Defense
Shielding, DI, and Floorhugging

Defensive Maneuvers

A lot of what shapes offense is the ability to defend against hits properly and either reset to a safe position, or be able to bait out poor attacks with defensive options and get strong reversals.

There are a few primary defensive mechanics, typically putting the defender into advantage:

Shield, a grounded state that swaps out hitstun for shieldstun, in exchange for having limited and committal options out of it. From it, you can do evasive options like spot dodges and rolls.
Parry, a grounded action that rewards the defender with true invincibility on success and punishes the attacker depending on situation. If it fails, however, the defender is in costly punishable endlag.
Floorhugging, a core defensive mechanic that punishes opponents for poor offensive choices and allows for quick reversals.
While being airborne is typically much worse for any character defensively, they can still air dodge, an option that grants brief intangibility and moves the character in the desired direction. Interestingly, this can be used as a movement option.

Inevitably, however, at some point, attackers will find a clean hit. There are still some things that can be done even on hit, however:

DI causes the defender to be sent at slightly altered angles, which can help with escaping combos or surviving kill moves. This heavily influences the way that combos chain together, making it an important option to consider.
SDI shifts the defender in any direction chosen. This can be important for escaping disadvantage, such as reaching the wall for wall techs, escaping multihits, or evading otherwise guaranteed follow ups.
Once a character is launched, while they cannot move or influence their position, they can absorb the landing with intangibility by teching.

Shield

Input while grounded (Hold OK)

Shielding is a core defensive mechanic. This option can be hold bufferedAs long as the input for this action is held, it will occur as soon as it is possible.. This option is frame 1, and it can be done during any state that a character is grounded and actionable. Once a shield is active, shield can only be released if either...

7 frames have gone by since starting shield.
Shield has been hit by an attack.

It blocks all direct hits and projectiles, with exceptions. It loses to all universal Grabs, as well as most command grabs. However, it will block hitgrabs, command grabs that cannot beat shield, a notable example being Wrastor's Down Special.

Shield can be used defensively to avoid being hit, but it can also be used aggressively by positioning within the opponent's range such that their attack can be punished with an attack out of shield or a shield grab. Learning how to use shield in offense and defense is vital to the neutral game.

Shield Stun

After shielding an attack, the defender will enter a state called shieldstun where they cannot act.

Technical Info

Shieldstun is calculated with the following equation, with a minimum value of 2 frames.

${\displaystyle S=0.8*D+1+E}$

${\displaystyle S}$ is the total shieldstun a character is put in.
${\displaystyle D}$ is the damage of a hit.
${\displaystyle E}$ is the extra shieldstun of a hit.

Depending on the shieldstun of a move and how fast the opponent recovers, it can affect how safe a move is on shield for the opponent. Learn more about how to calculate shield safety here.

Shield Damage

After a character shields an attack, the shield will lose a significant amount of shield health instantly. A full shield lasts 4 seconds, decaying each frame shield is up. This rate is halved during shield stun.

Characters will regain shield either by not having shield up or through attacking the opponent. A shield with no health requires 25 seconds to fully recover their shield. Shield health can be additionally be restored upon hitting an opponent or their shield, restoring the equivalent of half of the damage dealt.

Technical Info

Shield health will decrease at the rate of roughly 0.2083 HP per frame, meaning that a shield from full health to breaking will last 240 frames, or 4 seconds. This rate is halved during shield stun, which is roughly 0.1041 HP. When not shielding, shield health is restored at a rate of 0.0333 HP, meaning that a character with theoretically no shield health would take 25 seconds to fully recover their shield.

Shield damage is scaled quadratically with the percent a move does.

${\displaystyle D_{Shield}=(0.045D^{2}+0.68D)*M}$

${\displaystyle D_{Shield}}$ is the total shield damage of a hit.
${\displaystyle D}$ is the damage of a hit.
${\displaystyle M}$ is the shield damage multiplier of a hit.

Here's a list of all moves that have shield damage multipliers.

Character

Attack

Hit

Multiplier

Clairen

Neutral Special

Level 1 Tipper

2.0

Clairen

Neutral Special (Level 2 and 3)

Level 2 Tipper

2.0

Clairen

Neutral Special (Level 2 and 3)

Level 3 Tipper

2.0

Etalus

Down Strong

Ice Shards

0.0

Etalus

Forward Strong

Ice Shards

0.0

Etalus

Getup Special

Ice Shards

0.0

Etalus

Neutral Special

Sour

0.66

Etalus

Neutral Special

Sweet

0.66

Etalus

Up Strong

Ice Shards

0.0

Loxodont

Down Strong (Lava)

Final (Hit 1)

0.5

Loxodont

Down Strong (Lava)

Final (Hit 2)

0.5

Loxodont

Down Strong (Lava)

Multihit (Hit 1)

0.0

Loxodont

Down Strong (Lava)

Multihit (Hit 2)

0.0

Loxodont

Down Tilt

Sour

1.2

Loxodont

Down Tilt

Sweet

1.2

Loxodont

Forward Strong (Lava)

Final Sour

0.5

Loxodont

Forward Strong (Lava)

Final Sweet

0.5

Loxodont

Forward Strong (Lava)

Multihit

0.0

Loxodont

Up Strong (Lava)

Final Backward

0.5

Loxodont

Up Strong (Lava)

Final Sour

0.5

Loxodont

Up Strong (Lava)

Final Sweet

0.5

Loxodont

Up Strong (Lava)

Multihit

0.0

Olympia

Down Special

Fully Charged

4.0

Olympia

Forward Special (Gem Hit)

Hit Opponent (Airborne)

8.0

Olympia

Forward Special (Gem Hit)

Landing

8.0

Olympia

Neutral Special (Pop)

Field Break

8.0

Orcane

Neutral Air

Bounce (Sour)

0.5

Orcane

Neutral Air

Bounce (Sweet)

0.5

Orcane

Neutral Air

Sourspot

0.5

Orcane

Neutral Air

Sweetspot

0.5

Wrastor

Ledge Attack

Lattack

0.5

Wrastor

Ledge Special

Dive

0.0

Wrastor

Ledge Special

Landing

1.2

Wrastor

Neutral Special

Multihit (Bottom)

0.2

Wrastor

Neutral Special

Multihit (Front/Back)

0.2

Wrastor

Neutral Special (Max)

Multihit (Bottom)

0.2

Wrastor

Neutral Special (Max)

Multihit (Front/Back)

0.2

Shield Pushback

In addition, any time a character in shield is attacked, the shielded character will be pushed back. The more friction a character has, the farther they will slide back. If the opponent attacked the shield directly, they also will be pushed back.

In addition to pushback, characters will slow down if they were moving prior, unless the attacker was moving away from the opponent's shield, in which they will not slow down.

Technical Info

Shield pushback is measured by velocity. The first frame of shield pushback, as well as the pushback on subsequent frames, measured in cm/f, is

${\displaystyle V_{0}=(0.8*D+2)*M}$

${\displaystyle V_{0}}$ is the initial shield pushback velocity.
${\displaystyle P}$ is the move damage.
${\displaystyle M}$ is the shield pushback multiplier.

${\displaystyle V=V_{prev}-2f}$

${\displaystyle V}$ is the velocity of the character on the current frame.
${\displaystyle V_{prev}}$ is the velocity on the previous frame.
${\displaystyle f}$ is the character's ground friction.

If the attacker is the character themselves, and they're grounded, they will receive shield pushback in the opposite direction. Their character velocity will be reduced by half if they are moving toward the opponent, and no reduction will occur if they are moving away from the opponent.

By attacking shield with grounded moves, it's possible to leave the edge mid-animation, known as a SPEC (shield pushback edge cancel). This is a situational but meaningful option for attackers, allowing them to cancel laggy moves on shield for shield pressure, such as Clairen's Forward Strong or cross up Dash Attack on platform.

SPECs are best with moves with high shield pushback or high burst movement, which typically involves Strongs and Dash Attacks. These are also best used by characters with low ground friction and high damaging moves, since these can lead to the best shield pushback.

Shield Breaking

If there is no shield health remaining, the shield will break, enduring 20 frames of hitpause before a 100 frame animation. The character cannot act during this and will follow a set arc. If they land during these 100 frames, they enter an untechable knockdown. If the character still has not landed after 100 frames of shield break, the character enters tumble which can be teched and acted out of as usual.

During the first 20 frames, the character is given knockback armor, meaning that any hit that deals less than 54The official value is ${\displaystyle 2*tumble_{t}hreshold}$ cm/f of initial knockback will be absorbed. This is meant to prevent any accidental shield break punishes from being ruined.

After a shield break, the character's shield health will be reset to 20 HP (40% of total shield health). A successful parry will restore your shield health.

Shield Slip

Shields are also susceptible to stage positioning. Characters will automatically exit shield if they are no longer standing on the ground.

If a shielding character is pushed off an edge with knockback velocity, and they are facing away from edge, they will enter 25 frames of ledge slip, an inactionable and vulnerable state. This is very punishable for characters, meaning that shielding at the edge should be avoided in general. Using shield SDI can help with avoiding being pushed off an edge.

However, it's not necessary to hit the opponent to make their shield drop. Walking up to shield and jostling such that the opponent's shield is pushed off will also cause them to exit shield. If a shielding character leaves an edge without knockback velocity, the character will enter regular fall animation.

This can be used advantageously with running to grab ledge, known as runaround shield. Simply run toward ledge, turn around, and shield while in run turnaround. The earlier you shield, the more speed you'll maintain, and you'll automatically slide back to grab ledge.

Shield Options

While in shield and not in shieldstun, there are a plethora of options that can be done, typically called out of shield (OoS) options. These are useful for reversals to change your position from disadvantage and defense to advantage and offense.

Releasing shield results in a universal shield release lag of 15 frames. During this lag, the character cannot access most of their moves and is completely vulnerable, which can be easily taken advantage of. Because of this, it is best to look for other options for defense, either escaping offense or a reversal option that puts you on the offence.

There are many options that can be done while holding ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: . Note that here, all inputs involving the right stick can be hold buffered.

Shield Options
Grab	Jump	Up Special	Up Strong	Parry	Shield Drop	Spotdodge	Roll	Shield Release
GrabDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB: / AttackDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	JumpDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB: / Right Stick Up	During Jumpsquat Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / + SpecialDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	During Jumpsquat Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / + StrongDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	ParryDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: / + KB: / SpecialDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / /	Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick KB: / / / / Right Stick Down	Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick KB: / / / / Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick KB: / / / / Right Stick Left/Right	Release ShieldDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:
This cannot be buffered out of shieldstun, unless perfect shielded.	Allows for Aerials and Specials for offence, as well as wavedashes for crucial defense and repositioning.	Requires a jump cancel.	Requires a jump cancel.	Rewards proper timing with invincibility.	Can only be done on platforms, but allows for instant actionability.	Briefly evades an attack in place.	Moves out of the way and repositions.	Dropping shield. Only relevant for cancelling into grounded attacks on perfect shield, being slower than wavedash out of shield otherwise.
Active on frame 7 (8 post-shieldstun).	4Jumpsquat frames. startup before becoming actionable. Wavedash is actionable on frame 15.	Depends on move's startup.	Depends on move's startup.	Active on frame 6. Active on frame 3 against projectiles if shield has not been hit.	Instantly actionable.	Active on frame 2.	Active on frame 4.	Actionable on frame 16, cancellable on any frame out of perfect shield.

Technical Info

Strangely, after shieldstun ends, Grab cannot come out until one frame later than usual, making it effectively active on frame 8 if done perfectly.
It's possible to waveland out of shield drop if done fast enough.

Shield Release

Maypul shields

Kragg's Forward Tilt, and then releases her shield to perform a Forward Tilt. Note how long it takes for her to attack post-shield release.

While shielding, release

When ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: is released from shielding, characters will go through 15 frames of shield release lag. This is a generally ill-advised option due to how slow it is, as well as the even smaller amount of options available.

Shield Released Options
Grab	Jump	Parry	Shield Drop	Up Special	Up Strong
GrabDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	JumpDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	ParryDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: / + KB:	Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / /	Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / + SpecialDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / + StrongDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:
Cannot be done with AttackDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB: .	Cannot be done with Right Stick Up.	Cannot be done with SpecialDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB: . Parry's projectile window is also delayed to frame 6.	Can be done with directly down.	Does not require jump cancelling.	Does not require jump cancelling.

Perfect Shield

Maypul perfect shields

Kragg's Forward Tilt, allowing her to immediately input a Forward Tilt during shield release. Note the distinct visual and audio cue.

A perfect shield is a way to perform grounded moves during shield release which is normally inactionable. Perfect shields are triggered if a character is hit during the first four frames of their shield being out, and a ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: input was performed six frames at most before the hit connects.

Perfect shields are visually indicated by a larger striped bubble around the small shield and a tiny sparkle where the hit occurred. They can also be distinguished from a brighter shield hit sound effect.

The following will happen for a perfect shield:

The attack deals no shield damage, instead restoring a bit of shield health. Shield health continues to reduce at normal rate during and after shieldstun.
Grabs done during shieldstun will now be buffered, making it much more lenient to land immediate shield grab punishes.
After shieldstun ends, for the next 15 frames, shield release is able to be cancelled into grounded attacks, including Jab, Tilts, Strongs, Specials, and taunts. After 15 frames, shield release's restriction will apply once again.
- The only way to reverse the character's orientation is through reversing Forward Tilt, Forward Strong, or using a B-reverse. Inputting Forward Special cannot reverse by itself, requiring a B-reverse to turn around.
- Because Dash Attack requires the character to be in dash or run, it is not possible to do from a perfect shield.
- It is not possible to do grounded movement options out of shield release. Only attacks can cancel them.
After shield hitpause ends (not shieldstun), for the next 15 frames, any hit on shield will result in a perfect shield, resetting the shield release timer.

While not as rewarding as a successful parry, this option is faster and rewards precise timing with new reversal options. Having access to instant Tilts, Jabs, Strongs, Specials are incredibly valuable, especially since it is faster than an Aerial out of shield due to the lack of jumpsquat and can be more rewarding than just Grab. Each character's best options out of perfect shield vary wildly, so it's best to consider all options situationally.

Shield Drop

Loxodont shield drops from platform.

Characters can uniquely become actionable when shielding by dropping through a platform, known as a shield drop, a noticeably faster variant of platform dropping. The input is mostly straightforward, but it can vary depending on preference.

The direction needs to be downward, and any of the following requirements need to be met.

Shield Drop Methods
Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / /	Holding StrongDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	ShieldDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB: (2+)	Release ShieldDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB:	Walk Mod.Default Controls KB:
Holding any direction that is not directly down. A shallow down press will also result in a shield drop.	If shield drop is done quickly after holding StrongDefault Controls Xbox: GCN: KB: , this can sometimes buffer an Aerial or airborne Strong.	Holding multiple shield inputs.	During shield release, though because shield cannot be released for 7 frames once started unless hit, this option can be worse.	Not necessary, but useful.

Technical Info

Firstly, the downward input must be below the negative Deadzone ThresholdThis value is at ±0.2875.. Then, if any of the following conditions are met, a shield drop will register.

During the interval where the character's shield is up, one frame where down was not held exists, and either of the conditions are met.
- The vertical joystick position was below the negative Deadzone ThresholdThis value is at ±0.2875. 2 frames ago. This prevent shield drops from overriding spotdodges.
- The horizontal joystick position is outside of the Deadzone ThresholdThis value is at ±0.2875., meaning that a diagonal is required, known as a diagonal shield drop.
The downward input is done during shield release.
Holding more than one ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: button at the same time. This also prevents accidental spotdodges or rolls.
Holding the StrongDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: . This can buffer an Aerial or airborne Strong depending on timing.
Holding the Walk Mod.Default Controls
KB: input.

It is 3 frames faster than typical platform dropping and instantly actionable, making it typically a more optimal movement option compared to regular platform drops. However, if done out of a dash, the character will lose all their horizontal momentum due to shield stopping.

There are some interesting ways to input attacks out of shield drop.

Using StrongDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: , it's possible to buffer a Down Air, Forward Air, and Back Air out of shield drop, with the latter two aerials requiring a diagonal shield drop.
By doing a buffered shield drop, it's possible to buffer inputs with the right stick for Aerials, Strongs*Good ol' Wrastor., or Specials, as well as using airborne ParryDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN: / +
KB: and GrabDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: for Neutral Special and Neutral Air if needed.

Because shield dropping has no startup compared to jumps, it allows for faster Aerials out of shield. This is also a faster alternative to regular platform dropping, making it a valuable movement technique.

Shield SDI

Short: Hold or until shield hitpause ends

Long: Start and hold or during the last 6 frames of shield hitpause

Similar to SDI, shield SDI (also known as shield DI) is a way to influence a character's position when being pushed back by shield.

When attacked in shield, defenders can hold left or right during shield to influence their direction.

If either left or right direction is held on the last frame of hitpause, the character will move 20cm in that direction.
However, if a left or right tapAny value higher than the Hard Press ThresholdThis value defaults to ±0.8, but can be controlled by setting the Hard Press Threshold in controller settings. For more, read here.. is started within the last 6 frames and held until the final frame of hitpause, the character will move another 20cm in that direction, for a total of 40cm. This means that timing a proper shield SDI input can yield larger reward.

This is most commonly used for defenders to avoid experiencing shield pushback off an edge, maintain spacing for out of shield reversal options, or avoid follow up hits that can be whiff punished in return.

There's a few things worth noting:

Unlike SDI, this can only be done with the left stick (or equivalent). The right stick has no effect.
Shield SDI cannot force shields to move off an edge in the opposite direction of their shield pushback.
To input a timed shield SDI input without getting accidental rolls, it can be useful to hold multiple ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: inputs down or use Walk Mod.Default Controls
KB: to get a properly timed input.

Parry

, or +

Projectiles

Total:33

Non-Projectiles, or Post-Shieldstun

Total:33

ParryDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN: / +
KB: is a high risk, high reward defensive option. The defender briefly flashes, and a small sound effect comes out. This is a powerful callout option that is both useful for countering predictable attacks, but also useful for countering projectiles. While this also loses to Grab like shield, it does counter all known command grabs.

Parry Timing

Characters can parry hitboxes starting on frame 6, and this window is active for 8 frames, ending on frame 14. Shield health is restored to full on success. In addition, characters can parry projectiles starting on frame 3, ending on frame 14. Shield health is restored by 20 HP, or 40% on success. This projectile parry window is delayed to frame 6 if the character is hit in shield prior to parrying out of shield, or if the parry is done out of shield release.

Parry will maintain momentum from dash, and parrying during the first 4 frames of shield ("ShieldStart") will restore the momentum carried over from before shield. The parry hurtbox is the equivalent to the character's shield hurtbox.

Parry Reward

If a hitbox connects with the defender while parrying, any subsequent hits from other articles (typically projectiles or created elements) will incur half their regular hitpause, and regular hits will incur 20 frames of hitpause.

After parry hitpause concludes, the defender will gain 89 frames of true invincibility, including 20 frames of parry endlag, giving the defender 69 frames of actionable true invincibility. Any subsequent attacks on the defender will put the attacker in hitpause, but not the defender.

Hits can belong to one of two properties when parried:

Parry Properties
Stun	No Stun
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
The attacker enters parry stun, unless the hit is a cancellable Jab.	The attacker doesn't get stunned.

Technical Info

Technically, there is a third hit property which is Unparryable, but it only applies to

Clairen's Down Special projectile killer on her field and initial attack.

In addition, articles when parried can also have different behaviors:

Article Parry Properties
None	Reflect
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
The article will continue as normal.	The article have their velocity reflected and changing ownership, meaning that it can attack the original host. Articles will grant no invincibility on subsequent reflects.

Technical Info

Technically, there is a third article property which is Destroy, but it only applies to

Fleet's Forward Throw homing arrows, meaning that it will never matter in singles competitive play.

Parry Stun

Needs More Research
The following aspects require further research or verification.
Reason: Need to research what determines parry stun on projectiles that cause the host to enter stun, i.e. Orcane's bubbles, Etalus's icicles.

If a hit is meant to stun the attacker on parry, the attacker will finish the move's endlag, and then enter parry stun. Stun lasts 40 frames. If the attacker is parried from an Aerial, its landing lag will be counted as additional stun. For example, Clairen's Back Air with 10 frames of landing lag will induce 50 frames of parry stun.

Characters in parry stun additionally are unable to floorhug attacks.

When an attack is parried mid-air, if the attacker is still airborne after the rest of the attack animation plays out, the attacker will go into parry fall. Parry fall will loop until they become grounded, going through 40 frames of parry stun afterward. Characters in parry fall will have their horizontal velocity capped to their maximum horizontal air speed.

Parry Fall Properties
No Fastfall	Stuck on Ledge	Losing Ledge Intangibility	Wall Jump Cancel	Edge Cancel
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
During parry fall, characters can input aerial drift, but they cannot fastfall.	When grabbing ledge out of parry stun, the character is inactionable for 13 frames7 frames of initial ledgegrab and 6 frames of ledgehang. and gains no ledge intangibility.	Grabbing ledge also leads to all intangible ledgehangs being lost, meaning that regrabbing ledge won't give any actionable ledge intangibility.	Characters can cancel parry fall with wall jump to avoid any drawbacks.	Characters can edge cancel parry fall to avoid any drawbacks.

Jab on Parry

Cancellable Jabs have unique behavior against parry. If the defender parries a cancellable Jab, the attacker will not be put into parry stun, but they will be put into parry stun if they finish into a non-cancellable Jab or a Tilt. In return, the defender can instantly cancel the parry endlag animation, having now 89 actionable frames of invincibility.

This means that both characters will be actionable, but typically the defender will be in frame advantage as well as having the upside of invincibility. This makes Jab on parry very favorable toward the defender.

For example, let's look at Orcane's Jab 1, which gets parried.

Jab on Parry
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
If he does nothing, he will remain actionable.	If he proceeds with Jab 2, he will not suffer parry stun since this hit can still be cancelled.	If he proceeds with Down Tilt, he will suffer parry stun.

Maypul and Clairen notably benefit from this, since both of their Jabs are cancellable while having no finisher Jab, meaning that they are always immune to parry stun if they do not cancel into a Tilt.

Dodges

Shielding on the ground can be limiting, and it can be useful to take alternative evasive maneuvers. Most of these can be done out of shield, but they can also be done in any state that the character can shield in.

Spot Dodge

Loxodont spotdodges.

While grounded, + / Right Stick Down

Spot Dodge

Total:28

Spot dodges allow you to evade attacks and grabs due to intangibility frames during the animation. This can be a useful way of punishing an attack in place.

Inputs can change this option a lot.

Right stick will always buffer a spotdodge whenever possible.
The left stick must be manually timed, and ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: must be inputted on the same frame or before Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
. Continuing to hold the left stick after a spotdodge will result in nothing.
Holding multiple ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: buttons will cause no spotdodge with the left stick when on a platform, instead resulting in a shield drop. It is still possible if done with the right stick. Normal behavior occurs when grounded.
This can also be misinputted for a shield drop if not done properly on a platform, whether due to angling or multiple ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: inputs.

All spot dodges start on frame 2, in which they have 14 frames of intangibility, followed by 10 frames of vulnerability before the character is actionable again.

Technical Info

Unlike other dodges, spot dodges use the character's native ground friction instead of native shield friction values. In addition, spot dodges do not follow the rule of using double ground friction when the speed is above 9 cm/s, meaning that a character slides further during a spot dodge than if they were to stop moving entirely.

Rolls

Loxodont rolls to the left and right.

+ / / Right Stick Left/Right

Roll

Total:32

Rolling allows you to evade attacks due to intangibility frames during the roll. After these frames, however, the character is completely vulnerable and open to attacks. This is useful for repositioning for a potential punish on an attack. When rolling forward or backwards, the character will always end up facing the original position that they were at. A character cannot roll past the edge of a platform or stage and will simply stop at the edge.

Inputs can change this option a lot.

Right stick will always buffer a roll whenever possible.
The left stick must be manually timed, and ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: must be inputted on the same frame or before Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
or Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
. Continuing to hold the left stick after a roll will result in nothing.
Holding multiple ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: buttons will cause no roll with the left stick, but still possible with the right stick.

Inputs can change this option a lot, as a right stick will always buffer a roll whenever possible. The left stick must be manually timed, and ShieldDefault Controls
Xbox:
GCN:
KB: must be inputted on the same frame or before Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
or Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Quickly tap Left Analog Stick
KB: / / /
. Continuing to hold the left stick after a roll will result in nothing.

All rolls start on frame 4, in which they have 16 frames of intangibility, travelling the roll's distance. This is followed by 13 frames of vulnerability before the character is actionable again.

Air Dodges

Loxodont air dodges up.

While in air (+ any direction, such as ), or / with Air Grab/Air Parry set to Air Dodge

Air Dodge

Total:37

While in the air, characters cannot shield, spot dodge, or roll, but they can use an air dodge to evade attacks. Characters remain fully actionable after air dodge.

Air dodge starts on frame 3, in which 15 frames of intangibility are granted, followed by 12 frames in place and 8 frames falling for a combined 20 frames of endlag. The character moves in the direction specified during their intangible frames. The maximum distance travelled by an air dodge is character dependent. Loxodont has the lowest air dodge distance, whereas Maypul has the highest.

Once a character air dodges, they can no longer air dodge again until they land or grab ledge. This resource is incredibly versatile, and it should be used with caution.

It can be used to escape strings/untrue combos due to its fast startup and intangibility frames. However, opponents can react to the airdodge and punish, so be careful.
It can also be used to recover. It can be useful to bring a character slightly closer to the stage with an air dodge, especially because it can be the only way to gain horizontal distance or vertical distance without entering special fall. Note that it is dangerous to grab ledge with this, however, as airdodging to ledge will remove all ledge intangibility, requiring a new regrab or a landing on stage to refresh ledge intangibility.

Notably, if a character is in ledge slip or tumble, pressing an air dodge input will not result in an air dodge. Instead, it is necessary to release the input to register an air dodge. This is meant to protect characters from mistakenly inputting air dodge when intending to tech. Air dodge is also unbufferable out of hitstun on its own, and it can only be buffered if another action is simultaneously buffered, like double jump.

Air dodge will round to cardinal directions within 12 degrees, meaning that there are a limited amount of possible airdodge angles available.

Performing this into the ground will result in a waveland.

Directional Influence (DI)

On the frame right before launch, hold any direction

Hits will send at a certain angle when they connect. For example, Clairen's Forward Strong will always send at 45 degrees. If Ranno is standing to the right of her, he'll be sent upward and rightward. However, this angle can be altered depending on the direction held just before a character is launched.

Here, **Clairen** hits **Ranno**.
No DI	DI in	DI out
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
Here, no direction is held, and Ranno launches at the normal angle of 45 degrees.	On DI in, Ranno launches a bit further vertically, but not as much horizontally. He's a lot closer to stage when exiting hitstun.	On DI out, Ranno launches quite further horizontally, but not as much vertically.
Most moves will send up and away, so they will look something like this. Importantly, this angle also happens if the opponent holds their stick in the same angle, or opposite angle to the original knockback angle.	This is good for surviving hits, but bad for escaping combos. Usually up and in.	This is good for escaping combos, but bad for surviving hits. Usually down and out.

This is directional influence (DI), a mechanic that changes the angle a character is hit at. It's possible to change an angle up to 18 degrees away.

DI applies to both throws and hits, meaning that it does not rely on hitpause.

While holding perfectly perpendicular to the knockback angle is ideal, there is some leniency. If the left stick is held at an angle within 23 degrees of the perpendicular, the character will sent as if the stick was held at the perpendicular angle. This mechanic is referred to as DI assist. This means that even for controllers with having only eight angles, it's possible to access the extreme DI angles still.

With Training Menu's "Show DI Lines" enabled, lines will appear upon any hit, showing all possible knockback trajectories according to directional inputs by the player struck.

DI behaves a little differently for grounded characters against downward sending hits. Characters cannot DI if they are sent into flinch, but they can DI if they are bounced off the ground, DI functioning as if the bounce goes up.

Shift Directional Influence (SDI)

This section/page has been marked for cleanup or revision, possibly due to the following reasons: spelling mistakes, presentation improvements, formatting improvements, wordiness, or any reason that makes it not as accessible to a new reader.

On most attacks with hitpause, characters can also use Shift Directional Influence (SDI) to slightly teleport themselves at the end of hitpause. While it looks marginal at a glance, it is a crucial survival technique, especially for escaping multihits, wall teching, and especially crouch cancel and floorhugging.

There are two categories of SDI, known as SSDI and ASDI. Both left and right stick can be used to input these, and if a right stick input for either ASDI or SSDI is detected, it will override any left stick input for that SDI. ASDI is weaker but more lenient, and SSDI is stronger but requires stricter timing.

Automatic Shift Directional Influence (ASDI)

Hold any direction when hitpause ends with or stick (Hold OK)

On the last frame of hitpause, if a direction on either stick is inputted, the player's character will slightly shift their position (up to a maximum of 30 cm), known as ASDI. There is no timing requirement for when the direction must be started, making it nice and generous. There is no visual indicator for ASDI other than the character's position.

Single Shift Directional Influence (SSDI)

Start a new direction with or stick during hitpause, and keep holding until hitpause ends (Hold OK)

Separate to ASDI, if a new direction is timed within hitpause, SSDI will be inputted, typically a distance of 60cm. SSDI inputs are not the same as ASDI inputs, with both acting independently of each other. However, in practice, the only realistic way of creating differing SSDI and ASDI directions is by inputting ASDI with the right stick, then SSDI with the left stick. This can be relevant for floorhugging.

SSDI must be started with precise timing, requiring the direction to be started during and not before hitpause. This can be achieved through two means:

If the stick ever goes to neutral during hitpause, input a new direction. The earliest way to input this would be having the stick be neutral on the first frame of hitpause, then holding a direction on the second frame of hitpause.
If the stick is already in a direction during hitpause, move to a new direction at least 45 degrees away. The earliest way to input one direction on the first frame of hitpause, then moving 45 degrees away to a new direction on the second frame of hitpause.

SSDI has a visual indicator, showing white arrows with blue outlines over the character. The arrow will point in the direction the character SSDIs in.

Multipliers

All hits have ASDI and SSDI multipliers, changing the strength of any SDI input done against this move. These multipliers can be found under the additional data section of each move. While most hits have 1.0 multipliers, here are some examples of unusual hits:

Maypul's Up Air multihit, with an SSDI multiplier of 0 and an ASDI multiplier of 1.2. This is the only move in the game that has a higher ASDI multiplier than normal. This causes ASDI to be 36cm distance, and SSDI to be 0cm, meaning that while SSDI will not help escape this move, ASDI is more effective than usual.
Many multihits like Clairen's Neutral Air multihit have an SSDI multiplier of 0.5, causing SSDI and ASDI to both be 30cm, making SSDI less effective than normal.
Some attacks, like Orcane's bubbles have an ASDI multiplier of 1.0, but an SSDI multiplier of 0.0, causing SSDI to travel 0cm. Only ASDI can help with escaping these moves.
Some attacks, like the first hit of Etalus's Forward Strong, have an ASDI and a SSDI multiplier of 0.0, meaning that no SDI will help escape these hits.

Examples of SDI

It can be tricky to understand SDI, especially when there are two sticks involved. Here's a few examples to run through.

Let's take a look at an example.

Clairen is landing from the air with an Up Air, and then she is hit by a Maypul Up Tilt below her.

Before getting hit, she started holding Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
KB: / / / with her right stick.
During hitpause, she moves her stick away from neutral and starts holding Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
KB: / / / with her left stick.
Both are held until hitpause ends.

SDI Example #1
	Left Stick	Right Stick	Result
SSDI?	Since a new direction was started during hitpause, this inputs Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .	No new direction was started on this stick during hitpause, so no input.	SSDI will be Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .
ASDI?	Since it was held at the end of hitpause, this inputs Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .	Since it was held at the end of hitpause, this inputs Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .	ASDI will be Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .

This results in the character teleporting 60cm up and 30cm right as a combination of ASDI and SSDI. Now, let's take a look at an opposite situation, where we swap the order of the sticks we input.

Before getting hit, she started holding Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
KB: / / / with her left stick.
During hitpause, she moves her stick away from neutral and starts holding Default Controls
Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick
KB: / / / with her right stick.
Both are held until hitpause ends.

SDI Example #2
	Left Stick	Right Stick	Result
SSDI?	No new direction was started on this stick during hitpause, so no input.	Since a new direction was started during hitpause, this inputs Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .	SSDI will be Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .
ASDI?	Since it was held at the end of hitpause, this inputs Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .	Since it was held at the end of hitpause, this inputs Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .	ASDI will be Default Controls Xbox/GCN: Left Analog Stick KB: / / / .

This results in the character teleporting 90cm right as a combination of ASDI and SSDI.

In most cases, we want to travel the maximum amount of distance possible, either to escape the hits or be within follow up range. When thinking about how to survive, you should use your right stick to input SSDI, timing it during hitpause, and use your left stick to input DI. If you mistime your right stick too early, you'll get ASDI in the direction your right stick is travelling which isn't the worst, and if you mistime your right stick too late, you'll get ASDI in the direction your left stick is travelling, which hopefully isn't too impactful.

Floorhugging

Floorhugging is a mechanic that prevents characters from being launched into the air. Similar to parry, it requires a timed input, and it usually requires being grounded*In certain situations, at very low heights, an airborne character can floorhug to the ground..

To floorhug, time a downward press when getting hit, using either the left stick or right stick. On success, the character will stick to the ground.

Needs More Research
The following aspects require further research or verification.
Reason: getting hit out of post-CC hitstun?

Floorhug Reward/Failure

Floorhugging has different effects depending on the amount of knockback a character would normally take from the hit.

Here, **Maypul** uses Down Tilt against a **Etalus** who floorhugs at varying percents.
Weak Hit	Medium Hit	Heavy Hit
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
Against weak hits, Etalus goes through brief landing hitstun before becoming actionable. Etalus also flashes blue, indicating a successful weak floorhug.	Against medium hits, Etalus enters instant knockdown, which can be teched.	Against heavy hits, Etalus will be fully popped up, unable to stick to the ground.
This is the key reward for floorhugging, as it allows for quick reversals and punishing opponents for poor offensive choices and mashing.	While it doesn't allow for as many follow ups, it still helps with survival, including scenarios with slideoff or Amsah teching.	At these percents, floorhug will be ineffective, with the best chance being to instead properly DI and SDI to survive.

Technical Info

What determines weak hits, medium hits, and heavy hits in the context of floorhugging?

Weak hits are those that do not send into the tumble threshold. If without floorhugging, the character would just land on stage normally without doing anything and not enter knock down, it's a weak hit. The landing hitstun is calculated by cutting their original hitstun in half, then capping it between 4-8 frames.
Medium hits are those that tumble, but the vertical knockback does not exceed 30cm, causing the character to still be capable of sticking to the ground. Because low enough vertical knockback is what defines a hit being medium, DI will improve the percent threshold at which a hit will behave like this. It's also why moves that send at lower angles can usually be floorhug teched for much longer.
High percent is when a hit's vertical knockback exceeds 30cm. Simple as that.

Floorhug Timing

While floorhugging can be incredibly rewarding, it also requires proper timing. If a weak hit or a medium hit connects, but the opponent times their floorhug too early, the floorhug will fail, and the character will pop up regardless, indicated by a red flash.

Floorhug Timing
More than 4 Frames Early	Within 4 Frames of Hit	During Hit	Post-Hit
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
Total:16	Total:16	Total:16	Total:16
Attempting floorhug more than 4 frames before getting hit will fail, causing a red flash.	Floorhug can be done within 4 frames of getting hit.	Floorhugging can also be done during hitpause. Since this timing matches SSDI, downward SSDI arrows will also show up.	Floorhugging will fail after being hit, because the character is already launched. As no attempt was made, there is no visual indicator.

Technical Info

What is floorhugging actually using? Well, it's a timed version of down. If the bottom of the character's ECB is within the ground, and other floorhugging requirements are met, then the game is able to detect and say that floorhugging occurs.

This means that by doing it with both sticks, the right stick will always take precedence. It's not quite correct to call it SSDI down, since only ASDI can contribute to floorhugging. For example, attempting to SSDI right and ASDI down will still result in floorhug, but SSDI down and ASDI up will not.

There are also some additional input quirks:

If done with the left stick, it needs to be a hard press. If the ASDI input is timed correctly, but the stick does not cross the Hard Press ThresholdThis value defaults to ±0.8, but can be controlled by setting the Hard Press Threshold in controller settings. For more, read here., no floorhug will come out.
If done with the right stick, it needs to be separate to the right stick's native input. For example, if the right stick input starts a Down Tilt, and the character is hit within the first 4 frames of it, it will not count as a floorhug. This means that it is not possible to option select a Down Tilt and a floorhug at the same time, as well as other actions that would normally be inputted with right stick being pressed downward.
Curiously, if any left hard press is timed during the floorhug window, any right stick ASDI down input will count as a floorhug. The left stick just needs to trigger a hard press at any point, meaning that the left stick does not need to be held, so long as the right stick ASDI down input is held.

Non-Timed Floorhug

Timing floorhug can be tricky due to timing mixups. However, there are a few situations where the timing restriction is not necessary:

Floorhugs that don't require timing...
Crouch Cancel	Multihits	Auto-Floorhug
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
The character was hit while crouching, aka crouch cancel.	If the first hit of a move is floorhugged, continuing to hold downASDI down while still in the landing hitstun animation. will floorhug following hits.	The hit is auto-floorhuggable. This is a hit property set by the game, and it is typically reserved for weak hits with light knockback.

Here's a list of all moves that can be auto-floorhugged*Universally, all cancellable Jabs can be auto-floorhugged.
This property can also be found in the move cards on each character page, either in the bullet points, or under the *Show Additional Data* panel.
Note that for moves with multiple hits, only the listed hits are auto-floorhuggable..
Character	Attack	Hit
Clairen	Jab	Sour
Clairen	Jab	Tipper
Clairen	Up Special	Multihit Early
Clairen	Up Special	Multihit Late
Etalus	Jab	Jab 1
Etalus	Jab	Jab 2
Fleet	Forward Air	Multihit
Fleet	Forward Special	Wind Arrow (Late)
Fleet	Forward Strong	Late
Fleet	Jab	Jab 1
Fleet	Jab	Jab 2
Forsburn	Forward Special (Pop)	Pop
Forsburn	Forward Strong	Cloak Inner
Forsburn	Forward Strong	Cloak Mid
Forsburn	Forward Strong	Cloak Outer
Forsburn	Jab	Jab 1
Forsburn	Jab	Jab 2
Forsburn	Up Strong	Cloak Inner
Forsburn	Up Strong	Cloak Outer High
Forsburn	Up Strong	Cloak Outer Low
Kragg	Down Special	Spike 1
Kragg	Down Special	Spike 2
Kragg	Down Special	Spike 3
Kragg	Jab	Jab 1
Kragg	Jab	Jab 2
Kragg	Neutral Special (Rock)	Shards
Kragg	Up Tilt	Hit 1
Loxodont	Jab	Jab 1 Sour
Loxodont	Jab	Jab 1 Sweet
Maypul	Dash Attack	Hit 1
Maypul	Jab	Jab 1
Maypul	Jab	Jab 2
Olympia	Down Tilt	Dtilt
Olympia	Jab	Jab 1
Olympia	Jab	Jab 2
Olympia	Neutral Special (Gem Toss)	Projectile
Orcane	Down Special	Bubbles
Orcane	Down Special	Droplet
Orcane	Forward Air	Bubble
Orcane	Jab	Jab 1
Orcane	Jab	Jab 2
Orcane	Neutral Special	Droplet
Orcane	Up Throw	Bubbles
Ranno	Jab	Jab 1
Ranno	Jab	Jab 2
Ranno	Jab	Jab 3
Ranno	Neutral Special	Aerial, Fully Charged
Ranno	Neutral Special	Aerial, Uncharged
Ranno	Neutral Special	Ground, Fully Charged
Ranno	Neutral Special	Ground, Uncharged
Ranno	Rapid Jab	Rapid Jab
Ranno	Up Special (Spin)	Darts
Wrastor	Forward Special	Tornado
Wrastor	Jab	Jab 1
Wrastor	Jab	Jab 2
Zetterburn	Forward Special	Fireball
Zetterburn	Jab	Jab 1
Zetterburn	Jab	Jab 2
Zetterburn	Neutral Special	Uncharged

In addition, if a character floorhugs a weak hit (indicated by a blue flash), holding down for the next 20 frames will register a floorhug on any hit. Any hit after these 20 frames will require a new manually timed floorhug.

Countering Floorhug

While floorhug is a very powerful mechanic, it cannot beat everything.

Hits that cannot be floorhugged:
Spikes	Grabs	0x ASDI Moves
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
SpikesSpike An attack that sends downward. On grounded opponents, this causes flinch at lower percents, and causes an untechable bounce at higher percents. See in Glossary ignore any attempt to floorhug and behave as normal.	All grabs and throws ignore any attempt to floorhug and behave as normal. This includes command grabs.	If a move cannot be ASDIed, it cannot be floorhugged.

List of Hits with a 0x ASDI Multiplier
Character	Attack	Hit
Clairen	Ledge Special	Slash Air
Clairen	Ledge Special	Slash Ground
Etalus	Forward Strong	Hit 1 Back
Etalus	Forward Strong	Hit 1 Front
Etalus	Up Strong	Hit 1
Fleet	Back Throw	Arrow (Early)
Fleet	Back Throw	Arrow (Late)
Fleet	Forward Throw	Arrow 3
Fleet	Forward Throw	Arrows 1 and 2
Fleet	Neutral Special	Wind Chime
Fleet	Up Throw	Arrow
Kragg	Up Special	Pillar (Aerial)
Kragg	Up Special	Pillar (Grounded)
Maypul	Down Special	Lily (Wrap Hit)
Olympia	Down Special	Fully Charged
Olympia	Down Strong	Hit 1
Olympia	Forward Special (Gem Hit)	Hit Opponent (Airborne)
Olympia	Forward Special (Gem Hit)	Landing
Olympia	Forward Special (On Hit)	Hit Opponent (Airborne)
Olympia	Forward Special (On Hit)	Landing
Olympia	Neutral Special (Pop)	Crystalized Pop
Olympia	Neutral Special (Pop)	Field Break
Olympia	Up Special	Launcher
Olympia	Up Special	Multihit
Orcane	Back Throw	Bthrow
Orcane	Down Throw	Dthrow
Ranno	Ledge Special	Back
Ranno	Ledge Special	Front
Zetterburn	Down Strong	Hit 1
Zetterburn	Forward Strong	Linking Hit

In addition, while floorhugging weak hits is incredibly useful, it is also limited in the following situations:

Situations where weak hits cannot be floorhugged:
Flinch	Parry
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
While in flinch, floorhugging weak hits is not possible, and any attempt will cause a red flash.	While in parry stun, floorhugging weak hits is not possible, and any attempt will cause a red flash.

Crouch Cancel

Crouch cancelling (CC) is the knockback reduction characters receive when being hit in crouch, reduced by 20%. If a character is hit in crouch and continues to hold down on the left stick, the character will automatically floorhug. Crouch cancelling is indicated by yellow arrows and a unique sound effect played.

Here, **Maypul** uses Down Tilt against **Etalus**.
Without CC	With CC
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
Without CC, Etalus is knocked down from a medium hit.	With CC, Etalus quickly becomes actionable, since by crouching, he reduced the medium hit's knockback to only be a weak hit.

There are some additional quirks about crouch cancelling.

Projectiles will incur half their hitpause on crouching opponents, similar to a projectile hitting shield.
If Clairen hits a crouching opponent with a tipper, and the tipper does not send into tumble, tipstun will not occur.

Crouch cancelling is rarely used on its own, but as a combination with floorhugging, it allows characters to survive longer and floorhug heavier hits than normally possible.

Unlike floorhugging, however, the character must be able to crouch. This means that compared to floorhugging, there are fewer situations where it can be done. Therefore, it can be seen more like shielding, an actionable soft commitment that doesn't require strict timing, limiting the character to grounded options and less mobility in return.

Technical Info

Firstly, unlike floorhugging, crouch cancelling actually further reduces the hitstun. Instead of being capped between 4-8 frames, when crouch cancelled, characters only experienced 4-5 frames.

In addition, crouch cancelling and floorhugging are usually optimal with ASDI straight down, and the following factors can impact the effectiveness:

Since only ASDI affects floorhugging, it is possible to also use SSDI to further escape follow ups, similar to shield SDI. This generally only comes up for hits that are auto-floorhuggable, since ASDI timing becomes lenient this way. To do this, hold ASDI down on the right stick before hitpause begins, and then input SSDI with the left stick during hitpause. This will also warp DI, however, so this only really comes up in a few situations.
If a character is knocked down from crouch cancelling a hit, it's both difficult and impractical to try and tech the hit. You lose the frame advantage from crouch cancel, being forced to tech, and it's much more preferable to just shield the hit instead.

Terminology

On this page, we use the following definition:

Crouch cancelling reduces hitstun slightly, and it causes yellow arrows to pop up.
Floorhugging means that a character sticks to the ground with grounded hitstun, and it causes a white arrow to pop up.

This is also the official designation by the development team.

The community can be a little split on what terms they use, because there is a lot of miscommunication going around. Here, we make the following points clear:

Crouch cancelling requires crouching.
If crouch cancelling is mentioned colloquially, it is assumed that floorhugging is involved in some sort of way, since crouch cancel on its own is quite obsolete. The rest of the wiki will also move forward with this assumption whenever crouch cancel is mentioned.

Floorhug Tech

Floorhugging is strongest against weak hits, but at some point, moves like Strongs and Tilts will eventually begin to knock down, typically leaving characters in disadvantage. This can be avoided with a floorhug tech or Amsah tech, done by inputting a tech before getting hit.

Once teched, the character's vertical knockback will immediately become zero, but the character will continue to maintain their horizontal knockback, which gradually reduces over the course of the character's tech animation. Characters can still fly off if they have horizontal velocity remaining, but it is typically greatly reduced, such that opponents can recover back to stage handily.

To input the tech, just do it like any other hit. Importantly, because the character instantly lands, the tech cannot be done after being hit.

It's also important to understand how to input it, and how to DI properly. Floorhug teching is only really applicable out of endlag, since in many other circumstances, characters can simply shield or spotdodge to be in advantage instead.

The best way is to tap down on the right stick for the floorhug input.
Then, with the left stick, choose the proper DI to survive the hit. DI down will always be better than no DI, and in most cases, either the direction of DI down and away or DI away will be the most effective, whatever DI gives the least amount of vertical knockback.

To better illustrate an example on how DI can improve floorhug teching, let's use Wrastor versus Clairen's sour Forward Strong.

Floorhug Techs
No DI	DI Down	Ideal DI
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.	Load video Local File Local File might collect personal data.
This forces a pop up at the earliest percent.	This helps a bit with survival, but not by much.	This greatly improves Wrastor's survival percent.