BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle/Guides/System

Control Scheme
The control scheme for Cross Tag Battle includes the joystick and five buttons.
 * Joystick - for providing directional input to commands and for moving the character
 * A - light attacks
 * B - heavy attacks
 * C - Crash Assault
 * D - Change
 * P - Partner Skill

Movement

 * While in place, one can stand (no input) or crouch (↓ or ↙ or ↘). Crouching can allow one to block low and middle attacks (with ↙ only), while standing (and pressing ←) allows one to block middle and high attacks.
 * Horizontal movement includes running (→ or ←), dashing (→→), and back-dashing (←←).
 * Vertical movement includes jumping in place (↑), jumping forwards (↗), or jumping backwards (↖). Super jumping (↓↑) will allow the character to jump higher and farther, at the expense of taking longer to input.
 * One can also combine movements to perform an air dash (↑↗) or air back dash (↑↖).

HUD



 * The characters and HP of each character is displayed across the top. The left side is P1 (Player 1), while the right side is P2 (Player 2).
 * Between the HP bars is the round timer. When the timer reaches zero, the round is forcefully ended in a Time Up.
 * Damage dealt and the combo counter (marked as "Heat") are displayed in the middle of the screen on the opposite side from the attacking player's side (on the right for P1, on the left for P2).
 * When both characters for a player are on the screen at once, the character being actively controlled will have a floating diamond identifying their player (P1 or P2).
 * On the bottom of the screen are displayed three gauges for each player, mirrored across the center. They are shared by both characters. From left to right for the P1 (left) side, these are:
 * Skill Gauge - This is the "C" shaped gauge, which is needed to perform EX skills. The gauge increases from attacking or blocking the opponent. When it fills up, it will gain a level up to five maximum. When Resonance Blaze is activated, the Skill Gauge will automatically gain four levels, to a new maximum of nine. The Skill Gauge needs to have all nine levels in order to perform an Astral Heat.
 * Cross Gauge - This is the blue bar with two halves and the diamond in the center of the screen. The Cross Gauge is used up when partner actions are used, and can have up to a maximum of four levels. When Resonance Blaze is activated, this bar will change into a glowing Resonance Blaze Gauge and will track the remaining amount of time for the character's Resonance Blaze.

Throw
B + C ( 通常投げNormal Throw Tsūjō Nage)
 * Brings out an attack that the opponent can not block by guarding.

Anti-Throw
B + C
 * Input when you are about to be thrown to stop an opponent's throw. The input is the same as that for a normal throw.

Reversal Action
A + D (リバーサルアクション Ribāsaru Akushon)
 * A move taken from Persona 4 Arena, this allows you to counterattack while the opponent is attacking. Each character performs a different motion for their reversal action, and characters gain a red aura while this is active.

Reject Guard
A + D while guarding (リジェクトシールド Rijekuto Shīrudo)
 * In place of the usual white barrier, a more prominent, translucent green barrier appears, and the opponent is pushed back more than half the screen.

Skill EX
(EX, エクストラスキルExtra Skill Ekusutora Sukiru)
 * Uses up 1 Skill Gauge (20%) to bring out a special, enhanced skill.

Distortion Skill
B + C (ディストーションドライブ Dīsutōshon Doraibu)
 * Uses up 2 skill gauge to perform a special attack. During the Distortion, the background fades to red or blue and the screen darkens.

Distortion Skill: Duo
P during a Distortion Skill (ディストーションドライブ・デュオ Dīsutōshon Doraibu Duo)
 * Uses up 2 skill gauge during the main character's Distortion Skill to have the partner follow up with their own Distortion Skill.

Change
D (チェンジ Chenji)
 * Switch out with the chosen partner character, even while in the middle of an action (including attacking or being hit). The character that was switched out will regain recoverable damage, marked in dark red in the HP bar. When changing, a cut-in of the partner character with the words "Change" overlaid will appear on screen.

Cancel Assist
(キャンセルアシスト Kyanseru Ashisuto)
 * Uses 2.5 (50%) of the Cross Gauge during a character's attack to allow one to perform attacks with both characters.

Partner Skill
P ( パートナーアタックPartner Attack Pātonā Atakku)
 * Calls the partner onto the screen to attack. For some characters, the attack can be changed by holding forwards or backwards. In addition, the words "Active Partner" will appear on the side. The partner character will flash either red (for Player 1) or blue (for Player 2) for the duration that they are on screen.

Crash Assault
C (クラッシュアサルト Kurasshu Asaruto)
 * This brings out an overhead attack that cannot be blocked by a crouching opponent. If the opponent is also grounded when this hits, the partner will also jump in to perform an attack. Upon hit, this brings out a "Crash" indicator.

Cross Combo
P + D (クロスコンボ Kurosu Conbo)
 * Calls the partner character to perform attacks together. The type of attack performed can be changed for some characters by inputting either ← or → along with R1. It takes more than 50% of the Cross Gauge regardless of how much Cross Gauge one has. The attacks are greatly strengthened, and the opponent will receive chip damage even if they block. Until the Cross Gauge becomes zero, Resonance Blaze will gain levels one by one, indicated with rectangles on the inside of the Cross Gauge lighting up.

Cross Burst
P + D while guarding or taking damage (クロスバースト Kurosu Bāsuto)
 * Uses up 100% of your Cross Gauge to have the partner character switch in and attack.

Resonance Blaze
P when one character is left (レゾナンスブレイズ Rezonansu Bureizu)
 * A new system which can only be activated when one of the characters has been downed. It is similar to BlazBlue's Overdrive, in that time freezes momentarily, and the characters pose and make a declaration. BlazBlue characters will have their crest in the background. There are levels to Resonance Blaze, tracked by a rectangular icon split into four parts on the side of the Gauge facing the inside of the screen. Resonance Blaze gains a level when the Cross Gauge is used, and one corner of the rectangular icon lights up.


 * When Resonance Blaze is activated, the Gauge glows blue-white and is overlaid with the words "Resonance Blaze," and the rectangular icons on the inside of the bar change to numbers to depict remaining levels. The background becomes tinted in blue, and the Resonance Blaze Gauge will begin to deplete itself. While Resonance Blaze is activated, the character will quickly gain heat and skill gauge and gain a special effect unique to that character, and the timer will freeze. Furthermore, the character will recover recoverable HP. You can only use this system once per round.


 * The amount of time spent in Resonance Blaze is 15 seconds regardless of its level, and the Resonance Blaze timer will pause for hitstun.

Astral Heat
(アストラルヒート Asutoraru Hīto)
 * An Astral Heat is a skill that instantly kills the opponent and ends the round. In order to activate Astral Heat, the opponent must only have one character left, while the player must be in Resonance Blaze (and therefore must also have one character left) and have nine levels in their Skill Gauge.


 * It comes originally from BlazBlue, with BlazBlue characters retaining their original Astral Heats, while Persona 4 Arena characters use their Instant Kills, and Under Night in Birth characters use their Infinite Worths.