Soul Calibur 6 Reversal Edge Guide

Soul Calibur 6 came packed with a lot of new bells and whistles, but perhaps none of them are as prevalent as the Reversal Edge system. Accessible by any character, the Reversal Edge allows players to engage in a rock-paper-scissors clash that can lead to devastating attacks. If you want to learn how to utilize or defend against it appropriately, our guide will help you understand Reversal Edge usage better.

Initiating Reversal Edge

The first thing you need to know about how to get into a Reversal Edge situation is what activates it. By pressing R1 on PlayStation 4 or RB on Xbox One, you will cause your character to shift in stance. From this position, your character has a window where they cannot be struck or caught by normal attacks and throws, save for break attacks.

Once this window ends or your release the Reversal Edge button, your character will shift over to an attack stance. Be careful. You will no longer avoid attacks and a wary opponent can strike you with a well-timed attack to knock you off this stance. As an aside, you can eliminate the evasion window and go right into a Reversal Edge attack if you want by tapping the Reversal Edge button without holding it. That said, holding the Reversal Edge or evading even a single attack make the reversal unblockable.

The Reversal Edge Clash

When a Reversal Edge attack connects, that’s when things become interesting. A clash happens and the aforementioned rock-paper-scissors game occurs between the attacker and the defender. Each side has a moment to choose their response and the result depends on the choice made. A victory on the attacker’s side could result in devastating damage against the defender. Meanwhile a successful defense could mean setting up for a solid counter.

The basic thing you need to know is this:

• Vertical attacks beat Horizontals
• Horizontal attacks beat Kicks
• Kick attacks beat Verticals

If you choose the option that coincides with any of these, such as a Vertical attack vs a Horizontal defense, a powerful attack will play out.

Guarding in Reversal Edge

What about guards and evasion, you may ask? Guards and evasions all do their own things in the Reversal Edge game. For instance, guards will break the Reversal Edge against Horizontal and Kick attacks, but Vertical attacks against Guard will take the Reversal Edge game to a second stage. In this second stage, Guards cannot be used again. Moreover, a low Guard Gauge means risk of a Guard Break if the defending opponent isn’t careful.

Evasion has its own rules, but different dodges must be precise against various attacks. Each will win against one attack while losing against the two others. Here’s the specific rules.

• Advancing Evade wins against Horizontal, loses against Vertical and Kick
• Retreating Evade wins Kick, loses against Horizontal and Vertical
• Sidestep Evade wins against Vertical, loses against Kick and Horizontal

If you can guess your opponent correctly, a good evasion can mean an awesome counter, just beware of the higher risk of attempting to dodge the attacks and taking severe damage from losing to an attacker in Reversal Edge clashes.

Having trouble keeping all these rules in check? No worries, there’s an easy-to-read graphic that will help you remember every bit of information presented here.

In a video of the Soul Calibur 6 mechanics, Producser Motohiro Okubo and his team offered the above chart, which summarizes the flow of Reversal Edge clashes. If you need a refresher on the rules at any time, this is a good thing to keep in your back pocket.

With all of this information in mind, you should be better prepared to handle Reversal Edge situations and everything that comes with them.

Don’t have a full Soul Calibur 6 roster? Here’s a guide on how to get Day One DLC Character Tira into your playable character pool.