Assist (term)

The Assist system is a gameplay feature introduced in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy that allows for a fighter to call an ally into battle to perform an attack. It is designed to oppose 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==
thumb|right|Cloud calls Tifa as an Assist against Sephiroth.
The player can set their Assist and his/her outfit freely in some battle modes, while in others, such as in 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 filled. After a few moments of inactivity from the player, their Assist Gauge will start to drain, so aggressive actions keep the meter filled. Any attack will fill the meter, even if it does not connect. Entering EX Mode depletes the Assist Gauge to zero.
Counter-attacking 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 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 s/he is Assisting the player, and red if s/he is Assisting the opponent (in an early screenshot the opponent's "Assist" tag glowed yellow).
A Bravery Assist attack, known as "Assist-B", is triggered by pressing and , which consumes one assist bar. HP Assists, known 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. 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 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 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. The opponent who locked the Assist out receives 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 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 Version 5, Tidus's Slice & 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 target the opponent regardless of whom the player is currently targeting. Thus, locking an opponent's Assist with the player's own Assist is 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 will both 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 granting the player who called the Assist the Stage Bravery, as though they had inflicted Bravery break, and the opponent's EX Gauge depletes to zero, their EX Mode ending.
If an Assist character is attacked 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 afflicted 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 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.
Character 	Ground Bravery Assist 	Midair Bravery Assist 	Ground HP Assist 	Midair HP Assist
Warrior of Light 	Sword ThrustOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Rising BucklerOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Shining WavePlayer is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Shield of LightPlayer is in the airAdditional effects: Block, Wall Rush
Garland 	Round EdgeOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	BardicheOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	TsunamiOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	CycloneOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Absorb
Firion 	Opponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Opponent is in the air 	StraightarrowOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	WeaponsmasterOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Emperor 	Thunder CrestPlayer is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	MinePlayer is in the airAdditional effect: Chase, Absorb 	FlarePlayer is on the ground 	FlarePlayer is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Onion Knight 	Opponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Opponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Blade TorrentOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	CometOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Cloud of Darkness	Tentacle of Pain (two whips)Opponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush	Tentacle of Suffering (two whips)Opponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase 	[Anti-air] Particle BeamOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	[Fusillade] Particle BeamOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Cecil 	Shadow LanceOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Radiant WingsOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Soul EaterOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Saint's FallOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Kain 	Lance BurstOpponent is on the ground Additional effect: Chase 	Crashing DiveOpponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush 	JumpOpponent is on the ground Additional effect: Wall Rush 	Dragon's FangOpponent is in the air Additional effect: Wall Rush
Golbez 	Glare HandOpponent is on the groundAdditional effects: Chase, Wall Rush 	Attack SystemOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase 	NightglowPlayer is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Genesis RockPlayer is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Bartz 	Blade CrashOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Slide ShooterOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Dark FlamePlayer is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Ragnarok BladePlayer is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Exdeath 	Sword DanceOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	HurricaneOpponent is in the airAdditional effects: Chase, Absorb 	Grand CrossOpponent is on the groundAdditional effects: Chase, Absorb 	Delta AttackOpponent is in the airAdditional effects: Chase, Absorb
Gilgamesh 	Cross SlashOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	TsubamegaeshiOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Death ClawOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	HurricaneOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Terra 	GravigaPlayer is on the groundAdditional effects: Absorb, Wall Rush 	BlizzaraPlayer is in the airAdditional effects: Magic Block, Wall Rush 	FloodPlayer is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	MeltdownPlayer is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Kefka 	MeteorPlayer is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Extra-Crispy FiragaPlayer is in the airAdditional effect: Chase 	HyperdriveOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Havoc WingOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Cloud 	Sonic BreakOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Slashing BlowOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Cross-slashOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	BraverOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Tifa 	Beat RushOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Falcon's DiveOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	MeteodriveOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Rolling BlazeOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Aerith 	CurePlayer is on the ground 	Seal EvilPlayer is in the air 	Planet ProtectorPlayer is on the ground 	HolyPlayer is in the airAdditional effects: Wall Rush, Block
Sephiroth 	ReaperOpponent is on the groundAdditional Effect: Chase 	Sudden CrueltyOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase 	OctaslashOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Hell's GateOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Squall 	Solid BarrelOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Heel CrushOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Blasting ZoneOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Aerial CircleOpponent is in the airAdditional effects: Wall Rush, Absorb
Laguna 	Machine GunOpponent is on the ground 	ShotgunOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Satellite LaserPlayer is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Ragnarok BladePlayer is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Ultimecia 	Knight's Axe (uncharged)Opponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Knight's Axe (charged)Opponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Hell's JudgmentPlayer is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	ApocalypsePlayer is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Zidane 	Rumble RushOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	VortexOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Stellar Circle 5Opponent is on the groundAdditional effects: Chase, Absorb 	Free EnergyOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Kuja 	Snatch BlowOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Strike EnergyOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase 	Flare StarOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Force SymphonyOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Tidus 	Sonic BusterOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Hop StepOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase 	Spiral CutOpponent is on the groundAdditional effects: Chase, Magic Block 	Slice & DiceOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Yuna 	Meteor StrikeOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Heavenly StrikeOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	HellfireOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Diamond DustOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Jecht 	Jecht Rush( — — + )Opponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Jecht Stream( — — + )Opponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Jecht BladeOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Triumphant GraspOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Shantotto 	BindOpponent is on the ground 	BioOpponent is in the air 	Spirit Magic: EarthOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Spirit Magic: IceOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase
Prishe 	Howling Fist -> Raging FistsOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	Backhand Blow -> Shoulder TackleOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush	Nullifying DropkickOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Auroral UppercutOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Vaan 	GreatswordOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	StaffOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Chase 	CataclysmOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	InfernoOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush
Gabranth 	EnrageOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	AeroOpponent is in the airAdditional effects: Chase, Absorb 	ExecutionOpponent is on the groundAdditional effects: Chase, Magic Block, Absorb	HatredOpponent is in the airAdditional effects: Wall Rush, Absorb
Lightning 	AeroraOpponent is on the ground 	SmiteOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush 	Lightning StrikeOpponent is on the groundAdditional effect: Chase 	ThunderfallOpponent is in the airAdditional effect: Wall Rush, Magic Block
Category:Gameplay in Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy