Controls & mechanics · cross-checked Aug 9, 2026
Controls & Mechanics, Explained
Eight buttons, two gauges, a four-character team with a shared life bar. This page is about how the systems work — the beginners guide is where to start playing.
Default PS5 Layout
DualSense buttons below. PC keyboard defaults aren't covered here — set them to what feels right in-game.
| Action | Button | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Light Attack (L) | Square | Fast normal. Mashing it chains the Light auto-combo. |
| Medium Attack (M) | Triangle | Mid normal. The Medium chain can end in a Super Skill. |
| Heavy Attack (H) | Circle | Slow but strong. The Heavy chain can end in an Ultimate Skill. |
| Unique Attack (U) | R1 | Your character's signature move — each fighter has a different one. |
| Assemble (A) | X | The team button. With a direction it calls an assist; during supers it triggers a teammate follow-up. |
| Quick Skill (QS) | R2 | One-button special move. Motion-input specials do more damage, but this is your panic button. |
| Quick Dash (QD) | L1 | Dash button. You can also dash by double-tapping a direction. |
| Quick Assemble (QA) | L2 | Team actions: Assemble Smash, and holding it with a direction switches your active character. |
Two useful shortcuts: Quick Assemble is also L + A if you don't want to reach for L2, and throws are M + H.
Your Team: 4 Characters, One Life Bar
You pick four characters but start the match with two. Your third and fourth join when you trigger a Wall Break or lose a round — so a winning player actually gets access to more tools, not fewer. The whole team shares one life bar, and you can swap your active character at any time.
Matches are best-of-five rounds. Losing a round unlocks your next character for the rest of the match, which keeps the comeback mechanics flowing both ways.
Two Gauges, Not One
Assemble Gauge — three chunks that power team moves: Assemble Smash, Assemble Counter, Crossover and Super Assemble each cost one chunk (Super Assemble also costs meter).
Skill Gauge — the meter for powered-up moves: EX specials cost 25, Super Skills cost 50, Ultimate Skills cost 100, and the Tōkon Assemble finisher needs 150 plus your full team.
Assists & Character Switching
Press Assemble (X) with a direction to call that slot's teammate in for one attack:
- Neutral or forward (5A/6A) — Slot 1, a projectile-style Shooter assist.
- Down (2A) — Slot 2, an anti-air Vertical assist.
- Back (4A) — Slot 3, an Assault assist built around that character's unique moves.
- Calling while airborne instead performs an Aerial Assist.
To switch your active character rather than just call an assist, hold L2 and press a direction (forward = 2nd teammate, down = 3rd, back = 4th). There's also an "assist to switch" trick: right after an assist lands, a "Switch?" prompt appears — tap L2 in that window to swap to that character.
The Big Team Moves
Assemble Smash(1 Assemble bar) — an armored advancing overhead on the ground. In the air it becomes a forward dive that nullifies projectiles, which is your answer to zoners. pressbuttonwin's measurement puts the ground startup around 27 frames, so it's blockable on reaction.
Assemble Counter(1 bar) — back + L + A while not blocking. Your character steps back and counterattacks if the opponent swings into it. It's punishable when it whiffs, so don't spam it.
Crossover (1 bar) — L + A while blocking. A teammate cuts in and interrupts pressure. The opponent can answer with a Crossover Reflect; time that perfectly and you get a Perfect Reflect with full momentum instead of a reset to neutral.
Super Assemble (1 bar + 50 meter) — during your Super Skill, call a teammate to perform their own Super before becoming the new lead. It chains up to two times, so you can fire three supers in one sequence.
Tōkon Assemble(150 meter, full team) — the screen-filling finisher, done with a quarter-circle-forward motion plus two buttons or the easy input. Ten of these is a trophy, so you'll be seeing it a lot.
A Combo to Start With
The universal starter route from dotesports: L > M > H > 2H (Square, Triangle, Circle, down Circle), then jump-chase into air buttons. Mashing a single button also works as a Link Attack auto-combo when you need something safe.
Want the bigger picture first? Start with the beginners guide →
Sources & last check:dotesports' beginner combo guide (Jul 25, 2026) for the button map; pressbuttonwin's mechanics breakdown (updated Jul 25, 2026) for gauges, assists and team moves; tokon.gg's assist and switching guide (Jul 21, 2026); PowerPyx's trophy guide (Aug 6, 2026) for meter costs and team unlock rules. All re-read Aug 9, 2026.
Some details above (like the 27-frame Assemble Smash startup) come from pre-release analysis and are marked with their source. Verify anything tournament-critical in Training Mode.