BBTag/Movement

From Dustloop Wiki

Ground Movement

Dash
To run forward, press or hold Template:6 on the ground. Some characters do not have dashes like Tager, while others may have an unconventional dash like Hazama. Other characters have unique forward steps that require a Template:66 input like Hakumen, Azrael or Waldstein.
Backstep (Backdash)
To perform a backstep, press Template:4Template:4 quickly. Backsteps have a bit of invincibility on start-up, making them useful tools to avoid attacks.
Ground Ukemi (Ground Tech)
Choose a direction with Template:4, Template:6, or Template:5

When your character is knocked to the ground, your character will automatically flash white and flip off the ground. This entire animation is invincible, but it is slow, thus giving your opponent time to set up a mixup. You can hold forward or backward to tech in either of those directions.

Some attacks are unique, they disable ground ukemi for a short period of time after the opponent hits the ground, allowing for a combo extension or more time to set up okizeme. These moves are said to cause a hard knockdown. An example of this is Jin's j.214A.

Air Movement

Air Option
Aerial movement in Blazblue Cross Tag Battle (and most Arc System Works titles) work on a either/or system - you can either double jump or air dash, but not both. Doing either is called using an air option, and most characters only have one air option after they go airborne. Air options are regained once the character touches the ground.
Jump / Double Jump
Press any of the upward directions to jump. Ground jumps have X frames of start-up where you are still considered on the ground and are invincible to throws and command throws.
High Jump (Super Jump)
To High Jump, start from Template:5, then quickly press any downward direction, then any upward direction. High Jumps have start-up just like normal jumps. They are used to create vertical distance between you and your opponent as well as to run away; High Jump over the opponent, then air dash away!
Air Dash Forward / Backward
While airborne, press Template:66 to perform an air dash forward, and Template:44 to perform an air dash backward. I you prefer to use buttons to air dash; you can choose to press A+B and Template:5 / Template:6 to air dash forward, or A+B and Template:4 to air dash backward. Air dashes are used to cover large distances quickly, but they are vulnerable during startup.
A common tactic is to perform an air dash immediately after jumping in order to cover distance quickly and avoid ground attacks; in fact, this tactic is so common that it has its own name: Instant Air Dash (IAD). IADs are performed by pressing Template:9Template:5Template:6 for a forward air dash and Template:7Template:5Template:4 for a backward air dash. The idea is that the jump includes a directional input that also counts as an input for the air dash command.
Aerial Ukemi (Air Tech)
Hold a button and pick a direction with Template:4, Template:6, or Template:5
After getting hit in the air, hold the button down while you are getting hit in the air and you will Aerial Ukemi as soon as possible. By holding left, right, or no direction at all, you can choose the direction you recover.
Aerial Ukemi takes X frames and you are fully invincible the entire time.
Usually, you will want to ukemi immediately when possible, but opponents can take advantage of this behavior by setting up a mix-up that you will be forced to block when you ukemi. A common counter to this tactic is to delay your ukemi in order to throw off the opponent's mixup timing, but this carries some risk.


Momentum

Momentum gained from running in BBTag (and all Arc System Works games) carries over into most other actions.

This means running then forward jump will travel further than a normal forward jump, and a running 5A will have more range than a regular 5A. While the effect for jumping is much less noticeable in BBTag since most characters automatically run when holding Template:6, characters that have a Template:66 specific command to hop forward such as Hakumen and Azrael can take advantage of this.

One of the most common uses for this is to do a running standing attack to give it more range - in fact, you don't even need to wait for the run to activate simply doing Template:6A.png from neutral is enough to give you the momentum!


Momentum can open up new punish and combo opportunities.

Cancels

Arc System Works games typically have a lot of types of cancels, but they mostly serve the same purpose: to let you freely create combos and blockstrings. Don't be too overwhelmed, these will come second nature to you after playing enough.

Revolver Action
Each character has the ability to cancel certain normals into certain other normals specific to that character. Please consult your character's wiki page to find out more.
Smart Combo
Each character has a combo that can be done by rapidly pressing the A.png or B.png button. More information can be found here.
Special Cancel
Most normal attacks can be canceled into Skills. This is generally used to extend or finish combos, but can have other applications as well.
Super Cancel
Instead of canceling a normal attack into a Skill, you can cancel it into a Distortion Skill or Astral Heat instead. Since Distortion Skills typically have long recovery and/or knock the opponent away, this is usually used as combo ender. Note that unlike most ArcSys games, you cannot cancel a special move into a Distortion Skill or Astral Heat unless your active character is in Resonance Blaze.
Jump Cancel
Some normal attacks can be canceled into a jump or high jump. This is used in combos as well as block strings and mix-up. Many attacks can only be jump canceled on hit.
Active Change
By pressing GGD.png during a Partner Skill, you can cancel your partner's current animation into an immediate character change. The cancel itself has an animation with recovery, so proceed with caution.
Cross Combo
By pressing GGD.png+GGP.png during a Partner Skill, you can cancel your partner's current animation and keep them on screen, allowing you to continue using Partner Skills by pressing attack buttons at the cost of all of your Cross Gauge once you reach 50% or more. See the Cross Combo section for more details on how to use it.
Distortion Skill Duo
By pressing GGP.png during your character's Distortion Skill, you can cancel your character's Distortion Skill into your partner's Distortion Skill for 2 additional Skill Gauges.


Input Buffer

Advanced Input

When you hold down an attack button, the game repeats the button input every frame for as long as the button is held down for up to 3 frames (speculated). This means that difficult links are easier to do by holding the button a little earlier than usual.

The technique is useful for punishing opponent's blocked attacks as quickly as possible.

Similarly, the same principle can be applied to runs/backsteps/airdashes!

If you input a run within 3F (speculated) of the end of an attack's recovery, then regardless of any directional inputs after that, you will begin dashing as soon as recovery ends. This can also be done any time while your character can not move, such as during blockstun, on wakeup, etc.

This technique is especially useful for runs because it gives your attacks more range for free; by buffering both an attack and a run, you will attack as soon as possible while sliding forward! This technique is useful for linking together combos as well as punishing things after blocking. In fact, some combos rely on this property to link a running 5A/B/C or else the combo wouldn't work.

One caveat to this is that advanced input for runs will not work when you are in a crouching state, such as after crouching attacks. Advanced inputs for buttons inputs will still work.

Super Flash Buffer

Supers are easily reactable...

During an opponent's super flash/freeze (when they perform a super attack, the screen freezes briefly), you can input commands and they will be executed immediately after the super flash ends. This means that provided you are not in the middle of an attack, it is trivially easy to react to an opponent's super attacks with an attack of your own.

This buffer is often used to execute an invincible attack (such as your own super or Reversal Action) that will avoid the opponent's attack! This is because supers usually have a bit of startup even AFTER the super flash. If you can have an invincible attack out before the opponent's attack becomes active, then you can avoid the attack!

Normally, every character can cancel the first few frames of startup of normal attacks into a Barrier Guard. If you are in those first few frames during super flash, then you can cancel your normal into Barrier Guard to save yourself!

Super attacks list their startup values as: startup pre-flash + startup post-flash.

Meaning an attack with startup 5+5 has 5 frames of startup, then the super flash, then hits the opponent after 5 more frames for a total of 10 frames of startup.

Supers With No Startup After Super Flash
... unless they're active immediately after the super flash!
Some supers are special: they have no additional startup after the super flash. This means that super flash buffer is useless against these supers because the attack will already be active immediately following the super freeze - you can think of the superflash as just a formality, the super has already become active.
Tager's Super Throw (Genesic Emerald Tager Buster) is a prime example of this; you must already have some way to avoid Tager's Super Throw BEFORE the super flash or else it will be too late.