About a month ago someone in the GG forum asked about different block types, and apparently people liked my response, so I made it into an article. I've barely edited this so it works better for the front page, including adding a bit of preface to make up for the lack of, you know, a question being asked in a thread as context: ...

INTRO:
Tournament finals, Axl v. Slayer. It's just a regional, but both players are bringing their A-Game, and everyone in the room is hype. It's down to the wire, the last round of the last match. Both players are about halfway down their HP bar, and a single combo can decide the outcome. Axl gets a lucky knockdown, and throws down a 2H to oki Slayer at the last second. But the Slayer's seen this before. He pulls out a perfectly timed reversal super. It's going to be a counterhit, and the combo after will end the game.

But right before the superflash, there's a smaller, familiar blue flash. Axl has FRC'd the 2H, and blocks the super. The Slayer yells “You bastard!” as he takes a big anti-air combo and loses the match. What happened there? A psychic reversal gets beat by an even more psychic bait? Nope. What happened there wasn't a coincidence, and it wasn't anyone being psychic. It was operant conditioning in action, and it's an important part of higher-level mindgames.
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Burst is easily one of the more characteristic features of Guilty Gear (and games inspired by it). At first glance, it's a renewable, separate meter bar that gives you an occasional “Get out of combo free card” that you can use approximately once a round. If you use it when you're not getting hit, you can even fill your meter with it! This is how most inexperienced players see it, and it makes sense, from a design standpoint, why that may be a useful thing. Unfortunately for inexperienced players (And fortunately for the metagame), it's not that simple.

If you don't care about higher-level mind games in Guilty Gear and want to stop reading here, just take this advice: Never burst against anyone good. You'll probably win more than if you burst like a scrub.
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