Combos and ChainingAll characters follow a simple cancelling method for attacks:Normals -> Command Normals -> Specials -> Spellcards/Last WordsIn the case of normals, there are two types of chaining:Type I: Light -> Medium -> HeavyType II: Light -> Medium or Light -> HeavyType I characters can chain all three strength buttons into each other in order of increased strength. Type II characters can chain Light normals into Medium or Heavy, but never Medium into Heavy. For reference, here are the characters by Chain type:Type I Characters: Alice, Byakuren, Cirno, Flandre, Hong Meiling, Koishi, Lie Meiling, Marisa, Reimu, Reisen, Remilia, Sakuya, Yukari, YuyukoType II Characters: Eirin, Kanako, Komachi, Utsuho, YuukaIn the case of Command Normals, these still follow the same rules as Normals, in that only a weaker strength Normal can be chained into a Command Normal or a higher strength. However, Command Normals cannot be cancelled into a Normal or another Command Normal, and can only be cancelled into either a Special, a Spellcard, or a Last Word.Certain characters may have character-specific exceptions to the chaining & cancelling rules. Hong Meiling, for instance, can cancel her Crouching Heavy into Standing Heavy, which no other character can do.Damage ProrationAll attacks apply a proration value, which reduces the damage of the next attack in a combo by a scalar amount. All attacks, whether they be Normals, Specials, and Spellcards have their own minimum proration values that they cannot go below. These differ by character, but are generally around 10% minimum scale.Last Words always have a minimum proration value of 100%, meaning they are unaffected by damage proration, though they may still apply their own proration multipliers to the proration value after the attack has ended.Cancelling any attack into a Spellcard or Last Word will automatically apply a 92.5% proration during the attack's startup. Spellcards and Last WordsSpellcards in THRP:GR are functionally identical to Supers from traditional fighting games; they can be executed only with a certain amount of power. Each character has three levels of power meter (3000 power total), with each Spellcard consuming one level, referred to as Lv 1 Spellcards.Although rare, certain characters may also possess Lv 2 Spellcards, which require two levels of meter (2000 power). Currently, only Utsuho and Yukari have access to Lv 2 Spellcards.Last Words, also known as Lv 3 Spellcards, are unique in that each character has two, but cannot have access to more than one per match. Thus, Last Words must be selected at the beginning of the match. Last Words that deal damage have the additional advantage in that their damage is unaffected by proration, though they may still apply their own proration values. This makes them more suitable as combo enders than lower level Spellcards.All Spellcards, including Last Words, cause untechable Knockdowns and have no juggle restrictions.Note that certain characters may have additional Last Words beyond the two selectable ones. For instance, Marisa's "Dragon Meteor" Last Word is an air-only Last Word that is simultaneously unlocked whenever "Final Spark" is chosen. Others, such as Lie Meiling and Utsuho, have a tertiary Last Word that is always available to them regardless of which Last Word is selected at the beginning of a match.CounterhitsAll melee attacks are able to score a counterhit if they strike the opponent during the startup frames of an attack. A successful counterhit will be denoted with the words "Counter Hit" on the respective player's side of the screen. Counterhits provide the following bonuses;Additional hitstun (+1 to all Light Normals, +3 to all other attacks)25% additional damage (only applies to the first hit of a multi-hit attack)Other bonuses that may be move specific (ie: Knockdowns, Groundbounces, Wallbounces, etc).Throws and Throw EscapesAll characters have access to a basic throw, executed using Y+Z (or B). Holding back will cause them to throw the opponent backwards. If the opponent also presses the throw command just before or after a throw makes contact, they will break out of it, leaving both characters as neutral frame advantage with some distance between them. Note that these Throw Escapes cannot be performed if the Throw was done as a counterhit.In addition, some characters may possess a Command Grab Special or Spellcard which cannot be escaped out of.Ground Tech/Safe FallWhen being hit by an attack that causes a Knockdown, pressing any two attack buttons just before hitting the ground will cause the player to go into a sliding animation as they touch the ground, allowing them to recover much faster than getting up from the knockdown. Note that all Throws, Grabs, Spellcards and Last Words, as well as certain Specials, will cause a Hard Knockdown, which prevents the use of a Ground Tech and forces the knocked down player to go into the full knockdown animation.JugglingThe juggle system in THRP:GR is fairly simple; all moves have the potential to juggle, but a juggled opponent cannot be hit by the same attack more than once per juggle before touching the ground. The only exception are Spellcards and Last Words, which ignore juggle flags.DashingAll characters have ground and air dashes, both forward and backward. These are executed with F,F, or B,B (or F+A or B+A, respectively). Grounded Back Dashes have 8 frames of invincibility during their startup before the character leaps into the air. Grounded forward dashes can be extended by holding F, up until a certain amount of time has passed. Note that certain characters have unique forward dashes that only cause them to travel a fixed distance and cannot be extended. These characters are Byakuren, Flandre, and Remilia. Yukari has a unique variant of a Grounded Back Dash that, when done in the corner of the stage, will cause her to teleport to the other side of the stage. Koishi's Forward and Backward Dashes both automatically end with a melee attack, with the former also causing her to become invincible after a while.Only one air dash can be done prior to landing. The only exception to this rule is Kanako, who can perform up to two air dashes in any direction.
New as of version 2.5:Guard Cancel CountersExecuted by pressing ,, // with at least 1000 Power during blockstun, characters will guard cancel into a predetermined Special move, similar to an alpha counter. Character limitations, such as Mamizou's leaves, Ichirin's Unzan meter, Byakuren's orbs, etc do not restrict the ability to perform this technique.
