Assist The Assist system is a gameplay feature in " Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy " . It is a new feature not previously found in the original " Dissidia Final Fantasy " , and allows for a fighter to call an ally into battle to perform an attack . It is designed to be directly opposed to EX Mode as a game mechanic - accessories that enhance Assists negatively affect EX Mode and vice - versa , and EX Break and Assist Break allow one mechanic to cancel out the other . Function . The player can set their Assist and his or her outfit freely in some battle modes , while in others , such as in all storyline gameplay , their Assist is preset although they can still change the Assist ' s outfit . As characters perform attacks , the Assist gauge under their HP bar fills , a section turning orange when it is completely filled . After a few moments of inactivity from the player , their Assist Gauge will start to decrease , so aggressive actions keep the meter filled . Any attack will fill the meter , even if it does not connect . Whenever a character enters EX Mode , the other character ' s Assist Gauge depletes to zero . Counter - attacking the opponent when low on either Bravery or HP can trigger an Assist Charge , wherein the attacker ' s Assist Gauge instantly fills by half or all the way , depending on the circumstances . Countering an opponent ' s Bravery attack when the character ' s Bravery is low will fill their Assist Gauge halfway . Countering an HP attack while under Near Death status will completely fill the character ' s Assist Gauge . When an Assist is summoned , the " Assist " tag next to the summoned Assist glows blue if he / she is Assisting the player , and red if he / she is Assisting the opponent ( in an early screenshot of the game , the opponent ' s " Assist " tag glowed yellow instead of red in the final release ) . A Bravery Assist attack , known in - game as " Assist - B " , can be triggered by pressing and , which consumes one assist bar , while HP Assists , known in - game as " Assist - H , " are triggered by pressing and , consuming two assist bars . The Assist will react , and appear according to what conditions were in the assist ability customization screen . While an Assist attacks , their blows do not produce EX Force . However , depending on the Assist character ' s amount of damage dealt , the opponent ' s EX Force meter is reduced by a proportionate amount . After an Assist attacks , depending on the attack used , one of two things can occur . If the Assist ' s attack inflicted Wall Rush , the opponent is still vulnerable , and the player can attack them while they are recovering from the attack to press their offensive further . If the Assist ' s attack began a Chase Sequence , pressing will teleport the player character behind the opponent while they are recovering , allowing them to attack again . These two abilities allow the potential for Assistance attacks and main player attacks to be chained together in different ways . Assist Lock and Assist Change . If the Assist character is staggered or attacked before they can leave the field , it will result in an Assist Lock . Once the player ' s Assist is locked , they can no longer build or use the Assist character for about twenty - two seconds . In addition to the Assist Gauge becoming locked , the opponent who locked the Assist out will receive all of the EX Force on the field . The more times the Assist is locked , the longer the time required for it to recover . When the Assist Lock wears off , the Assist Gauge returns to whatever state it was in when it was locked , and retains any charge it had at that time . Players may also use an Assist to perform an Assist Change , wherein they call their Assist while being attacked to have their Assist take the blow for them , with the main character being flung up or down out of the opponent ' s attack to avoid damage . Calling the Assist while consuming one bar will perform " Change - 1 " , wherein the main character escapes , but is inflicted with Assist Lock . Using two bars will cause the Assist to perform " Change - 2 " where the character evades the attack and the opponent is staggered , but the Assist Gauge is not locked . Timing an Assist Change properly is important , as some attacks will continue to home in on the player and hit them if they perform an Assist Change too early , such as Cloud ' s Omnislash Vers . 5 , Tidus ' s Slice and Dice , or Onion Knight ' s Guiding Swipe and Swordshower . Assists can inflict Assist Lock by hitting the opponent ' s Assist with their attacks but this cannot be done on purpose as Assists will always target the opponent regardless of whom the player is currently targeting . Thus , locking an opponent ' s Assist with the player ' s own Assist is largely down to the luck of calling an Assist against the opponent while their own Assist is present and happens to get in the way . As with two attacks cancelling each other out , if two Assists happen to hit each other simultaneously , they both will inflict Assist Lock . EX Break & Assist Break . If a character calls their Assist to attack an opponent in EX Mode , an EX Break will occur if the Assist ' s attack connects . This grants the player who called the Assist the Stage Bravery , as though they had inflicted Bravery break , and the opponent ' s EX Gauge instantly depletes to zero , their EX Mode ending . Similarly , if an Assist character is attacked by an opponent in EX Mode , an Assist Break occurs - the EX Mode character receives the Stage Bravery in addition to their opponent being inflicted with Assist Lock . There are two exceptions - Gabranth ' s EX Mode ability Jamming prevents the opponent from gaining the Map Bravery when he is inflicted with EX Break , but his EX Gauge is still canceled , and Feral Chaos is unable to be inflicted with EX Break during his EX Burst . List of Assistance attacks . Though the player can set their Assist freely , the attack that their Assist uses is set to one of four attacks . The attack they use changes depending on whether the opponent or the player ' s character is in the air or on the ground . The Assist character also appears near the opponent or the player depending on the attack used . Feral Chaos is the only playable character who cannot be used for assist .