- Neutral-to-Offense transition

Learn how to transition from neutral to offense in BlazBlue: Central Fiction. Master hit confirming and buffering for effective pressure and combos.

After the neutral game, once you reach the enemy with an attack, you’ll either enter the PRESSURE section (if the enemy guarded) or the COMBOS section (if the enemy got hit). Your mindset and desired actions will differ based on whether you are pressuring or comboing.

Blazblue attacks are fast with short hitstun, requiring early input for combos. This means a single hit isn't enough time to confirm if the enemy was hit and decide your next action. HITCONFIRMING—detecting if the opponent guarded your attacks to combo if they didn't—generally requires about 24 frames (almost half a second). To enable combos, you should HITCONFIRM if your attack hit. This usually involves inputting at least two predetermined consecutive buttons/attacks when approaching or countering. This provides the necessary time to see if the enemy guarded your two attacks, determining if you're in the PRESSURE or COMBO section, and then decide your next move. The sooner you hitconfirm, the better your combo will be.

However, to be aggressive and break the enemy’s guard unexpectedly, you may need to GIVE UP hitconfirming (and the possibility of a combo from your initial attack) to immediately use a MIXUP or other aggressive PRESSURE strategy.

A useful technique for NEUTRAL or PRESSURE allows comboing after a one-hit HITCONFIRM with a strong attack (usually C or D) that induces enough hitstun. This technique, called BUFFERING motions, allows an attack to occur even if its motion was inputted earlier. Ragna’s 2D into Inferno Divider (623D) is a prime example. Since 623D is unsafe on block, you only want to use it if the enemy was HIT by your 2D. You need to HITCONFIRM the 2D hit BEFORE using 623D, but it's nearly impossible to hitconfirm 2D and then input 623D in time for a combo. Instead, input 2D and then 623 (without D), HITCONFIRM, and only then input D. This buffers the Special attack's motion so it comes out as soon as D is inputted, enabling a combo off 2D into 623D only after confirming the 2D hit.

Another example is Jin’s sweep (3C) into Hiyoku Getsumei (632146D). After 3C (during neutral or pressure), inputting 632146 immediately gives you time to HITCONFIRM if 3C hit the enemy before inputting D to combo and potentially finish with a Distortion Drive.