Punish Gunflame blockstrings (see description) | Guilty Gear Strive
Punishing Gunflame in Sol's blockstrings can be tricky for two reasons: it is spacing dependent, and the timing can be strict. Additionally, some ranges might require you to either micro walk or utilize Faultless Defense in order to get into the appropriate range to punish. Ride the Lightning essentially always works, so long as you aren't so far away as to collide with the Gunflame.
There are two primary methods for punishing Gunflame strings: HVT (Heavy Vapor Thrust), and jumping over the Gunflame into a combo. While I believe HVT is more consistent and requires less nuance (some ranges require a micro walk), it comes at the expense of dealing less damage.
Here are timestamps for each clip and the meaning behind them:
0:00 - Real match application
0:09 - Sol string 1, HVT punish
0:15 - Sol string 2, HVT punish
0:21 - Sol string 1, Ride the Lightning punish
0:32 - Sol string 1, Faultless Defense jump over punish (FD blocking allows you to jump over the Gunflame. If you FD block the last hit in the string, the additional blockstun caused by Faultless Defense will result in you colliding with Gunflame)
0:38 - Sol string 1, standing block failed HVT punish (In this example, I use standing block to change the spacing between Ky and Sol. For those of you who are unaware, standing block creates more space between the two combatants than crouching block does. This example illustrates how even a minor change in spacing, which could be caused by a number of things, not just standing block, can lead the HVT punish to fail. However, there are ways to circumvent this issue)
0:44 - Sol string 1, standing block micro-walk HVT punish (One solution is to micro-walk briefly before committing to the HVT. To micro-walk, simply walk briefly immediately prior to inputting an HVT. The ability to micro-walk is the reason why I believe HVT is the more consistent punish for Gunflame blockstrings, as micro-walking acts as a sort of blanket solution that can be incorporated at almost any range)
0:50 - Sol string 1, standing block Faultless Defense jump over punish (Alternatively, we can utilize FD blocking as we did in our earlier example. I find this to be less practical, as it requires a large amount of foresight on your part, as well as potentially tipping you opponent off)
0:56 - Sol string 3, failed HVT punish (If Sol skips Far Slash in any of his strings, you are pushed quite far back, similarly to our standing block examples)
1:01 - Sol string 3, jump over punish (I included string 3 because it shows that even when certain ranges disallow an HVT punish without micro-walk, those same ranges can sometimes allow you to jump over the Gunflame without needing to FD block at any point)
If you found this insightful, please let me know; it would mean a lot to me. When I initially started fighting Sol, it felt like he was always plus on block, whether that was in the middle of his strings, or when he ended them with Gunflame. Being able to remove Gunflame from Sol's blockstrings can be a fatal blow to many newer Sol players. If HVT punishes are too challenging, I would highly suggest you at least incorporate Ride the Lightning into your punish game. You can safely pump the motion and only press the button if you see the Gunflame come out.
I know this information may have been dense, but hopefully you found it useful.