GGST/FAQ

“	Our intent first and foremost in making this game is to create something entirely new, rather than a continuation of previous games. This includes our direction with the music and designs as well. The reason for changing the character designs is that it makes it clear at a single glance that this is a new series within the Guilty Gear franchise. We aren't using previous titles as a base when thinking about changing the characters' moves. We are redefining each character from the ground up for this new game.	„
	~ Daisuke Ishiwatari on Developer Blog 2

Frequently Asked Questions

Who should I play/how do I play X?

The ultimate answer is to play whoever you want! Every character can be viable with enough practice. As to how to play each character, you can refer to their individual page for more infos.

So should I start with a "beginner character"?

No, you should start and play with whoever you jive with and enjoy the most! Every fighting game is difficult, so you're better off picking someone you like rather than someone you might get bored with. A "beginner character" won't necessarliy help with the harder mechanics of the game nor help you with someone you actually want to play.

Okay, but who are the easiest characters?

This is always a question that veterans are hesitant to answer, because every character is difficult in the long run. If you want a character with simple execution upfront, Ky, Giovanna and Sol are recommended by most people to be the easiest at a beginner level.

Who is top tier?

Tiers are subjective and are very subject to changes due to the game receiving balance patchs. Tier lists are also unreliable due to subjectivity and, depending on the person, being ordered with different criterias. But if you want a general idea of character placements, refer to the Tier List Page. You will see characters like Chaos and Ramlethal placed at the top of lists often. Keep in mind to not get discouraged if a character you wanted to play is placed low, and don't think the higher characters are unbeatable.

How Balanced is this Game?

Good enough that you can get good and blow up anyone with any character.

Is this game difficult?

Compared to past titles most players will say no. This game was made with general audiences in mind and has plenty of in-game resources to learn all about it.

What should I focus on?

Whatever you feel like you're lacking in. If you dont really know how to identify your weaknesses, talk and/or play with a more experienced player. Preferably one that uses the same character(s) as you.

Mechanics

How different is this game from other ArcSys games?

Every ArcSys games are wildly different from each other, in short. You don't necessarily compare them for the sake of "game X is better than Y". Nevertheless if you are still curious, we have compiled the differences of some commonly compared games:

GGXRD and GGXXAC+R

Throws are performed with 6H/4H instead of 6D/4D. They also did not have actual whiff animations, instead the character would just perform their 6H.
If a player is hit too many times in a short period of time they will be put into a stun/dizzy state that have to mash out of like Garuda Impact. Think of it like RISC for hitstun.
Gatling Options aren't universal and there is a lot of character specific gatlings. 5K and c.S being universally jump/dash cancelable was not present in these titles.
Everyone had access to instant kill attacks. Instant kills can only be used once per round, if you whiff an instant kill you wont be able to use tension for the rest of the round.
You can tech out of hitstun if you're airborne.
Characters can be thrown during psych bursts.
DPs startup is throw invulnerable instead of just strike invulnerable.

Guilty Gear Xrd

Yellow Roman Cancels are used to cancel the start up and active frames of an attack instead of blockstun.
Some Overdrives had special Burst variants that consumed the burst guage instead of tension. In GGST the burst guage can only be spent on Psych Burst.
There was a random chance for "Danger Time" to occur when two attacks clashed. Danger Time enabled both players to do increased damage temporarily.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R

Force breaks were enhanced versions of special moves that costed 25% of your tension. In GGST the only way to spend meter is Overdrives, FD, and RC.
Force Roman Cancels were a version of RC that only specific moves could use, they also had very short windows to be performed. The FRC window could either appear during the start up or recovery of an attack. The closest thing to FRC in GGST is PRC which cancels an attacks start up or recovery.

How do I hit opponents and structure offense?

Guilty Gear is known for its generally freeform offense from its Gatling System, which lets you chain normals simply through a combination of buttons. Unlike previous entries in the series, gatlings in Strive are more limited and universal. See here for an overview of the gatling routes.

How do I stop getting hit?

Guilty Gear Strive has a lot of defensive mechanic to help you deal with your opponent's offense. Blocking is the most basic form of defense, but you can also use Faultless Defense, Instant Block, Backdash or Yellow Roman Cancel, on top of more complex or character-specific ones ! An explanation of each of these tools can be found on the Defense page. Don't be discouraged by an opponent's offense seeming unstopable, there is always something you can do to counter it.

Why does the announcer keep saying "Danger"?

In the Guilty Gear series, when a player is moving away from the opponent or not moving at all too often they'll be warned with a "Danger". If you keep retreating after this you'll receive a negative penalty and lose your tension!

Do throws whiff on crouching characters?/Why did my throw whiff?

Throws in Guilty Gear -Strive- do not whiff on crouching opponents. Throws and command throws can whiff for a variety of reasons. If you whiffed a throw when you were in range, your opponent probably had throw invincibility while your throw was active. See this page for an overview of situations where characters cannot be grabbed.

Is X an invulnerable reversal-safe meaty setup?

Unless it's a safejumpA very well-timed jump attack on a character who is rising from a knockdown. Your goal is to attack extremely close to when you land so that, if the character performs an invincible reversal attack, you will land and be able to block. The opponent is then forced to block your jumping attack, since reversaling doesn't work, which will give you some nice pressure and hopefully an opening. or a disjoint, probably not.

In order to meatyHitting an opponent to cover the moment as they lose invincibility. The most common one is performing an attack early on okizeme to gain frame advantage and bait reversals. an opponent's wakeup and still recover in time to block invulnerable reversalsNo results, a perfectly timed last active frame meaty attack must have recovery frames equal to or less than the reversal's startup -2 frames. For example, a move with a recovery of 8 frames (most 5Ps have 8f or more recovery frames) can only safe meaty 10F startup reversals when perfectly timed. Reversals with a startup of 9 frames (Most reversal supers and fast DPs) cannot be safe meatied by the majority of 5Ps.

Expand the below dropdown for a more detailed explanation.

On Dustloop, the frame data for the startup of attacks in Guilty Gear -Strive- gives the first active frame of an attack.

For example, let's look at Sol Badguy's S Volcanic ViperGuard:
AllStartup:
9Recovery:
18+10 after landingAdvantage:
-28. This move has a startup of 9 frames, meaning its first active frame is the ninth frame after startup. Consider a situation where Ky Kiske has knocked down Sol and is attempting to meaty Sol's wakeup with an attack while still recovering in time to block S Volcanic Viper. Ky attempts to meaty Sol's wakeup with his 2PGuard:
AllStartup:
5Recovery:
8Advantage:
-2, which has 8 recovery frames. The situation plays out like this:

Ky perfectly times the meaty, lining up the last active frame of his 2P with Sol's wakeup. Sol perfectly times his reversal, starting up S Volcanic Viper on the first frame of his wakeup.

On frame 1 of Sol's wakeup, he is invulnerable due to S Volcanic Viper startup. The last active frame of Ky's 2P whiffs through Sol's invulnerability.
On frame's 2-8 of Sol's wakeup, Sol goes through frames 2-8 of his S Volcanic Viper's startup. Ky goes through frames 1-7 of 2P's recovery.
On frame 9 of Sol's wakeup, Sol's S Volcanic Viper is active. Ky is on the last frame of 2P's recovery and gets hit. A "PUNISH" notification displays on screen, since Sol's attack connected during Ky's recovery frames.

What if Ky had instead chosen to meaty with an attack with a shorter recovery? Let's consider the same situation if Ky attempted to use his 5KGuard:
LowStartup:
7Recovery:
6Advantage:
-2, which has 7 recovery frames, as a meaty attack instead:

Ky perfectly times the meaty, lining up the last active frame of his 5K with Sol's wakeup. Sol perfectly times his reversal, starting up S Volcanic Viper on the first frame of his wakeup.

On frame 1 of Sol's wakeup, he is invulnerable due to S Volcanic Viper startup. The last active frame of Ky's 5K whiffs through Sol's invulnerability.
On frame's 2-8 of Sol's wakeup, Sol goes through frames 2-8 of his S Volcanic Viper's startup. Ky goes through frames 1-7 of 5K's recovery.
On frame 9 of Sol's wakeup, Sol's S Volcanic Viper is active. Ky recovers from 5K just in time to block. Sol flies up into the air, and Ky gets a Counter Hit DP punish.

As you can see from the 2P scenario, if a move only has 1 less frame of recovery than a reversal's startup, it cannot safe meaty that reversal. A move needs to have 2 less frames of recovery than a reversal's startup for a safe meaty to even theoretically be possible, and even then it must be executed perfectly to avoid getting hit by the reversal. Given that the standardized fastest reversal timing in the game is 9 frames, and given that moves with 7 frames or less of recovery are incredibly rare (most characters lack even one such move), most characters in -Strive- lack reversal-safe meaty setups that aren't reliant on cancelling the meaty's recovery (as with a safejump) or exploiting a disjointed hurtbox/projectile.

Interface

Do I need the Dash/RC/Burst/FD macro?

Dash Macro is more or less mandatory, not only for movement where it allows for much faster and safer dashblocks and microdashes, but also for Drift RCs. Not binding a dash macro in an easily accessible location is a large handicap in this game. If you play on a leverless controller this is slightly less important as manual dashes are much quicker, but a dash macro is still highly recommended.

Roman Cancel (RC) Macro is optional. If you are able to comfortably press three attack buttons P/K/S/H simultaneously then you do not need an RC macro. However, as it is an input you generally want to do quickly and with precision, it is often best to have a macro if you have the spare room or buttons.

Burst Macro is optional. If you are able to comfortably press any attack button P/K/S/H + D simultaneously, then you do not need to have a Burst macro.

Faultless Defense (FD) Macro is optional, but nice to have if you experience certain issues. A common issue that arises with manual FD (any two attack buttons pressed simultaneously) is Kara FD. When you press two attack buttons close to, but not on the same frame, you will first get a normal which then gets cancelled into FD (within the first three frames). This can result in you being counterhit during an attempt to FD, which can be very frustrating. If you experience this issue regularly, consider using an FD macro.

Order of Importance of Macros: Dash > RC > Burst > FD