How to Do Combos (Dissidia 012)

Overview

Combo is a sequence of unavoidable hits after the first hit connects. They are common in Dissidia 012, and an effective way to increase reward for landing an attack.

This page is intended to teach players how combos work in Dissidia 012. Combo theory, in other words.

Basics

Doing combos usually involves chaining different actions together. For example, Squall's Thunder Barret can be chained into Solid Barrel. The opponent is in hit stun from Thunder Barret, and Squall has enough time to do a guaranteed Solid Barrel. Another example would be Garland's Chain Cast, air dodge, Twist Drill.

Some basic rules:

• If a character is actionable and the nearby opponent is in hit stun, a combo is possible.
• More hit stun and shorter attack recovery are always helpful.
• Dodge cancel if possible. It's usually beneficial.
• If the opponent is Wall Rushed, assists can always follow up as well.

Some characters have dedicated bravery > HP combos (e.g. Onion Knight, Cloud). When talking about combos, they are often treated as one part of a combo instead. For example, BRV Wall Rush > Assist > BRV to HP.

There are three main categories for Dissidia 012 combos:

Solo combos

A combo with the player character. Some characters have built-in combos, such as Squall and Jecht. Others may utilize projectiles, dodges and / or landing lag between attacks to create combos, such as Cloud, Kain and Prishe.

Assist combos

A combo with the player character and assist. Assist combos require assist gauge. Assist characters set up HP attacks for the player character, so they are very important. Many assist combos involve unfinished attacks or Wall Rush to do this.

EX Revenge combos

A solo combo that requires a full EX gauge. The player character slows down time to rapidly chain attacks together. This can be done by repeatedly pressing the attack button(s) with little care for timing. This is because an attack's recovery can be cancelled with another attack. After EX Revenge ends, assist combos are still possible, so this is like an amalgamation of the other two combo categories. Squall EX Revenge example

Give me the short version! What should I learn first?

Learn assist combos first. They let you do HP damage with any character.

Pick Cloud, set the Kuja assist and start practicing with Climhazzard. Pick Gabranth as the opponent in Quick Battle, set him to Minimal behavior, and set the rules to AST-Centric. If you can execute the following two combos, you will understand how most practical assist combos work.

• Press Climhazzard twice to lunge and rise up. Then call Kuja assist with L + Circle + . If done correctly, Kuja picks up and you get a Cross button prompt. Press Cross and then do the Braver HP attack.
• Press Climhazzard three times to slam the opponent down. Then call Kuja assist with L + Circle + immediately after the downward hit. If done correctly, Kuja picks up and you get a Cross button prompt. Press Cross and then do the Braver HP attack.

Watch this video if you need visual aid. The combos end differently, but the idea remains the same.

What if I can escape combos with Assist or EX?

Assist Change and EX Revenge are essentially combo breaker mechanics. This page assumes that they are not used. If they are, their effects will be noted separately.

Solo Combos

A combo with only the player character. These often use dodges, projectiles and / or landing lag to string attacks together. Some characters can even chain attacks by cancelling the recovery into another attack (e.g. Squall Thunder Barret > Solid Barrel, Shantotto Stun > Aero HP). If the opponent gets Wall Rushed, they CANNOT be hit again (except assists or during EX Revenge).

Examples:

Attack into Another Attack - Squall Thunder Barret > Solid Barrel

Press attack and then press a different attack after the first one connects. Only a few characters can chain entirely separate attacks together this way, though.

Dodge Cancel - Kain Lance Burst > Lance Barrage

A shining example of frame advantage. Since hit stun does not have other hard rules than "be close enough to attack again", some characters can dodge cancel and combo this way.

Other examples: Garland Chain Cast, Jecht Rush and Tidus Cut & Run

Projectile - Cecil (Paladin form) Searchlight > Saint's Fall HP

This is somewhat common for characters to have. Ironically, this is harder to set up without assist or block. This example combo relies on Searchlight to keep the opponent in place for a combo. Depending on the projectile and the hit timing, the player character may have to move with Free Air Dash or dodge etc. to connect the next attack.

Other examples: Lightning's Blizzara > Free Air Dash > Thunder, Warrior of Light White Fang > Ascension and Yuna's hit glitch with Impulse > Heavenly Strike.

Projectile and Dodge Cancel - Sephiroth's Shadow Flare > Dodge Cancel > Sudden Cruelty

Extension of the projectile concept. Sephiroth can line up another attack as Shadow Flare hits. This idea is not exclusive to Sephiroth, but the mileage may vary depending on position and the projectile.

Hit stun (aerial tumbling and flinches) allows combos as long as the character is close enough to attack again. Unfortunately most characters don't have enough frame advantage to chain moves together for free. This is true for both unfinished attacks and completed attacks in general. That means characters often rely on dodge cancels, lingering projectiles or even walls to create solo combos. Dodge cancels allow characters to chain actions faster, projectiles keep the opponent in place for follow-ups, and walls keep opponents closer by reducing knockback. Assists also help set up solo combos, more info on that later.

Landing Lag Combos

Landing lag can provide enough frame advantage to string certain moves together. Whenever a character lands on the ground from small flinches, they cannot act for a short time. Any attack that forces landing lag (or is very close to it) is fair game, but they're not too common. Usually players have at least a 1-frame window to dodge or act otherwise, but the lack of input buffer makes it hard to escape consistently. This is why landing lag combos are practical against human opponents specifically.

Examples:

Cloud's Fire

Cloud can use Fire from a short distance away and use it to chain other ground attacks together.

Cloud Double Cut (1 hit) > Cross-slash

If Cloud hits an airborne opponent with Double Cut 1st hit, he can cancel the recovery into Cross-slash for a combo.

Squall Upper Blues (2 hits) > Air Dodge > Beat Fang

Squall can abuse landing lag to great effect with Beat Fang (1 hit), Solid Barrel and Upper Blues (2 hits). This enables a low damaging pseudo-infinite combo by looping Beat Fang 1st hit > dodge cancel.

That's the idea behind landing lag combos: An attack causes landing lag after a brief hurt state, then a character follows up after natural recovery or a dodge cancel.

Assist Combos

Assist combos are very important, because they set up HP attacks for the player character. BRV assists (L + Circle + ) are primarily used for this, so at least 1 assist gauge is required.

There are many ways to start an assist combo. Drop an attack and call the assist, or slam them into the wall first. Assists can pick during hit stun or after Wall Rush, as long as they can reach and hit fast enough.

Wall Rush - Cloud Sonic Break Wall Rush > Kuja BRV Assist

A common way to start assist combos. All Wall Rush types work, including ground, ceiling and wall. Normally opponents are invincible after a Wall Rush. Assists bypass this by design.

Unfinished attack into assist - Squall Solid Barrel (4 hits) > Kuja BRV Assist

A common way to start assist combos without walls. Many characters can stop their attack, and hold for the assist character instead. Some characters get more time (Squall Solid Barrel), some characters get less (Cloud Double Cut). Your mileage may vary depending on the attack, and your reaction time.

Projectiles - Lightning Watera > Kuja BRV Assist

Less common, but still hit stun all the way. Some may require wall to reduce knockback, such as Onion Knight's Firaga.

Whiff Punish / Block Staggers - Tidus Assist vs. Jecht Beam

The assist hits the opponent first. This can be done if the opponent is vulnerable to counterattacks, but they're too far from the player character. If the opponent misses an attack and gets hit this way, it is sometimes referred to as assist punish.

In order to finish an assist combo, follow the opponent with a dash or take the Assist Chase button prompt. Then perform the attack of your choice. Assist Chase lets the player character move quickly to the opponent even from long distances, making them useful for dealing HP damage anywhere. If you're in the middle of an attack and Assist Chase prompt appears, dodge as soon as possible and press Cross to move towards the opponent. The mileage varies depending on the assist though. Kuja, Sephiroth and Tidus are some of the most effective assists with Assist Chase properties.

Does it matter which assist I use for combos?

Yes. Assists such as Jecht, Yuna and Gilgamesh rely on Wall Rush to set up follow-ups for the player character. If there is no floor, ceiling or wall nearby, it makes it much harder to follow up in time. That does not make Jecht, Yuna etc. unusable, but it limits their potential without the appropriate stage position or character synergy. If anything, someone like Jecht assist may feel more intuitive at first, because you get 3-4 seconds to follow the opponent as Jecht drags them around the stage.

That is one advantage assists with Assist Chase have over others; It doesn't matter where the opponent is, and HP linkers can comfortably follow up in most cases. One of the reasons Kuja assist is so effective, is because his BRV moves combine speed, long holds and consistent Assist Chase follow-ups anywhere. If Jecht is not doing it for you, try Kuja assist!

However, if a character has notable ground combos, they can miss out on that with Assist Chase. For example, if The Emperor uses Jecht air BRV assist, he can get more damage with Thunder Crest on the ground and still get HP damage at the end. If he uses Kuja assist instead, he has to choose between BRV damage (Mine) or HP damage (Flare) after Assist Chase.

Filler Hits

Assists also allow filler hits. The idea is to attack during the assist to do even more damage. A notable example would be Garland's 2x Bardiche during Kuja assist.

In that combo, Garland starts with the drill thrust, and starts using the axe slam Bardiche to do more damage. He air dodges to use Bardiche again, before Kuja knocks the opponent up. As long as you don't knock the opponent away from assist, filler hits will work.

Filler hits have a few uses. Bravery attacks add bravery damage and EX. HP attacks can apply more meter depletion (if equipped), HP Wall Rush damage, raise critical hit rate for the next attack and reset base bravery recovery if it's slow. As a result, customized builds can affect their effectiveness a lot.

Whenever the assist hits a Wall Rushed opponent, the player character can inflict Wall Rush again. This means you can "alternate" between your wall rush move and whatever the assist is doing at that time. Kuja and Sephiroth assists have the highest combo potential for this, but the mileage varies depending on the character and their position.

Aerith Combos

Aerith assist works a little differently. Her main combo tool is the air BRV Seal Evil, which is slower than the average air assist attack. Once it connects, the opponent is frozen in place for 3 seconds. This allows solo combos that would be difficult to set up otherwise, such as Cecil's Searchlight > Saint's Fall, or Zidane's Shift Break > Swift Attack at the ceiling.

The main thing with using Aerith assist is timing; If you Wall Rush the opponent, Aerith must be called early. The timing is earlier than with most assists (Kuja, Sephiroth, Jecht etc.). This ensures the opponent cannot escape, despite the relatively long cast time. Much like other assists, Aerith can also pick up from hit stun (aerial tumbling etc.) if the opponent is not knocked too far. Here's an example with Zidane's Meo Twister HP link.

Aerith also allows Chase combos. Normally this is reserved for assists near walls, but Aerith can do this anywhere. Since many fast bravery attacks cause Chase, this can create unique combo opportunities.

Example 1 - Tidus Chase Forced HP with Aerith

Finish the attack, and call Aerith slightly before the Chase prompt appears. Then do Chase immediately, and use Chase HP attack. If the opponent dodges early, they get hit by HP attack. If they dodge the HP, Aerith freezes them in place. If done correctly, the opponent cannot escape either option. This is a fundamental skill for using Aerith assist, as many characters can force HP damage this way.

If you want to force a chase BRV instead, make sure the opponent gets Wall Rushed immediately. Otherwise the opponent can take the BRV hit and the combo drops.

Other examples: Sephiroth Sudden Cruelty,

Example 2 - Tidus Chase Only > Aerith

Finish the attack, and call Aerith before the Chase prompt appears. Then press Cross when Aerith is almost finished casting Seal Evil. If done correctly, your character dashes to the opponent and the opponent gets frozen here. Be sure to not do anything during Chase, because the opponent can still dodge the chase attacks if they're used.

Other examples: Kuja (Strike Energy), Vaan (Switch!Crossbow), and Lightning Thunder.

Double Assist Combos

This is more advanced. These combos require 2 assist gauges and specific assists, or ways to reset assist gauge. Normally when you follow up after assist, the assist gauge darkens and is disabled momentarily. However, there are few ways to bypass this.

First assist hit, second assist before next attack

Hit the opponent and use assist. Then line up another attack and call assist again, before this attack connects. This lets the assist character act twice before the assist gauge is disabled temporarily. Aerith's Seal Evil is notorious for taking advantage of this small time gap, which can lead to various double assist combos.

Examples: Zidane with Aerith assist, Firion with Aerith assist, Squall with Terra assist and Squall with The Emperor assist

Chase Reset (HP Attack)

Hit the opponent, use assist, use a projectile filler and force a Chase HP attack afterwards. The opponent gets hit either by chase HP or something else. If the opponent dodges chase HP, the assist gauge resets, and assist can be used again. Not dodging the HP attack results in taking damage, but avoids the gauge reset.

Example: Kefka with Kuja assist Video by X-Zone / Bastard Man

Late assist projectile hit (after assist character disappears)

Hit the opponent, use assist and have the assist projectile hit after assist character disappears. This will not disable the assist gauge, and the assist projectile will not cause an Assist Chase prompt on hit (if it's part of the projectile).

Examples: Jecht with Ultimecia assist, Prishe with The Emperor assist. Golbez and Firion assists can do this as well.

Chase Reset (Wall Rush)

Use assist and then use an attack with Chase to force a Wall Rush reaction. If the opponent falls to the ground during the initial Chase dash, the opponent is forced into the Wall Rush hit reaction, even if they don't take damage. This keeps them in hit stun, and resets the assist gauge.

Example: Warrior of Light and Jecht assist

EX Revenge Combos

EX Revenge combos are enhanced solo combos with slowdown. Knockback is often reduced greatly, and you can hit wall rushed opponents on your own for free. Most importantly, EX Revenge lets you cancel an attack's recovery into another attack, so characters can chain moves quickly like [in this example video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0xOzHXH-hI&t=121s]

EX Revenge lasts for 5 seconds by default. Once it ends, the knockback will return to normal. Just be sure to hit the opponent before that happens, so they don't fly away!

Landing lag is technically possible, but they are often outclassed by solo landing lag combos due to meter gain and combo flexibility. Forcing landing lag during EX Revenge does turn opponent's assist change into a regular assist attack, though.