Chaining Combos

In order to avoid auras, it is first important to know how to chain combos together. For example, for chaining some combos, you can simply attack immediately after finishing the previous combo, but for others you have to move forward first - else you won't reach the enemy.

[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rXlIkqb2hIDPtnZ9ovHf5JfZkCy2AQ9cwrYlyK6j1LE/edit?usp=sharing](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rXlIkqb2hIDPtnZ9ovHf5JfZkCy2AQ9cwrYlyK6j1LE/preview?usp=sharing)

See above for an overview of how to chain all relevant combos. For example, during a Dad fight, a B2 combo can be followed directly by an E attack (this could be another B2 combo) without taking a single step forward, however a B1 combo cannot, as it needs a step forward before an E attack. On the other hand, trying to follow any B combo with a J attack will result in failure as Dad is simply too far to do it quickly.

For combos where a “tiny step” is required, even one frame of forward-movement is sufficient. But you must move else you may be too far.

The following may be a helpful way to remember this table:

• In general, for chaining most combos you do not need to take a step forward (Example)
• For the Alchemist, you always take a step forward between combos (Example)
  • In the example, ignore the giant step forward after the first combo - this is anomalous and is specific to this fight only; instead look at all combos after that to see the “tiny step” required for all Alchemist fights
  • The step is so tiny that it might be hard to see - look again, and pay attention to the input viewer!
  • Taking a bigger step is fine but it may cause other problems like auras (see later), so you should practise taking a tiny step as shown here
• You always take a tiny step before a J (B0) attack (Example)
  • As a runner, you do not need to worry about the “too far” cases as those will simply not be given on any fight guides/notes
  • Of course, this guide is about chaining combos, so at the start of the fight you may not need the tiny step, as in the example
• For Dad fights where we have Elika, you should take a step forward after a B1 combo (Example)

The above summary is functionally equivalent to the table. In a fast-paced fight during an actual run, you will not have enough time to read this information, so you should memorise this before the run.

<aside> ‼️

For combo chains where a tiny step is required, it can often work even without a tiny step. In some specific cases, it may even work as much as 90% of the time, while in other cases the consistency is more like 20%.

For example see this fight which was done before we knew about these phenomena. The first two times it worked even without a step forward, but the third time it didn’t work.

So if you try a combo chain without a tiny step and it works, don’t think that this will be consistent! Refer to the table and the bullet points above for the most accurate information, which is based on dozens of tests for each scenario. If you follow the guide above you will have a 100% consistency rate.

</aside>

Avoiding Auras/Abilities

When auras and abilities are unlocked, they can still be avoided for most fights. In fact, if all fights are executed correctly, then the only fights with the potential of triggering auras are the Warrior fights.

At the very start of the fight, the enemy never uses an aura. Therefore for the first combo we are free to do whatever we like, as long as we don't get attacked by the enemy first. Likewise for the second combo the enemy generally doesn’t use an aura*. But that's where the fun ends - or does it? Once we execute our first two combos, an aura can be triggered in three ways:

1. If the combo is cancelled without being finished, then the enemy may go into an aura right after
2. If we are spamming any combat input as the combo is ending, then the enemy is guaranteed to go into an aura
3. If we finish a combo without spamming any inputs as it is ending, then the enemy either uses an ability or goes into an aura after a set amount of time (somewhere around 1/4 of a second)