Guilty Gear Strive: How to Roman Cancel

The Roman Cancel mechanic in Guilty Gear Strive will be both your best friend, and worst enemy as well.  The reason why is obvious. If you manage to pull it out correctly with great timing. you are in for a treat as you will be able to execute some really hard-hitting combos. If however, you mess up and you are on the receiving side, well then, pray your enemy messes up some inputs. Using Roman Cancel the most efficient way possible will need good character knowledge, on-the-spot decisions and good reflexes. If you want to see more about it, take a look below.

How to use Roman Cancel efficiently in Guilty Gear Strive

Before anything else, one question may come to your mind. What actually is a Roman Cancel? The specific feature is one of the series’ staples, introduced quite some time ago. What it does, is to literally cancel you combo instantly, so you can ‘reset’ and either proceed with another combo from scratch, ending to bigger damage numbers, or use it as you see fit depending on the situation. This could mean closing up distance, defensive options and more. Considering Guilty Gear Strive is an extremely aggressive game, you more often than not will end up using Roman Cancel offensively.

To activate a Roman Cancel, you need to press three buttons simultaneously, with none of them being the Dust button, as it doesn’t work for the input. So if for example you are using a certain combo to someone, in the midst of the combo press any three buttons at the same time, and Roman Cancel will be triggered canceling the whole sequence. This will leave you to a neutral position, so you can continue with what you see fit at that specific time frame.

The different types of Roman Cancel

If you thought Roman Cancel was already kind of complicated, we’ve got news. There are multiple types of this mechanic, but thankfully, the input command is kind of the same. What changes is the state in which you need to use it and have different results. In order to keep each description as simplified as possible, below you will find the notes and tips for each Roman Cancel, through the official PlayStation website:

Yellow Roman Cancel

It’s no secret that Guilty Gear is focused on offense. One player tries to get the other to block as long as possible to ensure a hit. Thankfully, the game has tons of defensive mechanics to help you turn the tide and survive onslaughts of attacks. Enter: Yellow Roman Cancel, a familiar name to the series but with a new style.

In Guilty Gear Strive the Yellow Roman Cancel (YRC) was redesigned into a defensive maneuver similar to the old Guilty Gear guard counter mechanic, Dead Angle. Players can press the corresponding three buttons for 50% of their Tension Meter while in blockstun to let loose a yellow shockwave. This small shockwave puts opponents in a slowdown state, halting any momentum and likely resetting neutral. However, this option isn’t available if you’re Guard Crushed. YRC isn’t infallible and can be punished on block.

Red Roman Cancel

Red Roman Cancel will be familiar to anyone that has played a Guilty Gear game. It is the most basic of the bunch. Simply input the RC command after attacking and for 50% of your Tension Meter you’ll cancel your animation into an optimal setup, combo extension (very useful due to the new jab gatling change), or stray hit confirm depending on your situation.

Purple Roman Cancel

Purple Roman Cancel is another classic RC system returning in Guilty Gear Strive. This RC activates during the recovery frames of an attack (either startup or end) when your opponent isn’t in hit or blockstun. They’ll only be slowed down if the shockwave hits them. This makes PRC a big gamble. One good read from your opponent can land you in an even worse situation.

Blue Roman Cancel

Blue Roman Cancel (BRC) has quickly become the talk of the town for all the Guilty Gear lab monsters. It costs 50% of the Tension Meter and is usable when you RC while not attacking. While the application of this “new” RC hasn’t been fleshed out just yet, many players are using it offensively to mix-up pinned opponents. For example, jump canceling normals for frame advantages in conjunction with the new RC Drift mechanic to break through someone’s guard.

RC Drift

Speaking of the RC Drift, the Roman Cancel system allows players to buffer movements into the cancel animation. This new mechanic, dubbed RC Drift, has tons of applications: dodging incoming attacks, moving forward to follow projectiles for tick throw setups, escaping setups, and much more. Input a dash right before Roman Cancelling (left, right, up, or down for a fast fall) to drift. You’ll always move in the direction of your drift during the cancel.

Fast RC

The Fast Roman Cancel is the simplest of the new Roman Cancel mechanics. Input an attack right after Red Roman Cancelling in order to instantly attack. While its application seems simple, players haven’t explored Fast RC as much as the other Roman Cancel mechanics. We’ll just have to wait and see how it develops.

Guilty Gear Strive is available on PlayStation and PC. For more related content about the game, feel free to check the rest of our guides right here.