- The defense

Master BlazBlue: Central Fiction's defense with our guide. Learn about guard types, evasion, counters, and strategies to outwit your opponent's pressure.

The defense in BlazBlue: Central Fiction is as game-changing and advanced as offense. Understanding how to effectively guard, evade, and counter is key to survival and turning the tables on your opponent.

Key Defensive Concepts:

• Guard Types: Normal Guard and Barrier Guard.
• Guard Timing: Normal Block and Instant Block.
• Evasive Maneuvers: Jump (including high jump) and Backstep.
• Counter Options: Dragon Punch (DP), Distortion Drive, and Overdrive. Some characters have unique reversals with invulnerability frames.
• Enemy Analysis: Study your opponent's attack chains, mixup timings, and reset opportunities. Observe their pressure patterns and tendencies.

General Defense Goals:

• Block: Safest option with minimal reward.
• Evade: A balanced choice in most situations.
• Counter: High-risk, high-reward, often requiring prediction of the enemy's next action.

Defense Strategies:

1. Reacting to Previous Attacks/Hit Count: An intuitive and risky strategy allowing for counter, evade, or block.
2. Reacting to Gaps: Exploiting interruptions in the enemy's pressure string. This strategy often leads to evasion or blocking and loses to frametraps.
3. Reacting to Startup Animation: The safest strategy, typically only allowing for blocking.

Factors Influencing Decisions:

• Attack Speed: Attacks are fast, often requiring reaction to the second-to-last attack.
• Plus on Block Moves: Longer-lasting moves (around 24 frames) allow for specific reaction.
• Distance: Close range vs. medium range significantly impacts defense.
• Risk vs. Reward: Safer options yield less reward; riskier options offer greater potential.

Advanced Defensive Techniques:

• Fuzzy Block + Throw Tech / Fuzzy Jump: Used to counter mixups with short startup, best applied at close range or on wake-up. Requires predicting the mixup timing and can be beaten by resets.
• Blocking Mixup Startup (4+AB(C)): Focuses on reacting to mixup startup to prevent punishment and safely block long startup mixups (≥ 24 frames). Best at medium range, vulnerable to resets and ineffective against short startup mixups. Reacting to gaps with 4+ABC is better for short startup mixups but vulnerable to delayed lows.
• Escaping/Countering via Gaps/Resets: Focus on seeing enemy attacks to predict gaps and bet on actions like 2A, DP, Distortion Drive, Overdrive (to counter), or Jump/Backstep (to evade). Instant Blocking increases success odds. This is risky but satisfying, allowing for escapes or starting your own offense. Loses to punishing pressure.
• Evading Gaps: Jumping or backstepping in response to gaps (at least 25 frames) is safer but may not allow for a full escape and leaves you vulnerable to delayed lows.