Hello, and welcome to Ghurdrich's new and improved Cecil guide! My old guide was full of holes, and it described a playstyle that I now find completely ineffective. Therefore, I bring you version 2.0! This version will have a few strategically placed pictures for your viewing pleasure. So sit back, enjoy the ride, and learn stuff. Remember: If I ever use acronyms, DRK stands for Dark Knight, and PAL stands for Paladin.

Table of Contents
<Note: The three letters in front of a category in the Table of Contents indicate a code that you can Ctrl+F for easy access to a section>

[CBG] Who is Cecil (Background info, etc)
[MSA] Moveset & Analysis
[EXM] EX Mode & Analysis
[COM] Basic combos
[BSC] Basic Strategies
[ATQ] Advanced Techniques
[MUA] Matchup Analysis

[CBG] Who is Cecil? *Really old spoiler alert*

Name: Cecil Harvey
Race: Lunarian
Age: 20
Height: 5'8
Weight: 128 lbs

Cecil Harvey is the main protagonist of Final Fantasy IV. Usually very pensive and full of doubts about himself, upon joining the fight on the side of Cosmos, he assumes a heroic and leaderlike stance among his comrades. However, beneath his strong exterior resides his doubtful and brooding persona. Still, he takes up his blade to protect his friends, and attempt to save his brother, Golbez, who has taken up arms on the side of Chaos.
In Dissidia, he travels with Firion, Tidus, and Cloud. His party searches for the meaning behind their struggles, and in the end, they all come to their own conclusions. After realizing that his friends were there to support him, and that he was not relying on them, but supporting them as well, Cecil obtains his crystal. Unfortunately, Golbez is not to be saved.

Why Cecil?

Cecil as a character relies on two things: A quick mind, and patience. Cecil is at his best when he is played defensively, though an offensive strategy is not out of the question. However, the majority of Cecil's moves are geared towards countering your opponent, and since he has a lot of lag time with most of them, it is more difficult to play him purely offensively.
Cecil also has the added bonus of being able to switch freely between what is essentially two separate characters. This gives him the advantage of being able to adapt. Though he can rumble in the air with the best of them, like Zidane, he can at any point shift to ground play to change the flow of the battle.
The Dark Knight is a slower but more powerful ground fighter, with decent attack speed and high priority on his moves, and most of Cecil's combos must be started from Dark Knight form. DRK will be the source of a lot of your damage, especially with many crits equipped.
The Paladin is a quick and mobile aerial fighter. His actual attacks are slightly slower, however his recovery time is decreased significantly. Good for dodging, or against mages, or really in any situation where you need to think on your toes.

[MSA] Moveset and Analysis

BRAVE ATTACKS:
Dark Knight:
Land:

-Valiant Blow
[Close] Jab foe with blade. Can send foe flying.
Additional Effect: wall rush

This will be your standard attack on the ground. I can't say enough good about Valiant Blow. It's fast, very powerful, has great range, and usually enough recovery time to be able to get away from an opponent that has dodged it. Valiant Blow can also combo into Dark Flame, which is incredibly useful for getting in that elusive HP attack against your opponent.

-Shadow Lance
[Mid] Throw weapon. Major damage if it lands near opponent.
Additional Effect: wall rush

Shadow Lance is Cecil's best damage dealing move if used from point blank. This is the only move you will want to use after a block (Unless you're going for a Valiant Blow -> Dark Flame combo.) In addition to all of its damage, it also wall rushes, just like many of Cecil's other attacks.

-Dark Cannon
[Long] Projectile draws foe. Good start for other combos.
Additional Effect: magic block

Dark Cannon, while not safe as a standalone move, is absolutely a staple in any Cecil's Moveset. Dark Cannon can combo into any of Cecil's ground attacks, whether Brave or HP. In the combo section, you'll see that just about all of Cecil's ground combos involve Dark Cannon. This move also has the handy effect of blocking any small scale magic, which leads to some good setups. If the enemy launches a magic attack at you, use Dark Cannon and you can catch them in their recovery, while their magic just bounces harmlessly off of you, and ideally back in their face. But remember! This attack is highly unsafe as a standalone move, even with mindgames at your disposal. The recovery time is too great for it to be used practically in this way.

Air:

-Gravity Ball
[Mid] Fire off gravity ball. Good start for ground attacks.
Additional Effect: wall rush

This attack is completely useless. Some people may advocate that it is good for starting ground combos, but I really haven't found any practical use for it. Cecil's lag time in the air is too great to really do much of anything during the opponent's minimal recovery time. My advice is to experiment with this move, and if you can find a use for it, then use it, otherwise get rid of it. Cecil has some good HP setups even without this move.

-Nightfall
[Close] High-speed dive. Useful for quick descents.
Additional Effect: chase

Nightfall's strongest suit is that it is a very strong single hitting attack. It has a bit of startup in the air (enough to give the 'block me' signal to your opponent in huge neon letters) but it's absolutely worth using in any way you can. And, at any rate, it's still safer than Paladin Arts.

-Paladin Arts
[Mid] Job Change to Paladin during combo (Gravity Ball -> Searchlight)

Cecil's primary Combo starter in the air. Combos with Sacred Cross and Radiant Wings. Not a whole lot to be said about this. It isn't very safe, so it is not recommended to be used except after a guard. It is possible, depending on the enemy's vertical distance from you, to wait for the first gravity ball to disappear and launch another, further continuing your combo. An excellent move, but not to be used randomly.

Paladin:
Land:

-Slash
[Close] Hit foe upward. Slow but very accurate strike.
Additional Effect: chase

This attack is just crap. Dark Step is better in every way.

-Lightning Rise
[Mid] Charge, then leap. Good start for midair attacks.
Additional Effect: magic block, chase

Under certain conditions, this attack can be good. As a mindgame, or during a long magic attack. It is essentially the same as Dark Cannon in that regard, except it is not nearly as useful. Consider using this move, experiment with it, but in the end, it can be taken off for the extra CP to spend on something more useful.

-Dark Step
[Close] Job change to Dark Knight during combo. (Slash -> Nightfall)
Additional Effect: chase

Pretty much the only attack you will ever need as a grounded Paladin. Unlike being a Dark Knight in the air, there is no purpose for being a Paladin on the ground. Dark Step makes for excellent mindgames, because unlike the Japanese version of Dissidia, you do not need to hit with the Slash portion to combo into Nightfall. This opens up many opportunities. For example, doing Dark Step just out of range of Slash. Cecil will rise up slightly into the air, but evade the opponent's block. And you can delay until the opponent's recovery frames to use Nightfall, and whether the opponent has blocked or dodged, if he was in any way faked out by Slash, Nightfall will hit. It is possibly the best mindgame that Cecil has.

Air:

-Radiant Wings
[Close] Splendid swordplay. Long reach, fast strike speed
Additional Effect: wall rush

Use this attack when your opponent is further from you horizontally than vertically. However, this attack is slow, so use caution when randomly throwing one out. Aside from its horizontal range, the main reason to use this attack is it's wall rush properties. If you use it close to the ground, it opens up possibilities for situational combos, and not to mention the additional crash damage.

-Searchlight
[Long] Launch magic bit. Bit fires projectiles. Effective vs any height, good diversion

Searchlight is mainly used as a distraction, as its in game text imdicates. The startup is terrible, the recovery is terrible, and the damage is not all that good. Why? Simple. First of all, it is a combo starter. The bullets will hold the enemy in place at close range for long enough to combo into Radiant Wings, and of course the infamous Searchlight -> Paladin Force combo, which I will touch on later, in the combos section. In short - equip this, but do not spam it.

-Sacred Cross
[Close] Vertical Charge. Direction depends on position.
Additional Effect: chase

Cecil's best aerial counter, hands down. If you are above the enemy, he will hit them from above. If you are below the enemy, he will hit them from below. If you are on the same altitude as the enemy, Cecil will dip in a vertical direction, and hit them from either side. This small dip is incredibly useful in dodging attacks like Squall's Beat Fang, or Tidus' Dodge and Throw, as the small bit of vertical distance it gives you should be enough to dodge the attack, and counterattack immediately. The other use for Sacred Cross as that it has NO audio cue. Therefore if you are far enough above your opponent so that he cannot see you because of the camera, and you use Sacred Cross, the enemy will have no indication of when to block. This property makes Sacred Cross essential for any of Cecil's mindgames in the air.

HP ATTACKS:
Land (If your job is not already DRK, will automatically change to DRK):

-Soul Eater
[Close] Stab foe, devour his soul. Limited height, quick strike.
Additional Effect: wall rush

This is an amazing attack for a number of reasons. First of all, it is relatively fast (as far as Cecil's HP attacks are concerned) and it also has pretty much the highest priority in the game. This means that it will deflect Emperor's Flares, and break through weaker attacks and guards. It will also stagger Wind Shear, Tornado, Braver, etc, but you will also stagger. Very useful on the ground, useless against an aerial opponent.

-Dark Flame
[Long] Summon dark fire. Slow speed, strong homing.
Additional Effect: wall rush

Dark Flame is highly situational, but still quite good. If the opponent is directly above you, Dark Flame will be undodgeable, and a sure hit. Also can be combod into from Valiant Blow or Dark Cannon for a sure hit. This attack is also a good move to spam if you want the opponent away from you, though be careful when doing this, because of Dark Flame's long recovery and long startup.

Air (If your job is not already PAL, will automatically change to PAL):

-Saint's Fall
[Mid] Focus light and charge. From afar, good vs any height.
Additional Effect: wall rush.

This attack, like Soul Eater, also has good priority, and will stagger with a lot of moves, as well as turn back Flares and break guards. However, like most of Cecil's HP moves, it suffers from long startup and recovery. The advantage is that it has excellent tracking, both vertically and horizontally, and is highly useful against a wall, and as a dodge punisher. Used from point blank, this attack will hit even if the enemy dodges or blocks.

-Paladin Force
[Close] Holy sword magic. Effective against any height.
Additional Effect: wall rush.

Paladin Force is Cecil's Staple HP attack in the air. It has decent range, decent speed, does decent damage and is just generally a very balanced attack. However, in order to achieve this balance, Paladin Force had to sacrifice a portion of its usefulness. While it is his most reliable HP attack, it becomes predictable after a while, and the audio cue is a dead giveaway for your opponent to dodge. And unlike Saint's Fall, as long as your opponent is dodging as you launch the ball of light, Paladin Force will miss. Still, it does more good than harm, and is definitely worth the CP.

[EXM] EX Mode and Analysis

EX Mode: Job Augment

EX Burst: Soul Shift
A chain of attacks combining the power of light and darkness. Enter the commands that appear on both sides of the screen at the same time.

EX Effects:
Regen: Vigor and Stamina recover little by little, restoring HP
Proteus: *Activate with R+[]* Bridles light and darkness to instantly change jobs without attacking
Inner Strength: Each attack is 1.5 times as powerful

Cecil's EX mode is arguably one of the best in the game. His 1.5 times attack power is always incredibly useful, and combined with crits, or a +ATK accessory build, Cecil is capable of dealing crippling combos in EX mode, and absorbing the opponent's brave at a rate that rivals Squall or Kefka. The point being that you should strive to be in EX mode as much as you possibly can. Cecil is only a decent character outside of EX, but in EX mode, he really is incredible.
As for his EX burst, it is used only as a last resort. The amount of damage his burst does is nothing compared to the amount of damage he can pump out in EX. Use Soul Shift only if you are running low on EX, and/or your opponent is close to breaking/death.
Proteus is one thing that I rarely find myself using. Once you become good at switching back and forth between Dark Knight and Paladin, Proteus is really only on a 'need-to-do' basis, or for special occasions and mindgames. For example, I occasionally use Proteus right after Dark Step to shift back into a Paladin on the ground, and follow up with another Dark Step. Or if your opponent is below you in the air while you are a Dark Knight, use Proteus to shift into Paladin and hit them with a Sacred Cross. However, keep in mind that you can only use Proteus at any time during which you could attack. AKA you cannot use it while you are recovering from an attack, during the startup for an attack, when frozen by Chaos Rules, during blocking or dodging, or their recoveries, etc.

=== Double post was automatically merged. ===
And that's that, so far. Any discussion goes in the discussion thread for the guide. Later this week (After holiday stuff) I will be posting combos, matchups, strategies, and builds (Although I may just have a build discussion)

Thanks goes to Belts for the banner, by the way.