There are four attack buttons: a light attack (A), a medium attack (B), a heavy attack (C), and the character’s Unique Ability (Drive) (D).
Each of the first three buttons has a standing, forward, crouching and aerial normal attack, with C also having a sweep done with down-forward. Some characters have additional command normals, like a back normal or an air down normal.If the Unique Ability is an attack, the same variations rule applies.Most normals can be cancelled into specials & supers.
Movement consists of walking, jumping, double jumping, super jumping, dashing and airdashing, all with the usual inputs.. Everyone can perform a double jump and an airdash, though not both in the same jump. Most characters’ forward ground dash is a run that can be extended indefinitely by holding forward, though there are some with an unextendable step dash.Some attacks can be cancelled into (super) jumps, dashes or both.
Normal throws are performed with B+C simultaneously. You can throw either forward or backward, both on the ground and in the air, though obviously grounded normal throws miss aerial opponents and vice-versa. Inputting a throw shortly after being caught in one will result in a Throw Escape. If you’re thrown mid-combo or in blockstun, the window is longer, indicated by purple exclamation marks instead of green. If you’re thrown while attacking (a “Throw Counter”) or if you attempt a throw escape too early though (a “Throw Reject Miss”), you can’t escape the throw. Some characters have command throws that can’t be escaped normally, though they can be escaped if done as part of a combo or on a blocking opponent.
Most attacks gain benefits on Counter Hit, such as increased hitstun and damage. Certain attacks can also land as Fatal Counters which have more extreme effects and more combo opportunities opened than an normal Counter.
The chain combo system, analogous to Revolver Action, is simply called Chained Assault. Generally, characters can combo attacks with others of the same strength or higher, though some attacks can be Chained into weaker ones.
You can recover from attacks either in the air or on the ground by pressing a button and optionally, a direction. Pressing down and a button while OTG will do a quick stand. Because attacks can be comboed even after an air recovery becomes possible, the combo counter will change color from red to blue and display the hit that rendered it invalid.
The Spell Gauge(Heat Gauge) is the super gauge of the game. It’s also used by numerous other actions as well. Supers, i.e. Spell Cards (Distortion Drives) cost 50% of a full gauge.
Guard Reversals(Counter Assaults) can be performed with forward and A+B simultaneously while blocking.They cost 50% Spell Gauge and are non-damaging attacks that send the opponent flying away.
Guard Crushes(Crush Triggers) can be performed with A+B simultaneously. They cost 25% Spell Gauge and crush the opponent’s block, though the length of this state depends on how long it was held.
Reset Cancels(Rapid Cancels) can be performed with A+B+C simultaneously while attacking. They cost 50% Spell Gauge and reset you to a neutral state, allowing otherwise impossible combos or making unsafe attacks safe. Unlike BB, though, there’s a specific window in most attacks where if you RC them, it will cost only 25% meter. This is called a Forced Reset Cancel, as it can also occur in situations where the normal RC isn’t available, like on whiff or otherwise un-RCable attacks.
Last Words(Astral Heats) are specialized finishing attacks that differ by character. They cost 100% Spell Gauge and also need you to be one round away from winning the match and your opponent at 35% or less health. Unlike BB, you can start a combo leading into a LW when your opponent has more health and and use it the moment the drop into the LW threshold.
In addition to the normal standing, crouching and aerial blocks there’s an Instant Block, which pushes your opponent further if you block at the right time, and the Barrier Block, which can be performed with A+B along with a backward direction to negate chip damage at the expense of the Spirit Barrier Gauge. There’s also an Instant Barrier Block, which combines the two. Bear in mind that if the Barrier runs out you’ll be in the Danger state and take more damage until it recovers to half full.
You can escape from most non-throw, non-Spell attack combos with a Spirit Burst (Break Burst), performed with all four buttons at once. This will empty the Spirit Gauge(OD Gauge) ,however, and you must wait until it recovers to use it again.
Pressing all four buttons normally will result in an Enchantment(Overdrive). This provides you with a character-specific buff for a period of time inversely proportional to your remaining health, starting at five seconds at full or near-full health and gaining a second for every 10% health lost, until you drop at LWable HP, where it caps at 15 seconds. Unlike BB, instead of the timer being frozen, the duration is added to it instead. After it ends, your Spirit Gauge will be at 30% full.
Normally, you can’t burst out of combos done when the opponent is under an Enchant. However, it becomes possible when you are also under an Enchant and the attack wouldn’t be unburstable anyway. Doing so will end both Enchants and leave your Spirit at 30% while the enemy will have none. This will happen even if the Burst fails to connect.
You can start an Enchant by cancelling a normal with one, but it will only last half as long. Unlike BB, if you Enchant Cancel(Overdrive Cancel) at a normal’s FRC window, you will perform a Forced Enchant Cancel that lasts the whole duration. You can also start one while blocking, called an Enchant Revenge(Overdrive Raid), which lasts five seconds regardless of your life.
Not only are your Spell Cards more effective during an Enchant, but if you press all buttons again with no direction (or keep holding them, if you want to do it right away), you can perform a Last Spell(Exceed Accel). This will also end your Enchant, regardless if you hit, get blocked or whiff.
If you perform enough offensive actions, you’ll enter High Tension Mode (Active Flow), which increases your attack power, speeds up Spirit regen, and amplifies your Last Spell. You can actually enter this more than once per round, though each successive time is harder than the last. Landing a Last Spell greatly contributes to HT, enough to automatically activate if you’ve never been in it this round. Bursting will reset all effort towards HT, but it won’t end it.
If you act too defensively without bothering to attack though, you’ll trigger Negative Penalty and be forced into the Danger State for much longer than usual,. It also greatly contributes to the opponent’s High Tension too, and not even an Enchant will help your Barrier!
