approach and then react" sort of character, which is more customary for the Tank Class, as she's baiting enemies into hitting her while she charges up an Armored Attack. If readers think that this playstyle sounds sort of familiar to characters like Superman, it's because it is. While Garnet has the ability to chase down opponents and play like a standard Bruiser, she succeeds much more when the opponent is coming to her.
Garnet's Pros and Cons
However, if Garnet is comparable to Superman, why isn't she played more, especially in a competitive sense? That's because while Garnet's "general" playstyle has some similarities to Superman, the two characters are still incredibly different. So, let's go over the core reasons why Garnet should be played more than she is compared to the rest of the roster, and then talk about the reasons why players have decided she's not worth their time:
Why Garnet Should Be Played More
- She doesn't have a wide variety of easy combos, but her Crystal Combo is basically three in one, and she has fantastic "responses" to enemy attacks.
- Garnet's the third-heaviest character in the game behind Iron Giant and Superman. This allows her to chase enemies into the air while still feeling safe, and also allows her to run Perks like Last Stand and actively utilize them.
- She has a lot of Armored Attacks, and even one attack that has Armor but "say" that it does (her Shocking Slam).
- There are a lot of technical tools in Garnet's Kit such as her Spark of Love, Gem Dash, or Rocket Fist that give her more options than a standard Bruiser.
- Her Crystal Combo is hard to react to thanks to the Armored Slam, and it also has a quick Uppercut variation and a Downward Multi-Punch to throw opponents off once they're used to the Armored Slam.
- Her general damage and knockback are stellar, especially if she manages to charge the attack.
Of course, there are a lot more reasons why Garnet is a strong fighter (most of the cast is, which is why the game is so fun), but these are the most obvious ones. So, with all this, why aren't there more Garnets in online play? Well, it's because the community has decided that her cons outweigh the benefits.
Why Garnet Isn't Played Currently
Now, hopefully, a lot of these flaws below will be fixed in a future update as Tony Huynh, MultiVersus' Director has stated that buffs are coming for her. But, for now, these are the primary reasons that Garnet is rarely seen:
- Garnet struggles to recover both Vertically and Horizontally, especially if her Gem Dash is down. And, even when she's attempting to recover, if the opponent chases her off the ledge, it's difficult for her to stop them from confirming the Ringout.
- Other than her Starburst Neutral Attack, Garnet's Aerial game is pretty weak, and a lot of MultiVersus' combat takes place in the air. Her Flying Combo has a small hitbox and the second punch doesn't come out if she's too close to the ground, and her Meteor Punch, while powerful, also has a tight hitbox that can be hard to position for.
- At the moment, a lot of the Garnet players online are the ones who rely too heavily on her Crystal Combo, and this has given the character a negative impression overall as players have started to assume a Garnet will play this way by default.
- Because a good portion of Garnet's attacks are both slow and have tight hitboxes, she loses out in most exchanges, especially during the chaotic moments of a Teams match.
- She doesn't have a ton of easily-executable extended combo potential, mostly just two or three Attacks.
- And lastly, Steven Universe isn't quite as popular as the rest of the IPs that MultiVersus' roster is from, so she doesn't have as many fans sticking with her based on their love for her source material.
A lot of these negative aspects can be overcome by a player with a lot of skill who also puts the time into mastering her. However, because a lot of the roster has a much lower barrier for getting "good" with the character, Garnet is left by the wayside a lot.
Garnet's Move List & The Best Usages For Each Move
Now, Garnet is one of the few characters in MultiVersus who doesn't have a Passive, and while this makes learning her a bit easier overall, it also gives her a bit less depth. That said, let's briefly go over what her Rythym Stacks do, and then go into all of her Normals and Specials:
- Rythym: Garnet's unique Buff that she applies to both herself and her ally. Both Garnet and her ally can only gain a max of two Rythym stacks at one time and each of the two stacks has a different effect. At one stack Garnet (and her ally) gain a Speed Boost and at two stacks they're able to Armor Break with any Melee attack while the Buff lasts. Overall, the speed isn't incredibly noticeable, but the Armor Break is especially helpful against certain matchups like Superman, Wonder Woman, or Shaggy.
Garnet's Normal Attacks
Attack Name | Attack Input | Usage |
|---|---|---|
Gauntlet Strike | Neutral+Attack | One of Garnet's least-used moves overall, as it's basically a worse version of Superman's Neutral+Attack in every way. It doesn't travel nearly as far and has a more obvious windup. Still, it does have a whole lot of knockback to it and can be a great method of punishing enemies who approach on the ground too much. |
Starburst | Aerial Neutral+Attack | By far one of Garnet's best Attacks overall. This attack is Charge-able, has a wide hitbox, and can even spike opponents if she hits them with the ends of either of her feet off the ledge. This move is commonly used to push back approaching enemies in the air or deny them when they're trying to get back on stage. |
Crystal Combo | Side+Attack | Garnet's "bread-and-butter" attack and the one players will easily see her using the most. This combo has three variations, and each one serves a different purpose:
|
Flying Combo | Aerial Side+Attack | This is the Attack Garnet players tend to approach with a lot since the first punch is deceptively fast and the second punch has a good amount of knockback. But, it does have a relatively tight hitbox around Garnet's fists. Consequently, players tend to mostly use it to approach opponents on or near the ground, as using it high in the air gives them too many ways to avoid it. Also, players can space themselves so that the first punch intentionally misses while they're moving toward their target and the second one lands. |
Double Jab | Up+Attack | Unlike a lot of Garnet's moves, this Attack actually has a bigger hitbox than it might seem, allowing her to use it while on top of enemies to punch them upward. It's a great surprise move and a great way to punish a player coming down in the air who isn't being careful enough. And, the fully-Charged Variant having an additional punch that knocks back more and reaches higher gives Garnet a way to trick her enemies into taking a hit as well. |
Rising Gauntlet Strike | Aerial Up+Attack | An Attack used by Garnet quite a lot, but not exactly an amazing Attack overall. Garnet punches upward twice, but the hitbox is tight and it can be hard to hit. Additionally, the knockback of this move is nowhere near as strong as some of her other Attacks or even the Up+Attacks of other characters. |
Shocking Slam | Down+Attack | This is Garnet's best "mind games" type attack. Because the length of the electricity on the ground is dependent on how long she Charges this Attack, Garnet can use that mechanic to trick opponents into thinking they're safe, only to hit them with the Slam. Additionally, if they're hit by the electricity they're knocked toward Garnet in the middle, making it easy for her to Attack out of this as well. Lastly, this Attack has Armor on it, even if there isn't an "Armor" icon above her head while using it, so it's another move she can trick players into Attacking her while charging it. |
Meteor Punch | Aerial Down+Attack | Garnet's Spike and overall the best move to use while fighting enemies on the Ledge. If the opponent can't move much to the left or right, this Attack is easy to hit. But, if they have free movement, this Attack missed a lot more than it hits. That said, if players just short hop into Meteor Punch, it can be an easy way to start a combo or build up some damage. |
Garnet's Specials
Special Name | Special Input | Usage |
|---|---|---|
Stronger Than You | Neutral+Special | As it currently stands, Garnet's Stronger Than You Special isn't nearly as useful as the developers likely intended. Now, they did buff this move's windup in the Season 1 patch so that it comes out much faster, but it wasn't quite enough. It's too difficult for Garnet to use this Special to block a projectile, hit the projectiles so that they fly back at the enemy, and then also get out of the animation for this Special without getting Attacked. Still, it's worth using for the Rhythm stacks and does have some specific matchups or moments where it's very helpful. |
Rocket Fist! | Side+Special | By far Garnet's best Special. Rocket Fist literally shoots Garnet's two Gauntlets forward similar to Snake's Remote Missile from the Super Smash Bros franchise. That said, players don't have nearly the same amount of control on the Fist's flight path as they do for Snake's Remote Missile. Still, Rocket Fist is a great tool for getting the pressure off Garnet, Attacking an enemy off-stage safely, or setting up her Marker for Gem Dash using her "Marker" Signature Perk. Additionally, the "Shoulder Charge" Garnet does while Rocket Fist is on Cooldown is relatively useful for recovering with. |
Spark Of Love | Up+Special | At the moment, Spark of Love has some uses but is another one of Garnet's Specials that isn't used all too often. When people use this move, it's typically to put Spark of Love on Cooldown so that Garnet will use the Overhead Clap instead. Still, it's a great tool for stopping an approaching enemy while also setting up a stage hazard and/or electric buff for allies. |
Flying Crossarm | Aerial Up+Special | This Special is Garnet's vertical recovery as well as her "T-Pose" Special. When using it, Garnet rises up a bit in the air and literally T-Poses, knocking any enemies hit upward. This Special is used relatively often as it surprises opponents easily and has a deceptively large hitbox that can Ringout at decent percentages. That said, it's honestly awful for recovering. |
Gem Dash | Down+Special | And finally, there's Garnet's Gem Dash and her most "technical" ability. Using this, players "put down" a star-shaped Marker wherever the ability is used. Then, when Garnet presses the input again, she'll fly to the Marker, and grab any enemies in her flight path. If the Marker is on an ally, Garnet can use this Dash to cancel their Hitstun and Knockback as well as refresh their Air Options. So, this Special has a lot of uses. But, its best usage, by far, is when Garnet places the Marker just a bit below the "ledge" of a map and carries an enemy here, as the enemy will bounce off the stage wall and set Garnet up for either an easy spike or Ringout. |
MultiVersus is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.