GBVSR/Mechanics

Guard

Guarding, commonly known as Blocking, is the fundamental form of defense in fighting games.

Guarding normal attacks completely prevents them from doing damage. Most Skills, Skybound Arts, and Super Skybound Arts inflict a small percentage of their damage through guard. This is known as chip damage. When a character guards, they are put into a state known as blockstunWhen a character successfully blocks an attack while standing or crouching, the defender is forced into a stun animation for a set period of time where they are incapable of acting. This period of time is called blockstun. during which their ability to act is mostly taken away.

Pushback

Guarding an attack also pushes the defender back. This phenomenon is called pushback. The amount of pushback varies by attack, though generally the higher the Attack Level, the more pushback. Some attacks even pull in the defender instead of pushing them back (known as vaccum)! When the defender guard a strike in the corner, pushback is applied to the attacker instead, making sure that the net pushback both characters experience is the same regardless of corner. This corner effect does not apply to projectiles, but does apply to strikes from Nier's partner Death.

Block Carryover

During blockstun the defender will automatically block other attacks regardless of what direction the defender holds until blockstun ends! This effect is known as Block Carryover and lets the defender more easily prepare reversal inputs and more safely input Instant Blocks.

Block carryover ends immediately when blockstun ends, even if it's only a one frame gap
Block carryover works even when the opponent switches sides.
Defenders must still block correctly - low attacks must be blocked low, and high attacks must be blocked high
- Hold any downward direction to block low. All other directions will block high.

Grounded Guard

Hold or While Grounded or Hold or + While Grounded

Basic ground guarding (also known as blocking) is the most common defensive option.

There are 2 types of ground guard: standing guard and crouching guard. Standing guard will block high and mid attacks, while crouching guard will block mid and low attacks. An incorrectly-blocked attack will result in the blocker getting hit instead. A single "!" will appear over a character if they incorrectly guard a low, and a "!!" for incorrectly guarding a high.

Unblockable Attack

Some attacks cannot be guarded against. These generally fall into three categories: throws, Guard Crushes and unblockables.

Throws are proximity based attacks which cannot be guarded against.
Guard Crushes are special strikes that puts opponent on a special state on block where they cannot perform any action except Brave Counter.
Unblockables are special strikes which hit opponents even if they guard. Unblockables such as Siegfried's Ultimate VerdrängenGuardUnblockableStartup35Recovery26AdvantageHKD must be avoided in some way other than guarding, such as with an Evade or invincibility frames.

Note that for various reasons, GBVSR's training mode and replay viewer will refer to "high" attacks as "overhead" and "mid" attacks as "high". Dustloop Wiki has opted to use the "mid" terminology for attacks that can be blocked both standing and crouching, while "overhead" or "high" are used interchangeably for attacks that must be blocked standing.

Airborne Guard

Hold or While Airborne or Hold While Airborne

While there is no high/low blocking in the air, many attacks are air unblockable. As a rule of thumb, projectiles are air blockable, while all grounded normal attacks and all versions of Skills are air unblockable.

Landing while in air blockstun does not cancel out the remaining blockstun - instead you will transition immediately into ground standing blockstun for the remainder of blockstun. For example, after blocking an attack in the air that causes 20F air blockstun, you land after 15F. That means after landing, you will be in blockstun for 5F before you can return to neutral.

In the frame data on Dustloop Wiki, an attack that is air blockable will have their Guard values listed as All. Note that this is not the same as Mid, as these attacks are air unblockable.

Instant Blocking

Begin Guard Right Before An Attack Connects (8 Frame Window)

Instant Blocking (IB) is an advanced form of blocking, that comes with its own specific merit aside from simply holding back. On a successful IB, the defender will flash white and the word "Just!" will appear on the HUD. Mistiming an IB temporarily locks out IB , which prevents mashing IB.

Instant Blocking has the benefit of building 1% additional Skybound Gauge than normal blocking would. Instant blocking does not reduce chip damage or blockstun, nor does it allow you to make "illegal" blocks: you still must block high/low correctly and air unblockable attacks are still air unblockable even with IB.

Using the button alone cannot trigger IB, but + manual blocking with , and can.

Guard Crush

Attacks with Guard Crush put the defender in a unique stun animation where they cannot move, attack, or guard but can spend a Bravery Point to perform a Brave Counter to push the attacker away.

The amount of frame advantage granted by a Guard Crush varies by move, though most are plus on block. Some are even plus enough that they can lead to a combo if the defender does not Brave Counter!

Grounded Movement

Walking

[4] or [6] while on the ground

Walking is the most basic form of movement, performed by holding or . While to the untrained eye, walking seems so basic that it's boring, it's actually very useful in GBVSR. Walking can be immediately cancelled into any other action, thus giving players the most flexibility to immediately react to the opponent's actions. Players often use walking to safely reposition themselves slight distances in order to maintain optimal range for their attacks.

Each character has [[different walk speeds, and different speeds between forwards and backwards. Characters also build Skybound Gauge quickly by walking forward, good in a pinch if you're almost at 50% or 100% meter.

Running

6[6] while on the ground, or

Running is the second and can be done by either double tapping and holding forward (e.g. ) or by pressing the Dash button. Running is faster than walking and also gains Skybound Gauge, but comes with one major drawback - running cannot be canceled into guarding, though all other actions are possible. Releasing forward (or the Dash button) stops running and puts characters into a 32F skidding animation before coming to a full stop. The first 5F of skidding animation has the same cancel properties as running (i.e. no guard, all other actions available), but all actions are available afterwards.

Running is a medium risk/reward option - you can quickly advance on your opponent, but you will need to compensate for the inability to guard. Just like walking, each character has different run speeds.

Running Momentum

Momentum gained from running carries over into most other actions. This means running then forward jumping will travel further than a normal forward jump, and a running f.L will have more range than a regular f.L.

Momentum can open up new punish and combo opportunities.

Backdash

44 while on the ground, or

Backdash is often used for quick retreats.

Be warned that backdashes do not have any invincibility. Most characters' backdash are considered airborne during the first part of the move, thus making them naturally invulnerable to ground throws. For characters with an airborne backdash, the last frame of backdash is Standard Landing Recovery allowing them to Guard, Evade, or Cross Over. The rest is completely vulnerable to strikes and can easily be punished!

Backdashes using the Dash Button can be toggled off in the button configuration.

Evade

4+ while on the ground

Commonly referred to as "dodge" or "spotdodge".

Evades is useful for dodging attacks while standing your ground. The duration of an evade is long, so there's usually not enough time to punish the opponent afterwards, but it will throw off the opponent's gameplan. An Evade can dodge all attacks, but will lose against throws.

Total: 29F
- 1-25F Strike and Projectile InvulnerabilityA state where a character cannot be hit. A common component of reversal moves.
- 26-29F in Counter Hit state

Cross Over

6+ while on the ground

Commonly referred to as "roll". Cross Overs will dodge incoming attacks while moving the character forward. However, characters are still vulnerable to throws and attacks hitting their lower half. It is a useful tool to get through standard projectiles while still advancing forward.

At close range, performing Cross-Over can side switch the opponent and start your own pressure against a committal blockstring option, such as a fireball.

All Characters Except Ladiva

Total: 29F
- 1-21F Above Knee InvulnerabilityA state where a character cannot be hit. A common component of reversal moves.
- 4-17F Passthrough (no collision box)
- Counter Hit state and throwable for the entire duration

Ladiva

Total: 33F
- 1-22F Above Knee Invulnerability
- 4-17F Passthrough (no collision box)
- Counter Hit state and throwable for the entire duration

Aerial Movement

Jumping

Any Upward Direction while on the ground

Jumps are generally the highest risk/reward movement option, since your options are the most limited - you are in a set jump trajectory, and can not guard air unblockable attacks. The direction of a jump depends on whether , , or was used. After going airborne, you cannot block for 4 frames.

High Jump

Any Downward Direction > Any Upward Direction while on the ground

High Jumping is one of the secondary means of getting around from ground to air movement and can be performed by going from neutral , then tapping any downward direction (), then tapping any upward direction (). The upward input () will change which direction you high jump, just like normal jumping. If a high jump passes over an opponent, your character will automatically turn to face them.

Prejump

Jumps and High Jumps are not instantaneous - before going airborne, character will enter a crouching state called prejump. During prejump they can not guard, but are invincible to throws. If a character is hit during prejump, they will be in crouching state.

Characters have different amount of prejump frames, but the rule of thumb is that the heavier/slower a character is, the longer the prejump. Exact values for prejump can be found in each character's frame data, though it is usually 4 frames. This, combined with the lack of air blocking for the first few frames, means you cannot block for 8 frames after inputting up4 default frames prejump + 4 frames of being unable to block on a 4 frame prejump character.

It is actually possible to cancel prejump into Skills and Skybound Arts, though for most characters is not used very often. The reason for this is that Skills that involve an Up input, such as Charlotta's Holy Ladder ([2]8X) or Ladiva's Jewel Resort Screwdriver (360X) can be used without going through hoops to hide the jump input (such as whiffing moves beforehand). It also allows players to be slightly sloppy with their inputs and still get specials (ex 2369L instead of 236L).

Landing Recovery

Landing from the air has recovery. This recovery comes in 2 kinds: Standard Landing Recovery and Special Landing Recovery.

It is worth noting that the frame before actually landing is considered grounded. Meaning during this frame, getting hit will result in ground hitstun and ground throws can hit.

Standard Landing Recovery

Whenever the player lands from being in the air, they experience landing recovery.

During the first 5 frames of landing the following actions are disabled: forward/backward walk, all jumps, and forward/back dash.
During the first 2 frames of landing the following actions are disabled: attacking
All other actions are available immediately on landing - notably Guard, Evade, and Cross Over

Special Landing Recovery

Airborne moves, such as jumping normal attacks and air throws, will apply unactionable landing recovery which overrides the standard landing recovery. This recovery does not have a unique animation, and the length of time the character is unactionable depends on the move used. This is noted in the L+X part of the frame data, where X is the length of such type of recovery e.g. all jumping , , and normals have a recovery of L+1.

Ground Recovery and Knockdown

/ or / + or or or right before touching the ground

Ground Recovery is the preferred way of recovering after getting knocked down. The version recovers in place, while the version moves the character backwards. Using back ground recovery can weaken the okizeme options available to the opponent due to the extra distance, but gives up space and moves you closer to being cornered. Most players should Recover when given the opportunity, and only not use it when taking a calculated risk.

Ground Recovery can be buffered 5F before landing, and can be done during the first 6F after landing. After the window has passed, characters are knocked down for a minimum ??F. If a character does not Ground Recover, then they will transition to a Knockdown state automatically.

When a character is knocked down, they are unable to move and are usually vulnerable to more complex and powerful okizeme options since the attacker has more time to prepare. Certain attacks disable ground recovery, and the defender will be forced into a down state called Hard Knockdown. As a rule of thumb, Sweeps, all Normal Throws, Ultimate Skills, and Skybound Arts all cause Hard Knockdown. The HUD will show "Down!" after hitting a character with an attack with the Hard Knockdown property.

Air Recovery

Air Recoveries are automatic. Each attack inflicts an amount of time before the defender can air recover based on the attack's Attack Level called untechable time. During Air Recovery, characters are fully invincible until landing and are invincible to throws until landing + 9F.

Touching the ground without Air Recovering - common on Counter Hit, transitions the character into down state where standard Ground Recovery rules apply.

Throws

Throws are proximity based attacks which the opponent cannot guard against. In order to throw an opponent, a few conditions must be met:

The players must be in a similar grounded or airborne state.
- To throw a grounded opponent, the attacker must also be grounded.
- To throw an airborne opponent, the attacker must also be airborne.
The defender must not be in hitstun or blockstun, nor have throw invulnerability.
The players must be within the throw's activation range of each other.

If all of the conditions are met, then the attacker can hit the opponent with a throw.

Normal Throws

+ Within close proximity of an opponent (Air OK)

Normal throws cause a Hard Knockdown, often enabling powerful or more varied okizemeFrom Japanese "起き攻め". Attacking an opponent about to wake up after they were knocked down, usually with meaty attacks or mix-ups. options when they are successful.

To perform a forward throw, press ++ or ++ while on the ground.
To perform a back throw, press ++ while on the ground. Back throws switch sides with the opponent, and are useful when near the stage corners.
To perform an air throw, press + or ++ while airborne. Air throws also have forward and back versions, but unlike grounded throws, the forward and back air throws for all characters are completely identical outside of the direction the opponent is thrown.

The + button input can be replaced by the dedicated button, or +. All normal throws have the following universal properties, regardless of character:

Version	Damage	GuardHow this attack can be guarded. Throws have their throw range listed instead.	StartupShows how many frame that the corresponding move needs to go through in order to reach its active frames.	ActiveShows how many frames where there is a hurtbox, AKA the hitbox where if the opponent touches it, he/she will take damage. Occurs after Startup.	RecoveryShows how many frames that the character must go through after its active frames to automatically go back to a neutral stance.	On BlockThe difference between the attacker's recovery and the period that the opponent is in blockstun. This Frame Advantage value is based off the fact that the very first active frame touches the opponent. Throws list the amount of Frame Advantage upon successfully throwing the opponent.	On Hit	Invuln
Forward/Back Throw	2500	T	4	3	26	-	-	-
Air Throw	2500	T	5	3	L+6	-	-	-

Command Throws

Some Skills and Skybound Arts have throw properties. Ladiva's Jewel Resort ScrewdriverGuardThrowStartup7Recovery46Advantage is one example. These types of throws function the same as normal throws, but cannot be teched and typically have other unique properties, such as higher damage, more startup, and additional hit effects.

Throw Invincibility

Opponents can not always be thrown. Below is a list of situations when the opponent cannot be thrown:

During Prejump
Hitstun/Blockstun + 6F after
Any knockdown regardless of ground recovery + 9F after
Air Recovery + Until L + 9F after
Throw Break + 7F after
Some attacks are throw invincible, which is noted in their Frame Data.

Attempting an attack against an opposing throw attempt while being throw invulnerable will always result in the attack succeeding.

Priority of Strike vs Throw vs Command Throw

When two strikes hit each other, either a clash happens or a character(s) get hit, but what happens when throws are added to the mix?

Throw vs Strike: The throw will win.
Normal Throw vs. Normal Throw: A Throw Break occurs.
Normal Throw vs. Command Throw: The Command Throw will win.
Command Throw vs. Command Throw: The Command Throw which lands first wins. If both land at the same time a Throw Break occurs.

Throw Break

while being Normal Thrown or Input /// while being Normal Thrown

There are two ways to break throws, but they are not created equal! Using a Throw input will leave the attacker and defender even (±0) while inputting any other attack button will leave the attacker at an advantage (+6).

Ground throws have a 13F throw break window and air throws have a 5F window.

Throw Breaks force both players to be invulnerable until recovery ends, so pressing a 6F or faster button after a throw break will connect on frame 7 instead (for most c.Ls, this places advantage at an additional +6 on block).

No Escape!

Throws can not be broken when a character is mid-attack, even during its recovery. The HUD will show "No Escape!" when thrown during these times.

Throw Breaks are also disabled while holding , , , or .

Attack Level

Most attacks in the game deal standardized amounts of hitstun, blockstun, etc. based on their Attack Level. Some moves override these standard values, which will be noted in the frame data. In addition to these exceptions, some attacks knock the enemy into the air, wallbounce, crumple, etc.

Attack Level Table
	Lvl 0	Lvl 1	Lvl 2	Lvl 3	Lvl 4
Hitstun (Ground Hit)	14	16	18	20	22
Untechable (Air Hit)	14	16	18	20	22
Untechable (Air Counter Hit)	28	32	36	40	44
Blockstun (Ground)	10	12	14	16	18
Blockstun (Air)	19	21	23	25	27
Hitstop	10	10	12	14	16
Counter Hit Hitstop	+2	+2	+4	+8	+12
Clash Level	0	1	2	3	4
Combo Limit Scaling	3	3	2	2	2

Crouching hits adds 1F additional hitstun, and more when an aerial move hits a crouching opponent.
Air attacks from levels 0-2 inflict 14F of hitstun, levels 3 and 4 inflict 18F.
Air counter hit doubles the amount of untechable time.
Additional hitstop on counter hit only applies to opponent.
Exceptions to Clash Level and Combo Limit Scaling are listed in a move's frame data notes. e.g. Double Attacks and Triple Attacks all have a Combo Limit Scaling of 3 despite all having an Attack Level of 2 (or Attack Level 3 in the case of the mid Triple Attack).

Priority

When two strikes hitboxes intersect, they may Clash or one might Crush the other. This depends on each attack's Clash Level; equal level attacks will Clash, higher level attacks will crush lower level attacks. This priority system only applies to strikes. Projectiles and throws follow their own priority systems.

As a rule of thumb, each attack's clash level equals their Attack Level. Exceptions to this rule will be noted in the frame data.

Crush

A Crush occurs when two strikes with the different clash levels intersect. This means that one attack beat the other, effectively nullifying the weaker attack. The HUD will show "Crush!" when this happens.

Clash

Clashes occur when two strikes with the same clash level hit each other at the same time. During a clash each player can cancel into almost any attack, run, Evade, or Cross-Over, and each player also gains 10% Skybound Gauge.

Specifically you can cancel into any attack except itself, but c.L, f.L and Skills can cancel into themselves indefinitely, while 2L and j.L can only cancel into themselves a max total of 3 times.

Because of the unpredictable nature of clashes they are often difficult to take advantage of, but players who understand how attacks interact well enough can intentionally cause a clash to cancel out the opponent's attack, then retaliate with their own!

Trades

Clash and Crush only occur when two attack hitboxes intersect. If two attacks hit each other's hurtboxes without touching hitboxes, they will trade and both characters will be hit.

Normal Moves

Press // to perform normal moves. Depending on the current state of your character (standing, crouching, jumping, close to opponent), your character will perform different attacks. As a general rule, / attacks are weak and fast, while attacks are strong and slow.

Double Attacks

// after a close //

After connecting a close normal followup on either hit or block, press // again to perform a unique Double Attack.

Triple Attack Enders

+ // after a Double Attack

After connecting a close normal followup on either hit or block, input and an attack button for a different Triple Attack Ender. Universally:

// or + will perform a fast attack that's safe on block and can be cancelled into Skills.
+ will perform an attack that must be blocked crouching. This attack cannot be cancelled into Skills.
+ will perform an attack that must be blocked standing. This attack cannot be cancelled into Skills.

Sweeps

+

Sweeps must be blocked low, and trigger a hard knockdown when performed on a grounded opponent, making them a great way to set up okizeme. They also buy time to get out of corner and switch sides with a Cross-Over.

Dash Attacks

While running, + // or + + //

Dash attacks are performed while running, and will have different properties depending on the strength of the attack button pressed:

and while dashing is a fast attack that'll leave little room for counterattacks. While dash Lights shares the same frame data, their velocity might differ. Dash lights prevent forward and back dashing for 4 frames after their recovery. This weakens repeated dash light blockstrings compared to how they might seem on paper.
and while dashing results in a mixup attack that'll either need to be blocked crouching or standing depending on your character. For example, Gran's Dash MediumGuardLowStartup12Recovery21Advantage-8 is a long-range low attack, while Ladiva's Dash MediumGuardHighStartup22Recovery22Advantage-14 is a running kick that hits overhead.
and while dashing results in a strong attack with unique properties, such as crumpling the opponent or side-swapping on hit.

Dash attack cannot be canceled into Skills.

Cancels

There are several types of cancels. A cancel is the act of interrupting the current action and starting a different one. While most cancels are available on both hit and block, some are available on whiff, some are only available on hit, and a rare few are even only available on block!

Light Cancels: Close and can cancel into themselves and each other in their early recovery frames even on whiff, but only once each in a given "string"-- meaning without the character returning to a neutral state first. can cancel into far , following the same rules.; This means that close > > far is a legal cancel string, but > close/far > is not.; Versusia is unable to perform Light cancels.
Double/Triple Attack Cancels: When hitting or being blocked, close , close , and close can all cancel into Double Attack by pressing any of those three buttons again, then into Triple Attack by pressing any of them yet again.
Dash Light Cancel: Dash can cancel into close on hit or block only, on the last frame of its recovery.
Skill Cancels: Most normal attacks when hitting or being blocked can cancel their active frames into Skills, Raging Strike, (Super) Skybound Arts, and Evade. This is generally used to create combos and blockstrings, but can have other applications as well. Universal exceptions to this include the low and overhead enders to Triple Attack.
Unique Action Cancels: Most characters can also cancel their normal attacks (except 2U) into their Unique Action on hit or block. Exceptions tend to be characters with parries or command throws, but refer to the table below for specific details.

Ground normals can cancel into 5U	Gran, Djeeta, Katalina, Lancelot, Ladiva, Lowain, Ferry, Zeta, Vaseraga, Soriz, Zooey, Yuel, Eustace, Vira, Anila, Siegfried, Grimnir, Nier, Avatar Belial, Lucilius, 2B, Vane, Versusia
Ground Normals can cancel into 5U, Air Normals cannot cancel into j.U (NoteIt should be noted that most characters can't do this, these are simply listed as their j.U's function exactly the same or extremely similar to their 5U and would be expected to cancel)	Metera, Anre
Normals cannot cancel into 5U	Charlotta, Percival, Seox, Beelzebub, Belial, Beatrix
Ground and Air Normals can cancel into 5U	Narmaya, Cagliostro, Vikala

Prejump Cancel: Characters can cancel their prejump animation into Skills and Skybound Arts.
Kara Cancel: Most normal attacks can cancel the first few frames of their startup into Skills and Skybound Arts.
Clashes: See Clash for more details.

Unique Actions

Any direction (except , or ) +

Unique Actions provide an extra option to a character, such as attacks like Gran's Power RaiseGuardStartup10~127Recovery17Advantage and movement options like Beelzebub's ShadowstepGuardStartupRecoveryTotal 36Advantage.

Skills

Direction + or Motion Input + //

Skills (commonly referred to as specials) are moves that have unique effects and properties. When a Skill is used, it will be rendered unusable until the Skill's cooldown has finished. The Heavy versions of Skills are called Plus Skills (commonly referred to as EX specials). They have improved properties such as wallbouncing opponents or additional hits/damage, but have longer cooldowns.

Using a Skill with a single direction and the button is referred to as a Simple Input Skill. Using a Skill with a Motion Input and the /// buttons is referred to as a Technical Input Skill.

Technical Input Skills performed from cancelling a normal or Sweep are identical to when using the Skill Input equivalent. However, performing a technical input skill outside of a cancel (such as in neutralWhen neither player is in an advantageous position in terms of stage position., a reversalTo perform an attack as soon as possible after getting knocked down or leaving hitstun/blockstun., or a linkTo perform a second action after the first action completely finishes its animation. inside a combo) will result in a 10% damage increase on hit as well as increased chip damage on block for that move. Other properties remain the same.

All the damage values listed on Dustloop Wiki assumes the damage from simple inputs. Exceptions will be noted in the frame data notes.

Skill Cooldown

Top: Skills available
Bottom: Skill on cooldown

Icons for each of your character's Skills are located under their lifebar. When a Skill is used, it will go on cooldown. The corresponding icon for that Skill will darken and will slowly refill over time. Reversal skills will usually have an extended cooldownM: 5 seconds instead of ⅓ seconds
H: 10 seconds instead of 7 seconds
U: 5 seconds instead of 3 seconds to reflect the strength of these moves as well.

All non-Ultimate versions (//) of that Skill can not be used during its cooldown. Ultimate Skills can still be used during the cooldown, but will deal 50% of their damage and add their cooldown time on top of the already existing cooldown of that move.

Reversal Skills

Some skills when used allow the player to escape pressure situations easily with varying amounts of quick starting invulnerability or guard point. These reversal-type skills are subject to being Counter Hit during recovery, allowing the opponent to gain stronger routes by defending against a reversal. These skills usually coincide with skills that have lengthened cooldowns already due to being a reversal, but also applies to some 5U's, Dash H's, as well as all Skybound Arts and Super Skybound Arts.

Ultimate Skills

Direction + + or motion + . Costs 50% Skybound Gauge.

Ultimate Skills are powerful versions of Skills that cost Skybound Gauge to use. They usually improve or dramatically change the properties of a Skill compared to it's non-metered versions.

There are some common properties Ultimate Skills share:

Cost 50% Skybound Gauge to perform.
When not cancelled into, will recover 25% Skybound Gauge on hit, and 12.5% on block.
- Exceptions do apply for moves with Invincibility or Super Armor on startup; they will not recover any Skybound Gauge either on hit or block.
- Can be cancelled into from normals, but will only do 60% damage and no longer refund any Skybound Gauge.
After the Skybound Gauge is used, the player will incur a Skybound Gauge Recovery Penalty for 120F from the Ultimate Skill being input.
Applies Ultimate Skill Slowdown to the opponent on use (see below).
Shorter cooldown compared to the Plus Skill version of the Skill.
Can be used even when a Skill is on cooldown, but will deal 50% less damage. The Skill cooldown will not be replaced by the cooldown of Ultimate version; instead, it will add upon the cooldown it already has, making the cooldown even longer.
When cancelled into and the Skill is on cooldown, it will stack both damage penalties resulting in only 30% damage.

Ultimate Skill Slowdown

Ultimate Skill Slowdown, or just "slowdown" for short, is a state that Ultimate Skills apply to an opponent on use. This application is essentially fullscreen, even if the Ultimate Skill itself doesn't connect.

In general, the slowdown starts at frame 3, and lasts for 15 frames. Some moves have different slowdowns, and some moves such as Belial's Ultimate VassagoGuardStartup3Recovery48Advantage, do not apply their slowdown until conditions have been met.

When the slowdown is applied, the following occurs when looking at frame data:

The attacker's frame data is halved when compared to real time.
- For example, Beelzebub's Ultimate Langelaan FieldGuardMidStartup8Recovery37Advantage-24 takes 14f real time before its first active frame, but is treated as having only 8f startup in game. These in-game numbers are represented on an input's movecards on character pages, and do not take into account real-time slowdown.
The defender's frame data remains accurate to real time.
- For example, if a move is performed during 5f of slowdown that normally has a 13f duration, it can be made to have a maximum of 18f total duration.
- This slowdown applies to each part of a move's duration. 1f of startup becomes 2f, 1f of a move being active becomes 2f, 1f of recovery becomes 2f. This also applies to the duration of states such as invincibility.
- This slowdown will not apply to hitstun or blockstun.

Due to increasing the duration of moves, Ultimate reversals beating safejabs can occur, even though looking at the raw frame data it should not seem to be able to happen.

Example

Gran's c.LGuardMidStartup5Recovery6Advantage+4 can perform Hitstop OS (known commonly as safejabs) on reversals that are less than 7 frames (6 recovery + the last active that hit meaty). Theoretically, it can beat his own 623UGuardMidStartup8Recovery32Advantage-25, but with the slowdown taking into account, the last 5 frames of recovery on c.L got its duration doubled, so the actual recovery of c.L got extended to (1+5×2) = 11 frames.

Adding back the first active frame gives us 12, meaning that it cannot beat his own 623UGuardMidStartup8Recovery32Advantage-25, as it is only 8 frames.

Ultimate Reversals

Every character has one designated Ultimate ReversalExcept for Narmaya, as she has two due to her two stances., either an 8-frame dragon punchGuardMidStartup8Recovery32Advantage-25, frame 1 parryGuardMidStartup1Recovery21Advantage, or some other form of guard pointGuardUnblockableStartup22Recovery34AdvantageHKD +38. All Ultimate Reversals can beat a safejab, but only the parry and guard point types can beat a safejump. Ultimate Reversals are not subject to the same Counter Hit recovery as other invincible skills, but all are negative enough on block for almost every character to get a c.H or f.H punish on block.

As a rule of thumb, a dragon punch type will beat a safejab and a throw but lose to safejumps, a parry type will beat a safejab and a safejump, but not a throw, and a guard point is usually the same logic as a parry, but with other properties to make up for it's lack of speed and versatility.

Bravery Points

Carelessly expending BP opens you up to taking extra damage, so spend them wisely!

Bravery Points (BP) are a resource that is used to perform certain actions as well as manage how much damage you take when attacked. Characters start every round with 3 BP.

Actions that consume BP

Using Raging Strike (-1 BP) or Brave Counter (-1 BP)
Being guard crushed by a Raging Strike (-1 BP).
Being hit by a Skybound Art (-1 BP) or Super Skybound Art (-2 BP) at close-range (excluding "install" Skybound Arts or Super Skybound Arts).

Actions that restore BP

Using a Skybound Art or Super Skybound Art (+1 BP).

Bravery Penalty

The amount of damage characters receive directly correlates to how many Bravery Points they have remaining. A player that's too trigger-happy on their Raging Strikes and Brave Counters may find themselves on the harsh end of a damaging reversal if they're not careful! Extra damage from Bravery Penalty applies to most incoming sources of damage, but does not apply to chip damage or self-inflicted damage such as Avatar Belial's Heavy Skills or Siegfried's Blood of the DragonGuardStartupRecovery8+9Advantage.

3 Bravery Points: Damage taken is not amplified.
2 Bravery Points: Damage taken is not amplified.
1 Bravery Point: Damage taken is amplified by 20%.
0 Bravery Points: Damage taken is amplified by 50%.

When Bravery Penalty is being applied, a character's portrait will begin to flash red.

Bravery Penalty stacks multiplicatively with the Technical Input bonus. For example, using the Technical Input for a Skill without cancelling into it on an opponent with 0 BP will deal 1.5×1.1 = 1.65 times the original damage.

Raging Strike

+ . Costs 1 Bravery Point.

1500

Guard Crush 45 [52]

28 (1)

1

37

+8 [+15]

+15 (KD +40)

Total:65

Raging Strike is a reaction check and combo extender that costs a Bravery Point to perform. The Bravery Point is spent on the active frame, so getting hit during startup will not spend the point.

When a character guards a Raging Strike, they lose one Bravery Point and enter Guard Crush state. Normally, a defender Guard Crushed by Raging Strike will be pushed back a large distance, preventing further offense without the use of Raging Chain or character-specific moves pre-set on the stage. However, if the defender is cornered they can be hit with a follow-up combo even without Raging Chain, as the pushback is negated by the corner. Additionally, if the defender had no Bravery Points remaining before being Guard Crushed they will be in Guard Crush state for longer (putting the attacker at +15 instead of +8), leaving them open to stronger attacks.

When Raging Strike is used during a combo, the strike will be active frame 1 (if canceled into from a normal) and launches the opponent, no matter how it hits. It will not deplete a Bravery Point from the opponent when used this way. Similar to when it is guarded, an opponent hit by Raging Strike will be launched too far for further combo extensions without the use of Raging Chain, character-specific moves pre-set on the stage, or the opponent being in the corner. If more than one Raging Strike is used in the same combo, the second and third Raging Strikes will have a significantly lower launch, forcing the use of Raging Chain to continue the combo.

Evading a Raging Strike will cause a cinematic zoom-in and leaves the attacker at -15 regardless of when the evade was performed.

If a character is already in blockstun when guarding a Raging Strike (e.g. from blocking a projectile), the Raging Strike will not Guard Crush nor deplete a Bravery Point from the defender, and will only deal chip damage, leaving the attacker at +2.

Blocking a Raging Strike leaves the opponent in a Forced Standing state, landing a Raging Strike raw leaves the opponent in a Forced Crouching state, and comboing into Raging Strike launches the opponent instead.

Level

On-Counter Hit

Cooldown

Skybound Art Gauge Gain

+15

Data in [] denotes to the advantage when opponent has no Bravery Points left
Data in () denotes to when move is used mid-combo

Raging Chain

+ after successful Raging Strike. Costs 25% Skybound Gauge.

1000

Mid

13

5

17

+15 (HKD +63)

Total:34

Raging Chain is a followup attack after a successful Raging Strike, either on hit or on block. For 25% of your Skybound Gauge, Raging Chain will force a crouching counterhit on a grounded opponent, allowing for a punishing combo. When connecting with an opponent in the air, it'll instead cause a ground bounce.

The attack deals 1000 damage raw, but when used mid-combo (except after a raw Raging Strike starter) the attack is forced to 50% damage scaling for 500 damage maximum, until the usual combo scaling gets lower in which case it will drop to the maximum of 20% or 200 damage.

If a Raging Strike does not connect and Raging Chain is used, the attacker is left at +4.

Level

On-Counter Hit

Cooldown

Skybound Art Gauge Gain

4

-2500

Data in () denotes when used mid-combo.

Brave Counter

+ during grounded Blockstun or Guard Crush. Costs 1 Bravery Point.

500

Mid

10 [18]

3 [2]

19 [35]

-2

Air Tech +21 [±0]

1-20 All [1-54 All]

M+H(During Blockstun)

Total:31

M+H(During Raging Strike)

Total:54

Brave Counters (BC) are a type of Guard CancelAn attack which can be performed while the user is in blockstun. that may be performed either while in blockstun or Guard Crush state, spending 1 Bravery Point to deal a small amount of damage and send the opponent flying away upon a successful hit. If it counterhits, it will deal a hard knockdownA knockdown that forces the character into a prolonged knockdown state. After a hard knockdown, teching is disabled briefly, allowing the player who is on the offensive more time to set up a meaty, a mix-up, etc.HKD (+54) instead. When used while in blockstun, Brave Counter will send the opponent a short distance away. When used while Guard Crushed, Brave Counter will send the opponent fullscreen.

Damage dealt from Brave Counters cannot K.O. characters. If a BC would bring a character below 500 health, it will deal exactly enough damage to leave them at 500 health or deal no damage at all if they are already under 500.

Brave Counters are slightly minus on block, meaning that even if it's blocked it's still the attacker's turn. That is not to say the move is unpunishable: It is not fully invincible, can be spot dodged (also leaving the dodger at +2), and can be spaced out by or lose to moves that have more invulnerability.

Level

On-Counter Hit

Cooldown

Skybound Art Gauge Gain

4

HKD +54 [HKD +43]

Data in [] denotes to countering a Raging Strike
Clash level 50

Skybound Gauge

Also known as "meter", and often abbreviated to "SBA" or "SBG".

Attacking, blocking, and walking towards the opponent all gain Skybound Gauge. The Skybound Gauge is reset at the beginning of each round.

When your Skybound Gauge reaches 25%, you gain access to Raging Chain, an attack that allows you to combo off a successful Raging Strike. At 50% Skybound Gauge, you also gain access to Ultimate Skills, powerful variants of a character's Skills.

At 100% Skybound Gauge, you gain access to both Skybound Arts and Super Skybound Arts, the latter of which also requires your character to be at 30% HP or lower to activate.

Skybound Gauge Recovery Penalty

Using certain actions will cause the Skybound Gauge to fill at a dramatically slower rate (×0.2 of normal) for a limited period of time. This is also known as "Meter Penalty". The following table lists out the cooldown for each action:

Skybound Gauge Recovery Penalty
Action	Time
Raging Chain	300F starting from the move's startup
Ultimate Skills (outside of combos)	120F starting from the move's startup
Ultimate Skills (during combos)	120F starting from the move's startup, penalty stays until the end of combo
Skybound Arts and Super Skybound Arts	300F starting after the move's recovery

If a new Skybound Gauge Recovery Penalty is started, it overrides the previous value if the current cooldown time is less than the base time given above.

Exceptions

Certain moves have cooldowns different from the list above: For example, Vira's Luminiera MergeGuardMidStartup7+6Recovery23Advantage-15 has only 120F of cooldown starting after the recovery. Such exceptions will be written in the move's frame data notes.

Skybound Gauge Gain

Skybound Gauge Gain Table
Situation	Formula
Walking	16 per frame
Running	10 per frame when in full speed
Jumping forward
Performing a skill (L/M version)	100 or 200
Performing a skill (H version)	200 or 400
Opponent getting hit	Value based on attack × combo decay
Getting hit	Scaled Damage × 0.5
Opponent blocking attack	Value based on attack × 0.5
Blocking attack	Base Damage × 0.18
Instant blocking attack	(Base Damage × 0.18) + 100

A full Skybound Gauge is 10,000 units, so 100 units = 1% of Skybound Gauge.
Values are truncated after the decimal. Ex: 100.3 becomes 100, 35.8 becomes 35.
- Thus a move that generates 100.2 units and a move that generate 100.6 units actually generate the same amount of Skybound Gauge (100 units).
Inputting a skill will immediately give you a fixed amount of Skybound Gauge whether the move hits or not.
Performing a multi-hitting skill will gain gauge only based on how many hits lands.
- Example: A 3-hit special with gauge gain like 400+720, 120×2 will give you 400 upon inputting the special, and the first landing hit (or blocked hit) will give you 720 (360) gauge regardless of which part of the move hits.
Attacks that cost Skybound Gauge do not gain any Skybound Gauge for the attacker.
Instant block formula only applies once to each Instant Block input (aka each time you press Back). Remaining hits gain Skybound Gauge like Normal Block.

Skybound Gauge Gain in Combos

As combos go on, the meter gained from each attack gradually decreases. This is the formula to determine how much meter the second hit onwards gains (the first strike always gains 100% of its default value):

Meter gained = (default gain of that move) × (25 - number of hits) / 32

If Skybound Gauge Recovery Penalty is in effect, multiply the value above by 0.2 (20%). If the combo exceeds 23 hits, the number of hits will be fixed at 23 hits (meaning 1/16th of the default gain for the rest of the combo).

Exceptions

Throws follow the formula above, but have an invisible 0th hit that deals no damage. This means normal throws always gain (25-1)/32 = 0.75 times the amount of meter they originally should. Comboable throws still follow the formula above.

Skybound Arts

Unique Command. Costs 100% Skybound Gauge.

Skybound Arts (or SBAs, commonly referred to as supers) are attacks that deal large amounts of damage or have other special properties like invulnerabilityA state where a character cannot be hit. A common component of reversal moves. or powering up the character. They are often excellent combo enders due to having minimum damage.

Skybound Arts require and cost a full 100% Skybound Gauge to perform. Universally, they can be performed using any of the following methods:

For simple input, +. can be replaced by an actual throw input, being either + or +
For technical input, input + or +

For characters with more than 1 Skybound Art, refer to their character page for how to perform the alternate Skybound Arts.

There are some common features:

All Skybound Arts (with a small number of exceptions) have a brief moment where they pause time during startup, called the superflash. Opponents can buffer moves during this time which makes them generally poor moves to throw out in neutral since it's very easy to react to them.
After the Skybound Gauge is used, the user will incur a Skybound Gauge Recovery Penalty, temporarily reducing the amount of Skybound Gauge they gain.
Skybound Arts (with some exceptions) will recover 1 Bravery Point for the user during superflash.
Skybound Arts will remove 1 Bravery Point from the opponent if they are hit by the SBA and their cinematic condition is met (usually a close-distance hit i.e. early active frames). Skybound Arts that attack without a cinematic will have alternate methods for taking away BP, e.g. Lowain's Nether VeilGuardUnblockableStartup30Recovery15Advantage during Try This on for Size!GuardStartup4+29Recovery31+15Advantage

Skybound Arts will usually have Counter Hit recovery except for a select few install types that do not.

Super Skybound Arts

Unique Command when at 30% or less HP. Costs 100% Skybound Gauge

Super Skybound Arts (or SSBAs) are even more powerful than Skybound Arts, dealing more damage. To perform these, your health must be at 30% or lower, and your Skybound Gauge must be at 100%. Your health bar and Skybound Gauge will turn blue when you meet the requirements. Super Skybound Arts are often excellent combo enders due to having minimum damage.

Universally, Super Skybound Arts can be performed using any of the following methods:

For simple input, press +++. can be replaced by the technical throw input of +.
For technical input, input ++ or +.

There are some common features:

All Super Skybound Arts have a brief moment where they pause time during startup (with a small number of exceptions), called the superflash. Opponents can buffer moves during this time which makes them generally poor moves to throw out in neutral since it's very easy to react to them.
After the Skybound Gauge is used, the player will incur a Skybound Gauge Recovery Penalty.
Super Skybound Arts will recover 1 Bravery Point for you during superflash.
Super Skybound Arts will remove 2 Bravery Points from the opponent if they are hit by the SSBA and their cinematic condition is met (usually a close-distance hit i.e. early active frames).
- As such, all SSBAs that hit and trigger their cinematic will deal at least 1.2x their "true" base damage. For practical reasons, Dustloop Wiki's frame data lists SSBA damage with the 1.2x damage already applied, and any exceptions such as non-cinematic hits will be stated in the frame data notes.
Finishing a match with a Super Skybound Art gives a different cinematic winscreen.

Some Super Skybound Arts may need additional requirements to be activated, such as an additional button input for Gran's Eternal EdgeGuardStartup2+7Recovery48Advantage or Soriz's Way of the Fundoshi FistGuardThrow, MidStartup9+0Recovery42Advantage-26 requiring Macho UltimatumGuardStartup10+0Recovery10Advantage to be used first.