Nexus Heroes / Lady Maria

Lady Maria (時計塔のマリア, Tokei-tō no Maria) is a playable character in Nexus Heroes, hailing from Bloodborne, and more specifically the DLC Bloodborne : The Old Hunters, in which she debuts. She was revealed as the first DLC character for the game in a Blog Post on September 24th, alongside Quote. She is part of the Season 1 pack.
==Who is Lady Maria?==
===THE OLD HUNTRESS===
As skilled with a hunter's tools as one may get, Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower was, alongside her mentor Gehrman and others, part of a group of famed beast hunters tasked with liberating the city of Yharnam from the scourge of monsters that had afflicted it. First devoted to the Hunt, then obsessed with uncovering the secrets of the primordial beings known as the Ancient Ones, the story of Lady Maria would end in tragedy, as she now resides in a realm known as the Hunter's Nightmare, guarding a dark secret that she'll defend with her own life.
==Gameplay==
===Overview===
A heavyweight swordfighter with slow but hard-hitting attacks, Maria mainly fights using Rakuyo, her much adored blade, in both her regular and transformed variants : a twin-blade form, wielded with one hand, and a dual wield form, using the dagger and saber in each hand. The twin-blade form is mainly used for Strong Attacks, while most of her normals see her use the dual wield form. Maria's strikes are precise and deadly, being able to inflict severe damage to opponents, though their windup is pretty slow, meaning that Maria favors attacking when foes leave themselves open to be attacked. While she doesn't rely on combos, a single, well-placed strike of her is enough to make her enemies deeply regret a mistake.
Her attacks have also a pretty wide reach, despite possessing a pretty narrow hitbox on her various blades attacks. Precision is key, when fighting with Lady Maria. And while her attacks aren't the fastest, her movement speed is pretty balanced, offering a good ground mobility, though a poor one in the air, where she tends to struggle. 
Maria's specials are varied, and tie into her offensive playstyle with devastating strikes and precision hits. Worthy of notice is her Down Special, which sees her use Evelyn, the Cainhurst-forged pistol : this attack differs from how guns are usually employed with other fighters, as rather than a long ranged projectile, Evelyn fires a short ranged bullet which doesn't count as a projectile. Instead, it's a rather weak hit, with a specific mechanic to it : if the bullet interrupts an enemy's attack, they'll be stunned for a moment, allowing Maria to strike with one of her stronger moves, such as her Neutral Special. 
*VILE BLOOD : Maria has a unique mechanic inspired by her battle in Bloodborne : when she reaches 100%, she will enter a state called "Vile Blood", which sees Maria employing the use of the blood techniques proper of her Cainhurst heritage. Rakuyo's blades will now be covered in blood, which extends the length of the swords, as well as boosting the speed of her strikes. Maria becomes a much deadlier combatant in this state, as some of her Specials also gain new, powerful properties. She may frown upon the use of blood in combat, but she'll do anything to claim victory in Nexus Heroes.
===Movelist===
 	Name 	Description
Neutral Attack
,,	Sullen Rest > Faltering Dream > Unending Nightmare	An inward slash with her saber, then an outward one with the dagger, and then concludes with a double outward slash with both blades.
Dash Attack
Dash,	Graceful Demise 	Kneels, halting her momentum, and performs a low slash with the saber.
Side Tilt 	Reign of the Hunt > Rule of Violence 	Stabs in front of herself with the saber, then slashes down with the dagger.
Up Tilt 	Impending Gloom 	An upward, full circle swing of the saber, quickly followed by another one with the dagger. The first hits drags enemies into the air, and the second one hits right after.
Down Tilt 	Blind Knowledge 	A sweep with both blades held close, with a long outward reach.
Forward Strong
+	Cursed Sight 	Fuses Rakuyo into its twin-blade form, then performs a powerful outward slash.
Up Strong
+ 	Eternal Lament 	Fuses Rakuyo into its twin-blade form, then slashes upward with it, covering a wide area.
Down Strong
+ 	Teachings of Old 	Fuses Rakuyo into its twin-blade form, then performs a double slash with it ; in front and then behind herself, low to the ground.
Neutral Aerial
Airborne	Mania 	A quick rotating attack with the saber and dagger.
Forward Aerial
Airborne	Ultimate Liberation 	Stabs her saber in front of her, similarly to the first hit of her Side Tilt.
Back Aerial
Airborne	Vile Yearning 	A slash from high to low with the steel sword dealt while turning back.
Up Aerial
Airborne	Beast Fangs 	Points the saber and dagger above herself, hitting with two powerful stabs.
Down Aerial
Airborne	Dawn of Blood 	A circular attack similar to her Neutral Aerial, but aimed at a downward angle, and which hits twice.
Grab 	Grab 	Holds the opponent by the neck with one hand, lifting them up.
Pummel
, 	Hunter's Torment 	Hits the opponent with the hilt of her dagger.
Forward Throw
,	Torn Heart 	Stabs both her saber and dagger into the opponent, then pulls them out with strength, causing the opponent to be launched away.
Back Throw
, 	Quick Strike 	Teleports at the opponent's back, then fires a bullet from her pistol, Evelyn, which launches them backward.
Up Throw
, 	Gracious End 	Uppercuts the opponent into the air with a powerful punch.
Down Throw
, 	Visceral 	Stabs her fist into the opponent, pulls them close as if hugging them, then pulls away, releasing her hand from their chest and letting them drop down to the floor.
Floor Attack
Grounded >	Quick Resurgence 	Gets into a kneeling position while performing a spinning attack with her blades.
Edge Attack
Ledge >	Nightmare's Host 	Climbs back up and performs a low slash to the ground with her saber.
NEUTRAL SPECIAL	Falling Petal 	Rears back with the saber and dagger, then slams them down to the ground in front of her for a powerful slash. It's an extremely strong attack, but to be used carefully due to its long wind-up animation. If used in the air, the downward slash will spike opponents. When Maria is in Vile Blood state, this attack gains a lot more range, and it also briefly stuns opponents.
SIDE SPECIAL 	Blood River 	Maria holds out her saber, then quickly lunges forward for a good distance, crossing up opponents with a rapid slash which lifts them up slightly. When in Vile Blood state, Maria has Super Armor on startup, allowing her to perform the attack uninterrupted.
UP SPECIAL 	Spiraling Madness 	Rises diagonally upward while spinning around with her blades, hitting multiple times and launching opponents. Despite the sluggish startup, it's a good anti-aerial move, and can also be used to recover. When in Vile Blood state, Maria will dive back to the ground with a slash at the apex of her initial jump.
DOWN SPECIAL 	Stagger 	Kneels and swiftly pulls out her pistol, Evelyn, pointing it in front of herself and firing a silver bullet. The bullet has a short range and does not act as a projectile, and is also fairly weak. However, it will cause stun if it hits an opponent that is in the midst of an attack, allowing Maria to punish accordingly.
FINISHER 	Corruption 	Maria starts levitating, holding out her blades while saying "You are free, now". A crimson red explosion will then come out of her, stunning and dealing high damage to anyone nearby. She will then zip in front of herself while slashing the air multiple times, leaving fiery traces of her slash behind, all of which deal a great amount of FIRE* damage, as well as launching opponents away.
===Intro Animation===
Maria gets up from a kneeling position, holding the Rakuyo, which she then transforms into its dual wield form.
===Taunt===
Performs the Hunter's Salutation, in which she bows slightly while bending one arm in front of herself. During this, she says "Embrace .. death".
===Idle Poses===
*Shakes off her cape.
*Lowers her gaze, and closes her eyes. Maria holds this pose for as long as she does not perform any other action.
===Quotes===
====Selection Lines====
*" Time to liberate you. "
*" A hunter should be left alone. "
*" Very well. "
====Successful KO====
*" Revel in an honest death. "
*" You are cured. "
*" Make not the same mistake. "
*" What lies ahead is not worth the suffering. "
*" Know peace, brave soul. "
*" You could never understand .. "
*" This .. is for your own good. "
*" You must accept death. "
*" A sporting hunt, indeed. "
*" The nightmare swirls unending .. "
*" May you find your worth in the dream. "
====Respawning====
*" I shall keep striving. "
*" I will not awake .. "
*" All of this shall not be forgotten. "
*" A corpse .. should be left well alone. "
*" The blood .. it sings to me. "
*" Do you hear my prayers .. ? "
*" The dream shall not be left abandoned. "
*" I see. A hunter must hunt. "
*" I know this all too well .. "
===Victory Poses===
*UP : Holds her saber up and her dagger outward to the side, as if positioning them like hands of a clock, then lowers her gaze while holding her pose.
*SIDE : Shakes off her cape and turns her back to the camera, then glaring at it from over her shoulder while saying "Such beastly idiocy .."
*DOWN : Maria lowers her gaze and takes a seat on a chair behind her, crossing her legs and holding Rakuyo. She then closes her eyes with a sigh.
==Arcade Mode==
Lady Maria starts off her Arcade Mode against Crash, Ezio and Delta in Raccoon City, acting as a nod to first section in Bloodborne, which takes place in Central Yarnham. Ezio and Crash represent the Huntsmen which are often accompanied by Rabid Dogs, while Delta references larger enemies, such as the Brick Troll or the Executioner. The stage, Raccoon City, is much like Yarnham, in the fact that it is a decadent city overrun by monsters. The second encounter is against Rick, who acts as a sort of nod to Father Gascoigne, the first mandatory boss in Bloodborne. Aside from getting his strength from blood as well, Rick is like Gascoigne in the fact that he mutates into a hulking monster like Gascoigne does during his battle. The stage, while not referencing any location in particular, maintains an ongoing theme of having every stage in Maria's Arcade Mode being at night or in the dark (except for her Rival's stage).
After she completes a Bonus Stage, Maria fights her third battle, this time in a royalty-themed match : she faces Kitana, Zagreus and Sakai, all opponents who have royal blood, much like she does. The stage, 1989, with its red sun, is a reference to the Blood Moon from Bloodborne, an important turning point of the game's story. The following encounter pits Maria against two opponents whose past deeds are just as tormenting as hers : she fights Kratos and Nightmare in the Astral Chaos stage. The stage's name, coincidentally, is similar to that of her own stage, the Astral Clocktower.
Her second to last battle before the boss is against the Prince, and takes place in her home stage. The fight is themed around time and clocks, as the stage is in a Clocktower and the Prince is famous for being able to manipulate time itself. After this battle, Maria faces her Rival : like all other DLC characters, her Rival is chosen among the characters in the base roster, and her assigned one is Geralt, who is another famed hunter of beasts and monsters. 
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music 	
1 	Crash
 Ezio
 Delta	Raccoon City 	Raccoon City 	
2 	Rick 	Temen-Ni-Gru 	Subhuman 	
Bonus Stage 1	Bonus Stage 1	Bonus Stage 1 	Bonus Stage 1 	Bonus Stage 1
3 	Kitana
 Sakai
 Zagreus	1989 	Decade Dance 	
4 	Kratos
 Nightmare	Astral Chaos 	Pavor Nocturnus 	
Bonus Stage 2	Bonus Stage 2	Bonus Stage 2 	Bonus Stage 2 	Bonus Stage 2
5 	The Prince 	Astral Clocktower 	Lady Maria Of The Astral Clocktower	
6 	Geralt 	Kaer Morhen 	Geralt Of Rivia 	
7 	Kerrigan 	Kerrigan's Leviathan	Conscience 	
==Alternates==
===Alternate Colors===
*BROWN : Default appearance, based on her appearance in Bloodborne.
*WHITE : Based on the Choir Set from Bloodborne.
*YELLOW : Based on the Henyrk's Hunter Set from Bloodborne.
*RED : Based on the Foreign Set from Bloodborne.
===Alternate Costume===
File:PN LADYMARIA RENDER.png|"Default" Costume
File:PN LADYMARIA ALT.png|"Knight's Set" Costume
*Default : Based on her appearance in Bloodborne.
*Knight's Set : Based on the Knight's Set from Bloodborne.
==Trivia==
*She is the first character in Nexus Heroes to hail from a DLC in her own game series.
**Fittingly, she is also the first DLC character to be added.
*She and Undyne are the only characters in the game that have never been playable in any game prior to Nexus Heroes.
*Her name in japanese translates to "Maria of the Clocktower", making her the only character in the game whose name in japanese differs from the english one.
*Game designer AlwaysDREGOL suggested that a character from Bloodborne was meant to appear in the base game, but it eventually got pushed into a DLC slot because of timing.
*Faithfully to Bloodborne, Maria uses the Quickening technique when dodging.
*After using a Strong Attack, and therefore transforming Rakuyo, Maria's idle stance will change to reflect the change, holding the fused Rakuyo in one hand and Evelyn in the other. When using a Normal attack, she'll revert back to her usual stance.
Category:Characters