Using Meter and Playing Defense in Guilty Gear

Managing the RISC and reward of holding back

Guilty Gear is, by nature, a very aggressive fighting game. Characters move forward very quickly around the screen with air dashes and command options- even the slow, lumbering cast members like Potemkin can suddenly be in your face in a split second. The aggressive offense of Gear is enforced by two major mechanics: the RISC Gauge, and Tension Pulse (often called Tension Balance as well.) The RISC Gauge (the pink meter below your health bar) increases with every attack you block. Once it’s maxed out, any damage you take will be a forced counter hit, and the combo damage will be unscaled until the gauge is empty- in other words, you are literally at higher risk for big damage the more you block. Your Tension Pulse is a hidden metric that increases the more you engage in aggressive behavior and decreases temporarily when you Roman Cancel or when you retreat from your opponent. Backdash too many times and refuse to go in, and your Tension Pulse will be so low that you’ll be hit with Negative Penalty, which will reduce your Tension Gauge to zero. On the other hand, attacking and simply running forward will increase your Tension Pulse, and fill your meter faster.

When keeping these mechanics in mind, it’s easy to recognize that playing defense is usually not where you want to be in Guilty Gear. Not only are you gaining less meter, and thus losing resources that will allow you to deal damage later, but you’re also putting yourself in danger of being opened up the longer you block. This is also why it’s important to learn about your defensive options- some of which cost meter- and when to use them effectively, to deal with oppressive offense and get yourself out of the corner.

Regular-ass blocking

Because Millia wasn’t able to block the mixup at 0:30sec successfully, and because she kept using normal block, she built 50% RISC Gauge and took big combo damage with negated scaling (proration.) Having an already small health bar doesn’t help much either.

You get it, right? Hopefully? Hold back to block high, down back to block low. Remember that all Dusts are standing overheads, and that not all crouching normals are lows. In fact, learning those exceptions is going to be key to understanding how to block most characters’ mixups and vortexes: for instance, Millia’s H Tandem Top is a mid, but the danger comes not from blocking it incorrectly, but from being forced into blockstun while Millia performs an ambiguous left-right-high-low mixup on you. There are also exceptions just due to character animations, such as Leo’s 2D dropkick sweep (a low, as all 2Ds are) which looks an awful lot like Chipp’s 6K (a command normal overhead.) Some characters even have standing lows, like Ky’s 5K. Normal blocking also builds RISC.

In previous Guilty Gears, while you could air block, certain moves such as reversals and grounded anti-airs were air unblockable, but in Guilty Gear Strive that’s no longer the case. Instead, you can block everything in the air, but you take increased knockback, blockstun, RISC, and suffer 19 additional frames of landing recovery. Also, in GGST, standing block pushes your opponent away slightly more than crouching block would, meaning you can potentially generate the space for a punish by blocking some parts of a blockstring high instead.

Instant Blocking

At the time of this writing, GGST’s Instant Block is very different than in previous Gears. There’s also still the possibility of it being changed in some way, since the developers were very vocal about IB’s changes being experimental. If this changes at any point in the future, I’ll update this guide.

In previous Guilty Gears, if you block an attack correctly within eight frames before it connects, your character will flash white, and you’ll see the word “JUST!” pop up on screen. Instant Blocking provides many benefits:

• You reduce the amount of blockstun you’re stuck in, which means you can punish some moves that are normally safe.
• You also reduce the amount of pushback on block.
• You build a little more meter, and a lot more Tension Pulse.

IB is hard, and if you miss the IB window you’re locked out from attempting it again for another 30 frames. You can attempt IB while you’re already blocking, however, meaning it’s easier to IB multihit moves or during long blockstrings. IB’s main use is to let you punish moves or blockstrings that are difficult to otherwise abare out of with normal block.

Here, the Sol dummy is set to reversal 5K after blocking. When normal blocking Giovanna’s Sepultura from round-start position, 5K whiffs due to the pushback. When IBing, however, the pushback is negated and Sol can abare 5K against the -4 special move.

GGST’s IB functions differently in several ways.

• The IB window is now only two frames. The IB lockout window is now only five frames, or until you let go of back or down back.
• Pushback is completely gone, except against moves that place you in Guard Crush, like Fafnir.
• Air IB reduces your landing recovery from 19 frames to five.
• You take no chip damage. In previous Gears, you would still take chip and RISC when IBing.
• No frame advantage is granted.

While IB is now less lenient than it was before, its new benefits grant similar punish opportunities as old IB, and it also increases your survivability since you no longer take chip. Some attacks can also only be punished with IB- consider, say, a move that is technically minus but generates enough pushback that it’s practically safe, such as Giovanna’s Sepultura. In old Gears and GGST, IB is a tough but highly valuable block technique, and very rewarding when utilized successfully. Most importantly, it costs nothing to use, unlike other block types.

Faultless Defense

Level 3 Skyfish okizeme provides brutal pressure on wakeup. While it’s hard to avoid if properly timed, you can at least FD to prevent chip damage. This also puts you further away from Goldlewis.

Faultless Defense is probably going to be the first thing you spend meter on reliably. Its execution requirements are far lower than anything else that costs meter, such as Overdrive supers, and is easier to understand compared to things like Roman Cancelling. Holding block and any two attack buttons (besides Dust) will trigger Faultless Defense. You will glow with a green shield and gain the following properties:

• You take no chip damage, and you prevent RISC buildup.
• You take increased pushback.
• In past GG titles, this was the only way to successfully block air-unblockables.
• You can hold FD out of a dash to end your dash momentum and block right away. This is called FD braking and is also possible out of airdash.
• On an attack clash, FD is one of the options you can cancel into.
• In older Guilty Gear titles, you take two frames of additional blockstun while FDing. This has been removed in Strive.
• FD also costs meter while held, even if you’re not blocking anything. It also slightly reduces your Tension Pulse while held.

As you can see, FD has a lot of applications, even outside of simply blocking. At a low level, you’ll largely be using FD to stave off damage and keep your opponent away from you, in the same way that pushblock techniques like Advancing Guard work in other games. As you keep improving at the game, you’ll learn when and how to FD to stop longer blockstrings, and you’ll even run up and FD to bait things like wakeup reversals. Keeping a bit of meter to FD and recognizing when it might be better to take the chip and RISC from a normal block, will be very important skills to hone when playing defense.

Instant Faultless Defense

A demonstration of the four block types in GGST. Note that regular FD pushes back both the attacker and the defender, while IFD only pushes back the attacker.

In Blazblue, Faultless Defense is called Barrier Block and costs a separate meter called your Barrier Gauge to use, but functions basically the same. There is also a technique called Instant Barrier that combines the functions of Barrier Blocking and Instant Blocking into a single defensive mechanic. In GGST, this mechanic is introduced newly to Gear as Instant Faultless Defense. IFD is performed by FDing within the IB window, and grants the same properties as both block types, with one big exception: While the defender doesn’t move, the attacker is massively pushed away. This lets you immediately block and generate a ton of space against your opponent, in such a way where the additional blockstun doesn’t matter and they can’t continue their offense. This tech requires good execution with the IB timing, but if you mess up you still get FD, so it’s worth trying out.

Metered reversals

In every Guilty Gear, there are metered universal defensive mechanics that can be used while blocking or as a parry-type tool. These mechanics come and go between games. As with FD, most of these metered options slightly reduce Tension Pulse alongside their meter cost.

Dead Angle Attack

Knocking away Ky with Dead Angle puts him into the corner. While Jam was originally the defender, she turns the tables and forces Ky to fight out of the corner with the reversal.

Dead Angles are like Alpha Counters in other games. While in blockstun, pressing forward and any other buttons besides Dust performs an invincible reversal for 50% meter. Dead Angles usually reuse the animation and even properties of an existing normal in the character’s kit- Jam, for instance, will perform her 2S (in XX) or f.S (in Xrd) when using Dead Angle, while I-No will use her 6P. Dead Angles have their own startup and recovery as a result, so they can be baited just like anything else. Dead Angles are present in both XX and Xrd.

Slashback

An XX-only defensive mechanic. When holding back and pressing S and H simultaneously, a gold ring appears around you. The ring becomes a larger shield when successfully performed within a two-frame window of blocking the attack. Slashback has its own high-risk-high-reward tradeoffs.

On a successful Slashback:

• Blockstun is significantly reduced- down to three frames on the ground and one in the air.
• Chip and RISC are negated.
• Meter gain and Tension Pulse are significantly increased. (Slashback costs a tiny amount of meter, like FD.)
• Slashback works against air unblockables, and even some true unblockables.
• You can attempt multiple Slashbacks in succession after the first one. For forty-five frames, the next Slashback can be input within a six-frame window of the next attack landing on your block. The timing and execution for Slashback is similar to Third Strike’s parry.

On the other hand:

• Even a successful Slashback locks you out of a normal guard for 15 frames. Whiffed Slashbacks lockout normal guard for 30, and you can’t hold Slashback like you can FD.
• You also can’t wakeup Slashback. Wakeup locks you out of Slashback for ten frames.

So there you have it. Slashback grants you even better punish opportunities than IB does, but if you fuck it up, you can’t block at all, and you also can’t do it as a wakeup reversal. This is extremely hard to do, and unlike the high execution of what would end up becoming GGST’s IB, you don’t even get regular block if you mess up. You will rarely even see successful Slashbacks at a top level because the safer option is always to do regular IB. It’s only useful on telegraphed moves you know for sure you can get the Slashback on that are also still plus on block- not many such moves exist, but there are examples like Jam 6H.

Blitz Shield and Blitz Attack

Xrd replaced Slashback with Blitz Shield, a more versatile parry mechanic with easier execution. Blitz Shield costs 25% meter and reimburses you for half the amount on a successful attempt. Pressing H and any other button besides Dust summons a shield around your character, which lets you repel any attacks for the first 12 (ten if crouching) frames. Standing Blitz Shield blocks highs, mids, and unblockables, while crouching Blitz is required for lows. It can also be performed in the air to block everything, including air unblockables. When successfully repelling a strike, your opponent is put in a stun animation that leaves them open to a punish, where their only option is to Blitz Shield back. The only options for Blitz Shield are to punish the whiff, throw it, use a super, or Blitz Shield or Blitz Attack back.

(Volume warning) This was the first time I saw a Blitz war in Rev2. Blitz wars will eventually end once one player runs out of meter, but you can also continue charging Blitz or end the exchange yourself and simply throw.

Blitz Attack is performed by holding the Blitz Shield input down. Once your character glows red, you will repel all attacks besides throws and supers, regardless of their height property. At a max charge, you can no longer reverse Blitz a Blitz Attack. Blitz Attacks will either wallsplat or crumple the opponent depending on various situations, such as the charge level, counterhit state, and whether it’s a ground or air hit. All Blitz Attacks steal a portion of your opponent’s Burst Gauge on hit.

Blitz is overall a more versatile tool than Slashback was, with a well-balanced risk-reward. You have a longer period to execute a successful parry and turn the tables on your opponent, but it also has effective counterplay and can even be allowed to whiff. Blitz Attack can even be used to create new combos, turning a defensive tool into an offensive one. It’s also relatively cheap to use, and its large utility lets characters who might not have the same reversal options as others- such as top tiers who lack a meterless DP- to earn a chance to play in defensive situations.

Yellow Roman Cancel

Both Dead Angle and Blitz are gone in GGST, and the utility of the former is combined into the new Roman Cancel system. In Xrd, Yellow Roman Cancel referred to the, well, Yellow Roman Cancel that could be performed for 25% meter either in neutral or to cancel the startup of certain moves. In GGST, YRC is instead a defensive Roman Cancel performed in blockstun. YRC in GGST costs 50% meter. On hit, it causes ten frames of RC slowdown and puts your opponent in a Guard Crush state for 43 frames. However, YRC recovery is a counterhit state, and on block it’s -16.

This is another high-risk-reward defensive option. It solves the problem of old Dead Angles potentially being better or worse than others, since every YRC is universal. If you correctly YRC during your opponent’s offense, you can score a big punish yourself, or at least some breathing room and the ability to take your turn back. On the other hand, much like Dead Angle, if your opponent baits the YRC, they can counterhit you and make you eat shit. Using YRC carefully is an important skill- try timing it once you’ve successfully blocked an attack and the opponent is still in their recovery animation.

Psych Burst

We just call this ‘Burst.’ In Guilty Gear, you can Burst either in neutral, as a reversal, or during a combo by pressing any button and Dust. This spends your Burst meter and projects a hitbox that might blow your opponent back. When used as a reversal or combo breaker, the Burst is colored blue. When used in neutral or offensively, the Burst is gold, and when a Gold Burst connects, it maxes out your Tension Gauge. On any successful Burst and on whiffed Gold Burst, a portion of the Burst Gauge is refunded. Otherwise, the Burst Gauge will gradually fill when damage is dealt or taken, and unlike your Tension Gauge, it doesn’t reset upon moving to the next round. Also, in Xrd, Burst can instead be spent on enhanced versions of certain supers.

May Bursts at the wrong part of the combo in the first round at the 0:06sec mark. This lets I-No side-switch and leaves May open to the 2H counterhit, instead of knocking I-No away.

However, much like Dead Angle and YRC, Burst can be baited. Some combos have gaps where the attacker can deliberately delay the next part or launch the defender in such a way where the Burst hitbox will whiff. The Burst hitbox can also itself be blocked or beaten with various defensive options. In older GGs, Bursts can even be thrown. A common nickname for obviously baited Bursts, usually when the Bursting character is too high in the air for the hitbox to hit the attacker, is the Canadian Burst or the Domi Burst. Conversely, the Caliburst is when you Burst too late in the round trying to get a last-minute comeback.

Learning when to Burst so that it doesn’t get wasted is important much like every other defensive mechanic here. You generally don’t want to pop it unless you see your opponent for sure swinging on the next part of the combo. Also, in early rounds, it’s better to keep the Burst so you can retain it for round two or three rather than Calibursting when you’re hanging by a pixel of health. This is usually why ‘better’ Bursts tend to be during the early or middle parts of a round. Of course, you can generate a huge turnaround with Burst, especially if it’s Gold, so sometimes holding onto the meter is worth the risk.

Character-specific reversals and defensive options

Slayer’s unique teleport dash combined with Backdash Cancelling is infamous for letting him both escape pressure and add bonus invuln to his special moves.

Of course, these universal tools don’t even scratch the surface of the possibility space. Some characters have invincible DPs or supers, parries, armor, autoguard points, guard cancels, low- or high-profile moves, teleports, backdashes with a lot of invulnerability, you name it. I play Jam in +R partly because her Hochifu parry and Force Break Hyappo Shinshou puffball lets me ignore offense that other characters might have trouble with. Baiken in the same game is infamously strong for her guard cancels that essentially give her a plethora of free, meterless Dead Angles (on top of her actual Dead Angle and an even more useful, cheaper Force Break option!) Sol across all versions has one of, if not the, best DPs in fighting game history. Learning your characters’ options when defending, even if they aren’t always the best or cost meter, is incredibly important in a game like Gear, where taking your turn back and starting offense is crucial.

Guard Crush

A two-for-one! Ramlethal uses YRC to punish I-No H Stroke the Big Tree corner pressure. Since I-No can only block during Guard Crush, she gets thrown into the corner to finish the round.

I’ve mentioned Guard Crush in relation to other tools a few times, but I haven’t defined it yet. Guard Crush mechanics exist in other games but is new to Guilty Gear as of GGST. Certain moves, such as Sol’s Fafnir, put opponents in a unique stagger animation where they aren’t actually blocking, can be thrown, and can only take blocking or Burst as actions of their own. (Guard Crush itself still has blockstun throw invuln, but you can be thrown while recovering from the reeling animation. This is the cornerstone of Potemkin’s Garuda Impact setup into Potemkin Buster.) The Guard Crush state also often comes after moves that are exceptionally plus to begin with, which means the defender is basically forced to hold the mix. If the attacker guesses correctly, they can potentially get a blue beat (technically invalid) combo with reduced damage proration. Knowing what moves you have access to that can Guard Crush is excellent for continuing your offense, while remembering that you can still block during Guard Crush is helpful for the defender. As of version 1.10, blocking Guard Crush moves with either FD, IB, or IFD still grants the properties of those special guards, even though you will still be crushed.

Conclusion

This is a dense document, but we can condense this into a few takeaways.

• Every block type and defensive option has a risk/reward tied to it.
• Normal blocking is fine when you don’t want to spend meter or take additional blockstun, but you’re trading that advantage for chip and RISC.
• FD, on the other hand, is easy to use and has a wide variety of applications but be careful not to spend all of your meter on it recklessly. It’s also bad to use it on exceptionally plus buttons.
• IB and IFD will take practice to learn, especially in GGST, but that practice will be very much worth it when you’re able to apply it practically.
• Depending on the game, some universal metered defensive options are better than others. This can also vary from character to character. At the very least, Blitz in Xrd and YRC in GGST are very strong, especially when you learn how to mitigate their risks.
• Don’t Caliburst. It’s very tempting, but you must be careful when picking your combo escape or else you’ll eat another big combo for your effort.
• Practice your character’s own reversal options, even if they’re something like wakeup super. They might be what makes or breaks certain matchups, and your opponent will inevitably have to learn how to respect those tools.
• Don’t forget about the most basic stuff like jumping away or backdashing from pressure. The startup of backdashes are invulnerable- some more than others- and holding up and back will allow you to jump and retreat while blocking once you’re completely airborne. You can also do things like safe jumping (doing an empty jump out of pressure and then landing with a punish) or double jumping to mess up your opponent’s anti-air timings.

Even the most gorilla characters in Guilty Gear must learn some manner of defense, even the character you’re thinking about when formulating your low-effort “But what about…?” reply. Learning how to defend against certain tools, when to switch up your options, and when you’ve successfully blocked something is crucial to take your turn back. While it’s certainly not as fun as swinging your own big buttons on your opponent, building an effective defense can create opportunities that turn around entire sets.