Wiki / Combat
Guard and perfect guard
Hold guard to block hits from the front; press it just as a hit lands for a perfect guard.
Status: Built · Last checked: 14 Nov 2026
The guard is your defence. Hold the guard button and hits from the front are stopped; press it just as a hit lands and you get a perfect guard, which turns the fight around.
With a sword and shield the guard is a block, described here. Other weapons defend in their own way: see "Other weapons" below.
How to do it
| Device | Guard button |
|---|---|
| Keyboard | D |
| Gamepad | LT |
| Phone | GUARD |
Holding the guard
| It stops | Hits from the front. Hits from behind go through |
| While it is up | No walking, turning, jumping or attacking, except the shield bash and the back dodge |
| The price | Each blocked hit costs stamina, more for a stronger hit. Holding the guard with nothing hitting it costs nothing |
| The attacker | Bounces off the shield and cannot act for a moment (longer after a heavy) |
Perfect guard
Press guard just as the hit lands, not before.
- The press has to be a new one. Holding guard, or pressing again right after letting go, is an ordinary block. Mashing does not work.
- It is a prediction, not a reaction: a light attack is faster than anyone can react to. A loaded heavy can be seen coming.
| The reward | |
|---|---|
| Stamina | Costs nothing and gives a good amount back |
| The attacker | Thrown open for about half a second after a light, longer after a heavy, and pushed back |
| In recovery mode | Shortens the recovery |
| Spells | A perfect-guarded Hush is sent back onto the caster; a perfect-guarded Fire bolt simply goes out |
You know it worked by: a chime of its own, a white flash on the guard, the shield punched forward, a longer freeze, a small shake of the picture, and the attacker thrown open. Nothing tells you when to press, other than the attacker's own wind-up.
What beats a guard
| A fully loaded heavy | Breaks the guard |
| Running out of stamina | A block that costs more stamina than you have left breaks the guard |
| A hit from behind | Goes through |
| When the guard breaks | Your stamina bar is emptied (recovery mode starts), and you are staggered and pushed back |
Other weapons
One guard button; what it does depends on the weapon.
| Weapon | What guard does |
|---|---|
| Hand and shield | A block (this page) |
| Staff | An energy shield: strong against shots and spells, weak against weapons |
| Dual wield | No block: a sidestep through attacks |
| Two hands | A brace: you take the hit at half damage without flinching |
| Bow | A leap back while firing one arrow |
| Punches | A weave: hits from the front slide off for a moment |
See also
- Stamina
- The way out of a perfect combo is a freshly pressed guard: the escape window.
Nerd section: the exact numbers
Holding the guard
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Coming up / going down | 3 frames (0.05 s) / 4 frames (0.07 s) |
| Cost of blocking | 4 stamina for each percent of the hit's damage, at least 8 (a small shot: at least 4) |
| Blocking a sprint tackle | 30 stamina |
Perfect guard
Press guard so that the hit lands within 0.17 seconds (10 frames) of the press. It was 8 frames until 14 Nov 2026; widened after the owner's play test ("perfect block is hard to land"). The same window holds for every guard: the block, the energy shield, the brace, the bow's perfect leap and the punches' perfect weave. One number: PERFECT_GUARD_WINDOW.
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| A new press only | After letting go of guard, a new press cannot be a perfect guard for a third of a second (20 frames) |
| How fast a light is | It strikes 0.1 s after it starts |
| Online | Every press takes effect 2 frames (0.03 s) late, and a phone's screen adds a little more: press that much sooner |
| Stamina | Costs nothing and gives 20 back |
| In recovery mode | Shortens the recovery by two fifths |
| The fight | Freezes a little longer than a normal hit, so it can be read |
| In training | "Perfect guard" shows in the training readout |
Guard break
| Caused by | A fully loaded heavy hitting the guard, or a block that costs more stamina than is left |
| The bar | Emptied: recovery mode starts |
| The defender | Staggered for about 0.77 seconds (46 frames) and pushed back |