Arcade Layout

P = Punch
K = Kick
S = Slash
H = Heavy Slash
D = Dust

The taunt button does not have a defined location, but is generally to the upper right of the other buttons.

Notation

Players use Numpad Notation when discussing the game online in order to overcome the language barrier international players have when discussing things like special move inputs and strict, complex combos.

Movement

: run forward. Keep holding to keep running forward
: Backstep. Backsteps move a preset distance and have a bit of startup invincibility. It is primarily used to avoid incoming attacks or as a last-ditch wakeup defensive option.
: High jump. After a high jump, you can not double jump, but you can air dash! Pressing or will have you high jump in the specified direction. You can use any downward direction for the input - doing will still give you a high jump.
and: Air dash in the specified direction. Air dashes quickly cover a lot space, but you can not block during the first few frames of air dashing. This makes them high risk, high reward movement option.
: Double jump. Pretty self explanatory. You can also use or to double jump in the specified direction.

Offense

Normals

Command Normals

A command normal is performed by pressing a specific direction with a specific button. Every character has both a 6P and 6H command normal, and some have command normals with 6K as well. It's up to you to learn the different command normals and the properties of each for your character.

Most 6P command normals has some form of upper-body invulnerability and are useful as anti-air attacks.
Most 6H command normals are slow, far reaching attacks.

Dust Attack

Press 5D to perform a standing overhead attack. Connecting a Dust Attack on your opponent will send them flying into the air. Hold any upwards direction to perform the Homing Jump and follow them up. From here, it's up to you to slap them up with your best air combo.

Homing Jumps allow most of your attacks to cancel into each other for a very limited time, so Dust Combos often look very different from a character's standard air combos.

Sweep

Press 2D to perform a sweep. Each sweep attack possesses different properties and follow-up opportunities so it's important to know what options are available with your character. Sweep attacks provide a great alternative to Dust Attacks as they must be guarded against low.

Note that Robo-Ky does not have a Sweep with 2D. His 2S serves the same purpose, however.

Throw and Air Throw

Throws are a strong tool in Guilty Gear to knock the opponent down, giving you the chance to set up a mixup. To throw hold left or right while pressing H. Throws in Guilty Gear start up in 0 frames and in cases of a throw vs strike trade scenarios, the throw always wins!

Note that holding the diagonals will not work when attempting a throw, it MUST be straight left or right.

Special Attacks

Special attacks are attacks that require a more elaborate command input, and have unique effects and properties. These range from standard projectiles (Ky's Stun Edge) to Dragon Punches (Sol's Volcanic Viper) to command throws (Potemkin's Potemkin Buster). All Special Attacks are free, not requiring Tension or otherwise, but some characters have special attacks which change under certain conditions.

One distinct difference between special and normal attacks is that specials always build some tension, even if they miss completely. Special attacks also deal Chip Damage as well.

Overdrive Attacks ("Supers")

Much like "Supers" from other fighting games, Overdrive Attacks are attacks that cost 50% of your Tension Gauge. Each Overdrive Attack is character specific, and it's up to you to know what your characters variation does and what properties it contains.

Note: Some characters have Overdrive attacks which require a full 100% meter to perform!

Instant Kill (IK)

To perform an Instant Kill, you must first enter Instant Kill Mode by pressing the P+K+S+H buttons at once. Afterwards, enter a second command (usually 236236H) to execute your Instant Kill.

When you enter Instant Kill Mode, your current Tension transforms into a timer. If the timer empties, you will remain in Instant Kill Mode, but your LIFE will begin to drain! You can manually exit Instant Kill Mode by pressing P+K+S+H.

Executing an Instant Kill takes you out of Instant Kill Mode and removes the Tension Gauge for the rest of the round. Meaning you will not be able to use commands that require Tension like Overdrives and Faultless Defense!

Defense

Blocking

Hold back or down-back to block high or low. Hold any backward direction to block while in midair.

High block will not block lows
Low block will not block overheads
Air block will not block standing attacks

Faultless Defense

Hold any two attack buttons other than D or S+H while blocking to perform a Faultless Defense.

FD quickly drains your tension
FD pushes the opponent further away while blocking as well as negating chip damage and Guard Gauge buildup.
Air FD allows you to block air-unblockable attacks, like standing normals and many specials, too.

Thus you are trading Tension for defense.

Instant Block

Begin blocking just before an attack hits you to perform an Instant Block.

IBs reduce both blockstun and pushback, allowing you more opportunities to counter attack.
IB does not negate chip damage, nor does it allow you to block "incorrectly". You must still high block overheads, and low block low attacks.
Your character will flash white if you performed an IB.

Dead Angle Attack

Dead Angle Attacks are an invincible attack that does small amounts of damage that costs 50% Tension that can be performed while blocking.

Press forward and any two attack buttons (except Dust) while blocking to perform the DAA. These are synonymous to Counter Assaults in BlazBlue or Alpha Counters from Street Fighter Alpha.

These attacks are used to stop an opponent's offensive momentum, but can be baited by jump canceling into air block.

Other Mechanics

Roman Cancel and Force Roman Cancel

Roman Cancels and Force Roman Cancels are a very important mechanic in Guilty Gear. We will give a brief overview of them here:

Roman Cancel

Press any 3 attack buttons (excluding Dust) to cancel your attack into a neutral state.
RCs cost 50% Tension
Attacks must TOUCH the opponent (hit or block) in order to be RCd.
Projectiles can not be RCd.
You will know you did a RC if you see red rings appear around your character.

Roman Cancels may sound very expensive, but they are very versatile and very much worth the meter; RCs can make unsafe attacks safe, extend combos, and be used in mixups/frametraps.

You can see which moves have FRCs in training mode

Force Roman Cancel

Press any 3 attack buttons (excluding Dust) during a small window during certain attack to return your character to a neutral state.
FRCs cost 25% Tension and are available even on whiff!
Only certain attacks can be FRCd. Go to training mode and turn on the input display to see which moves can be FRCd. If the input bar turns Blue, then it has an FRC.
You will know you did a FRC if you see blue rings appear around your character.

FRCs are just as important as RCs if not more so thanks to the fact that they are available even on whiff and cost only 25% Tension. The downside is that the FRC window is usually very small (2 frames on average) and thus require lots of practice to perform them reliably in a match.

Bursts

Bursts are an attack where your character creates an energy shockwave and blows the opponent away. Bursts can be used as an offensive or defensive tool depending on the scenario. Press D + any other attack button with a full burst gauge to perform a burst.

The Burst gauge fills up very slowly over time or when getting hit.

Blue Burst

Press D + any other attack button while blocking or getting hit to perform a Blue Burst. Blue Bursts blow the opponent away, allowing you to interrupt an opponent's combo or reset the momentum of a match.

You can not Blue Burst while getting hit by throws and supers.
Bursts are strike invincible during startup, but not throw invincible!
You are vulnerable while recovering from a Blue burst.
Using a Blue Burst completely empties your Burst Gauge...
... but hitting the opponent with the Blue Burst refills approximately 1/3 of it!

Gold Burst

Press D + any other attack button while in a neutral state to perform a Gold burst.

Hitting the opponent with Gold Burst fills up your Tension to max!
Bursts are strike invincible during startup, but not throw invincible!
Unlike Blue Bursts, you are still strike invincible while recovering from a Gold Burst.
Using a Gold Burst consumes approximately 2/3 of your Burst Gauge

Taunts and Respects

Though it's not really "attacking", Taunt and Respect do have their uses.

All characters have both a Taunt and a Respect. To perform a Taunt, simply press Start (Arcade) or R (Respect on Console). Taunts can be canceled into into any attack after about half of the animation has played. Respects, on the other hand, can be canceled at any time. Respects are performed by pressing 6R (or 6Start). Both the Taunt and Respect can be used to give a false sense of vulnerability as your opponent may be lured into attacking. Since the Respect can be canceled at any time, it's usually the best choice for a lure attempt.

Performing a Taunt will raise your opponents Tension Gauge slightly.

Performing a Taunt at the end of the match after the opponent is defeated will cause a 'Rakusyo', which will give the other player 50% tension at the start of the next round.

Guilty Gear XX ♯Reload