The Assist system is a gameplay feature introduced in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy that allows for a fighter to call an ally into battle to perform an attack. It is designed to oppose EX Mode as a game mechanic—accessories that enhance Assists negatively affect EX Mode and vice-versa, and EX Break and Assist Break allow one mechanic to cancel out the other.
Function[]
The player can set their Assist and his/her outfit freely in some battle modes, while in others, such as in storyline gameplay, their Assist is preset although they can still change the Assist's outfit.
As characters perform attacks, the Assist gauge under their HP bar fills, a section turning orange when it is filled. After a few moments of inactivity from the player, their Assist Gauge will start to drain, so aggressive actions keep the meter filled. Any attack will fill the meter, even if it does not connect. Entering EX Mode depletes the Assist Gauge to zero.
Counter-attacking when low on either Bravery or HP can trigger an Assist Charge, wherein the attacker's Assist Gauge instantly fills by half or all the way, depending on the circumstances. Countering an opponent's Bravery attack when the character's Bravery is low will fill Assist Gauge halfway. Countering an HP attack while under Near Death status will completely fill the character's Assist Gauge.
When an Assist is summoned, the "Assist" tag next to the summoned Assist glows blue if s/he is Assisting the player, and red if s/he is Assisting the opponent (in an early screenshot the opponent's "Assist" tag glowed yellow).
A Bravery Assist attack, known as "Assist-B", is triggered by pressing and , which consumes one assist bar. HP Assists, known as "Assist-H," are triggered by pressing and , consuming two assist bars. The Assist will react, and appear according to what conditions were in the assist ability customization screen. While an Assist attacks, their blows do not produce EX Force. Depending on the Assist character's amount of damage dealt, the opponent's EX Force meter is reduced by a proportionate amount.
After an Assist attacks, depending on the attack used, one of two things can occur. If the Assist's attack inflicted Wall Rush, the opponent is still vulnerable, and the player can attack them while they are recovering to press their offensive further. If the Assist's attack began a Chase Sequence, pressing will teleport the player character behind the opponent while they are recovering, allowing them to attack again. These two abilities allow the potential for Assistance attacks and main player attacks to be chained in different ways.
Assist Lock and Assist Change[]
If the Assist character is staggered or attacked before they can leave the field, it will result in an Assist Lock. Once the player's Assist is locked, they can no longer build or use the Assist character for about twenty-two seconds. The opponent who locked the Assist out receives all of the EX Force on the field. The more times the Assist is locked, the longer the time required for it to recover. When the Assist Lock wears off, the Assist Gauge returns to whatever state it was in when it was locked, and retains any charge it had at that time.
Players may use an Assist to perform an Assist Change, wherein they call their Assist while being attacked to have their Assist take the blow for them, with the main character being flung up or down out of the opponent's attack to avoid damage. Calling the Assist while consuming one bar will perform "Change-1", wherein the main character escapes, but is inflicted with Assist Lock.
Using two bars will cause the Assist to perform "Change-2" where the character evades the attack and the opponent is staggered, but the Assist Gauge is not locked. Timing an Assist Change properly is important, as some attacks will continue to home in on the player and hit them if they perform an Assist Change too early, such as Cloud's Omnislash Version 5, Tidus's Slice & Dice, or Onion Knight's Guiding Swipe and Swordshower.
Assists can inflict Assist Lock by hitting the opponent's Assist with their attacks, but this cannot be done on purpose as Assists will target the opponent regardless of whom the player is currently targeting. Thus, locking an opponent's Assist with the player's own Assist is down to the luck of calling an Assist against the opponent while their own Assist is present and happens to get in the way. As with two attacks cancelling each other out, if two Assists happen to hit each other simultaneously, they will both inflict Assist Lock.
EX Break & Assist Break[]
If a character calls their Assist to attack an opponent in EX Mode, an EX Break will occur if the Assist's attack connects granting the player who called the Assist the Stage Bravery, as though they had inflicted Bravery break, and the opponent's EX Gauge depletes to zero, their EX Mode ending.
If an Assist character is attacked in EX Mode, an Assist Break occurs—the EX Mode character receives the Stage Bravery in addition to their opponent being inflicted with Assist Lock. There are two exceptions: Gabranth's EX Mode ability Jamming prevents the opponent from gaining the Map Bravery when he is afflicted with EX Break, but his EX Gauge is still canceled; and Feral Chaos is unable to be inflicted with EX Break during his EX Burst.
List of Assistance attacks[]
Though the player can set their Assist freely, the attack that their Assist uses is set to one of four attacks. The attack they use changes depending on whether the opponent or the player's character is in the air or on the ground. The Assist character appears near the opponent or the player depending on the attack used. Feral Chaos is the only playable character who cannot be used for assist.
Character | Ground Bravery Assist | Midair Bravery Assist | Ground HP Assist | Midair HP Assist |
---|---|---|---|---|
Warrior of Light | Sword Thrust Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Rising Buckler Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Shining Wave Player is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Shield of Light Player is in the air Additional effects: Block, Wall Rush |
Garland | Round Edge Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Bardiche Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Tsunami Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Cyclone Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Absorb |
Firion | Rope Knife Always uses punch follow-up Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Magic Arts: Flame Always uses three Fire attacks Opponent is in the air |
Straightarrow Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Weaponsmaster Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Emperor | Thunder Crest Player is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Mine Player is in the air Additional effect: Chase, Absorb |
Flare Player is on the ground |
Flare Player is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Onion Knight | Blizzard Combos to Blizzaga if successful Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Turbo-Hit Combos to Extra Lunge if successful Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Blade Torrent Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Comet Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Cloud of Darkness | Tentacle of Pain (two whips) Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Tentacle of Suffering (two whips) Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
[Anti-air] Particle Beam Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
[Fusillade] Particle Beam Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Cecil | Shadow Lance Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Radiant Wings Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Soul Eater Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Saint's Fall Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Kain | Lance Burst Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Crashing Dive Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Jump Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Dragon's Fang Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Golbez | Glare Hand Opponent is on the ground Additional effects: Chase, Wall Rush |
Attack System Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Nightglow Player is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Genesis Rock Player is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Bartz | Blade Crash Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Slide Shooter Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Dark Flame Player is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Ragnarok Blade Player is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Exdeath | Sword Dance Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Hurricane Opponent is in the air Additional effects: Chase, Absorb |
Grand Cross Opponent is on the ground Additional effects: Chase, Absorb |
Delta Attack Opponent is in the air Additional effects: Chase, Absorb |
Gilgamesh | Cross Slash Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Tsubamegaeshi Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Death Claw Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Hurricane Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Terra | Graviga Player is on the ground Additional effects: Absorb, Wall Rush |
Blizzara Player is in the air Additional effects: Magic Block, Wall Rush |
Flood Player is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Meltdown Player is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Kefka | Meteor Player is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Extra-Crispy Firaga Player is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Hyperdrive Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Havoc Wing Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Cloud | Sonic Break Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Slashing Blow Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Cross-slash Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Braver Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Tifa | Beat Rush Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Falcon's Dive Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Meteodrive Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Rolling Blaze Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Aerith | Cure Player is on the ground |
Seal Evil Player is in the air |
Planet Protector Player is on the ground |
Holy Player is in the air Additional effects: Wall Rush, Block |
Sephiroth | Reaper Opponent is on the ground Additional Effect: Chase |
Sudden Cruelty Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Octaslash Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Hell's Gate Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Squall | Solid Barrel Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Heel Crush Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Blasting Zone Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Aerial Circle Opponent is in the air Additional effects: Wall Rush, Absorb |
Laguna | Machine Gun Opponent is on the ground |
Shotgun Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Satellite Laser Player is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Ragnarok Blade Player is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Ultimecia | Knight's Axe (uncharged) Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Knight's Axe (charged) Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Hell's Judgment Player is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Apocalypse Player is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Zidane | Rumble Rush Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Vortex Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Stellar Circle 5 Opponent is on the ground Additional effects: Chase, Absorb |
Free Energy Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Kuja | Snatch Blow Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Strike Energy Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Flare Star Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Force Symphony Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Tidus | Sonic Buster Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Hop Step Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Spiral Cut Opponent is on the ground Additional effects: Chase, Magic Block |
Slice & Dice Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Yuna | Meteor Strike Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Heavenly Strike Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Hellfire Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Diamond Dust Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Jecht | Jecht Rush ( — — + ) Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Jecht Stream ( — — + ) Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Jecht Blade Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Triumphant Grasp Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Shantotto | Bind Opponent is on the ground |
Bio Opponent is in the air |
Spirit Magic: Earth Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Spirit Magic: Ice Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Prishe | Howling Fist -> Raging Fists Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Backhand Blow -> Shoulder Tackle Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Nullifying Dropkick Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Auroral Uppercut Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Vaan | Greatsword Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Staff Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Chase |
Cataclysm Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Inferno Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Gabranth | Enrage Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Aero Opponent is in the air Additional effects: Chase, Absorb |
Execution Opponent is on the ground Additional effects: Chase, Magic Block, Absorb |
Hatred Opponent is in the air Additional effects: Wall Rush, Absorb |
Lightning | Aerora Opponent is on the ground |
Smite Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush |
Lightning Strike Opponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase |
Thunderfall Opponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush, Magic Block |