GGXRD-R2/FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Which version of Xrd Rev2 do I purchase on Steam?

This version includes the base game, plus all the DLC characters, as well as the upgrade for Rev2 (which is required for netplay).

How do I play online?

The most common way to play Xrd: In the main menu, go to "Battle" > "Online" > "Player Match". Then, either:

1. Search for existing room without a room code (which will give you a list of available rooms),
2. Search for existing room with a room code (which will search for that particular room), or
3. Create a room. Make sure that you lower "Room Connection Restrictions" from "4," as it's difficult to get games (try "1 or better"). Then, you can invite people through Steam, or send them your lobby code (which is 4 alphanumeric characters).

My game is stuttering; what are the best settings for this game?

It may be worth experimenting on your own setup as many players have reported different experiences, but here are basic settings that seem to increase graphics performance for many people on PC:

Under "Display Settings," change the settings to be:

• Display Mode: Full-Screen
• Anti-Alias: FXAA
• V-Sync Off
• Post-Effect Off
• Dynamic Lighting: Off
• Processing Priority

Who should I play/how do I play X?

The ultimate answer is to play whoever you want. Join the character Discords for a character you're interested in, and just try playing them!

What does this game's balance look like?

Earlier versions of Xrd are somewhat infamous for being pretty unbalanced. SIGN in particular was a very... "special" game, but after years of revision and hard work from the community, most of the REV2 cast has levelled out to being fairly equal in strength. You can win with just about every character as long as you're the better player.

Isn't this the game where  Johnny is a monster?

Yeah, it's one of them. This game does have very strong top tiers, but at a casual level that rarely matters. Unless you have a direct line to fight some of the best players in the world (or are one yourself) character tiers are somewhat unimportant. They might tell you if a character is too weak to take seriously, but modern fighting games rarely develop characters that weak anymore. They are moreso from the perspectives of top players, who might not be giving objective opinions themselves.

Even then, recent tournament showings have demonstrated shakeups to the formula. CEO 2022 saw two Johnny players, a Ky, a Dizzy, and a Faust in top 8, but it also saw a May, a Ramlethal, and an Axl player also make it into the running. The Ramlethal player even placed second, despite often being considered one of the weaker characters in the game. Evo 2022 saw Venom, Jam, Chipp and Johnny all place in top 8, but also saw Bedman, Ramlethal, Zato-1 and Slayer also place throughout the bracket. Bedman placed second in the tournament as well, despite also being believed to be somewhat weak.

Ultimately, everyone is pretty strong and flexible. Play who you like and ignore tier lists for now.

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. HypedForSlicedBread and SeaLeafDojo made a two-axis chart (strategic vs execution difficulty).

Recommend beginner characters include:

•  Sol: A strong beginner character who heavily rewards good fighting game fundamentals. High damage, good pressure, and a versatile toolkit. Plays a counterhit/throw game.
•  Ky: A shoto Short for "Shotokan" A character archetype defined by being similar in some way to Ryu from Street Fighter. Shotos usually have a horizontal fireball, an invulnerable reversal, and a forward moving special move. type, well-rounded and without any major weaknesses. Focuses on winning neutral with long sword normals before transitioning into heavy pressure with his signature "grinders".
•  Sin: A rushdown/neutral focused character who is well known for his powerful midrange presence. Unusual movement capabilities, rewarding combos, and the ability to special cancel into other specials with his Calorie mechanic make him very frightening to deal with.
•  Leo: A rushdown/mixup character who switches between two stances: "front" and "backturn". While in backturn, Leo gains access to some fantastic and rewarding mixup potential. Great for people looking to blender their opponents into oblivion.
•  Faust: A zoning/setplay character who keeps his distance with a long scalpel/polearm. Controls the air well with many great buttons, and can throw random items out to benefit him in battle. Very low executional demands to play him, and carries well into higher levels.

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:

Guilty Gear: Strive

If you're coming over from Strive, you should know that this game is a lot faster and places more emphasis on airdashing than Strive. Damage is generally lower across the board, and while some uses of RC are similar between games, they are very different in practice.

• Red Roman Cancel: Functionally identical, but lacks the slowdown shockwave. The lack of a shockwave is the same across all versions of RC.
• Yellow Roman Cancel: Similar in function to Purple Roman Cancel from Strive. Cancels your move's recovery just before the recovery frames start. Often used to drop a projectile in neutral and run behind it. Only costs 25% meter.
• Purple Roman Cancel: Like Yellow Roman Cancel above, but used during recovery frames. Mostly used to course-correct after a bad play. Same as YRC, this costs 25% meter.
• There is no Strive YRC or BRC equivalent in this game. Xrd YRC can be used for a similar purpose as Strive BRC.
• Lastly, the slowdown effect of RC is global and cannot be avoided. If your opponent RCs in any fashion and the screen turns dark, you will be stuck in slow motion until the effect passes.

The main cast is also somewhat different from Strive. Many characters have moves they did not have in Strive. As well, many characters have their specials function slightly differently. For instance, Sol has access to Riot Stomp, a weird lunging kick move that he lacks in Strive. While Xrd Sol's Fafnir is still a plus-on-block pressure and combo tool, here it's only +2 and does not cause Guard Crush. There's also a lack of other major mechanics, like IBFD, and new mechanics to learn, like Danger Time and Blitz Shield. Overall, the games are similar enough that you can easily transfer a lot of the skills learned in Strive back over to this game.

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core +R

If you're coming from +R, know that Xrd is a lot more mechanically lenient. It has an input buffer and less strict requirements for many of the things that likely gave you hand cramps from +R. FRC's are now gone, replaced almost entirely by the YRC/PRC mechanic, described above. No more Force Breaks, either.

In exchange, Xrd boasts Blitz Shield as a universal parry/callout tool. Every character can spend some meter to potentially blow through your opponent's offense, which leads to unique situations as an attack. YRC is also very dominant in this game, being a strong option that most of the cast can use to help win neutral. Other mechanics include Danger Time, which is a special mode wherein everyone gains increased damage and is triggered after a clash, Burst Overdrives, which supercharges an Overdive at the cost of burning your Burst, and the ability to combo into Instant Kills under some circumstances.

There's also the newcomers.

•  Answer is a speedy ninja based around setting scrolls to help move him about the screen.
•  Bedman is a neutral-focused character with unique "rewind" setplay and unconventional but powerful movement.
•  Elphelt is a highly versatile all-range character who uses powerful firearms to do battle.
•  Jack-O is a completely unique "summon" character who eschews combos in favor of summoning servants to flood the screen.
•  Kum is a bruiser character who hits hard and has the unique ability to manually steer his fireballs.
•  Leo is a mixup-focused brawler who likes to get in close and blender his opponents with blistering fast offense and his two stances.
•  Ramlethal excels at carrying opponents to the corner off of the smallest hits and can perform some incredibly strong okizeme with her swords.
•  Raven is a long-range footsies character who can power himself up through taking damage.
• Finally,  Sin is a rushdown/neutral focused character who is well known for his powerful midrange presence.

Lastly, many character kits have been redesigned/streamlined/consolidated into more straightforward interpretations of the characters. For example,  Jam has lost her card mechanic, having replaced it with a levelling system for her specials. It is worth diving into how these changes have affected characters between games- do not come to Xrd assuming that characters have retained their old levels of strength.  Johnny,  I-No and  Venom, for instance, have been heavily streamlined and made more accessible, while also becoming much stronger across the board.

Ultimately, there's as much to learn here as there was in +R. With rollback on the way, this wiki will be updated to reflect Xrd in the year 2022, so up-to-date character guides and overviews are coming soon. Feel free to contribute!

Blazblue Series

Xrd plays pretty similar to the Blazblue series and the differences between the two aren't super large, but still worth documenting.

• No Drives.
• Barrier costs meter and is called "Faultless Defense".
• No throw teching.
• Fatal Counters do not exist and their closest analogue (Mortal Counter) only exist in a mode called "Danger Time".

... among other major differences. Looking at the Mechanics guide to this game (found in the hotbar at the bottom of the page) is crucial to helping to come to grips with this new game. Both games are Arcsys airdashers, but they have major differences and different game design goals.

How do I hit opponents and structure offense?

You hit opponents by pressing buttons and hoping they walk into them.

On a more serious note, you should look for opportunities to earn Hard Knockdown A knockdown that forces the character into a prolonged knockdown state. After a hard knockdown, teching is disabled briefly, allowing the player who is on the offensive more time to set up a meaty, a mix-up, etc.. Most of the characters in Xrd have their combo enders produce Hard Knockdown, and the universal sweep option (2D) also earns Hard Knockdown. Figuring out which buttons and specials give hard knockdown is one of the first steps to building a good offense. Afterwards, try and figure out which of your buttons and specials are good to use in neutral. Do you have any good pokes? Consult the wiki overview page for your character for more details. Routing into Hard Knockdown is key to being threatening in Gear.

After earning Hard Knockdown, you need to set up Okizeme From Japanese "起き攻め". Attacking an opponent about to wake up after they were knocked down, usually with meaty attacks or mix-ups.. Each character has a different way to set up Okizeme with varying degrees of effectiveness. For example,  Ky can use his Charged Stun Edge (236D) to charge a massive ball of lightning. While normally difficult to use in neutral unless very far away, you can drop it on a downed opponent and force them to block it once they wake up. While your opponent is blocking the fireball, go for a mixup- airdash into them, then press j.S while falling or 5K after landing to go into a combo! If your opponent blocks high, go into a low. If your opponent blocks low, hit them with a high.

This is the most basic Okizeme set up for one of the most straightforward characters on the roster. Everyone has different styles of Okizeme, so learning what works for each character is a must! Consult the Overview pages or Strategy tabs for more information on how to play your chosen character.

How do I stop getting hit?

If you're new to fighting games, it can often be difficult to know why you're repeatedly getting hit by stuff. How do your opponents know what to do? here are three tips to help you along.

Stop throwing out so many buttons in neutral!

If you're new to fighting games or Guilty Gear in general, one of the most important things to know is how to control space. Lots of new players like to press all the shiny buttons on their controller to desperately control space, and it often gets them killed. Intelligent enemies can approach with their own normals, predictably moving around your button spamming and putting you into a combo.

Learn when to stop pressing buttons and just observe. Keep things patient, and look for opportunities to catch opponents out in the air or on the ground.

Learn to block on wakeup!

A huge noob mistake in Xrd is pressing buttons on wakeup. When you are waking up (aka getting up from hard knockdown), you are completely vulnerable. You cannot act, you cannot move, and you cannot respond to what your opponent is doing. Moves take time to come out, so if your opponent has set up Okizeme on you, you'll get hit and put into a combo.

If you're ever been hit and knocked down, always hold down-back to block on wakeup. This will allow your enemy to go for a mixup, but at least you have a chance to get out of it if you guess right.

Block high and low!

Moves in fighting games can either hit you high, low, or mid. Crouch blocking beats mid and low attacks, while stand blocking beats high and mid attacks. As a general rule, most high moves are done while in the air. If you see your opponent jumping or airdashing, go for a standing block.

As another rule, it's usually better to crouch block than standing block. Due to the gatling system, characters can easily route their normals into a sweep. Some characters can combo off their sweeps, which also tend to be fast and safe to throw out on block. You should always crouch block when you can and stand block if you see a high attack coming. Note that some characters have unusually hitting high or low attacks! Ky's 5K is a low, while Ramlethal's 6K is a high. Sometimes you may need to guess if a high or low attack is coming- this is called a Mix-up To perform a maneuver that forces a defending opponent to choose between two or more options. If the opponent chooses incorrectly, then they are hit by an attack. There are many different types of mix-ups such as crossup(left/right), high/low, and strike/throw..

Interface

Navigation

GGXRD-R2/Navigation