Gameplay

## Controls

* Right Tap: **Light attack** or shoot ranged attacks when far away
* Right Swipe: **Medium attack** or Dash forward when far away. Swiping right can be performed from either the left or right side of the screen.
* Right Hold: **Heavy attack** - Transform into alt mode and break through an opponent's block
* Left Swipe: **Dash** backward, sometimes referred to as a backstep. Swiping left can be performed from either the left or right side of the screen.
* Left Hold: **Block** - reduce incoming damage
* Swipe Up/Down: **Sidestep** up/down

A Bot can hit an opponent with melee attacks up to five times at a time (seven for agile bots like Mirage, Arcee), which is achieved by using a mix of three light and two medium attacks. You can rack up a combo streak by successfully hitting the opponent consecutively until your bot is hit by an unblocked attack.

**Basic Ranged Attacks** are fired up to three at a time. As opponents can easily block or sidestep a barrage of projectiles, it is recommended to strategically shoot when the opponent is dashing forward or right after he/she completes a melee Special Attack. You can dash in immediately after a successful projectile hit or two and start a melee combo. Shooting one at a time is the safest and can be good for establishing a "good" map position or disrupting certain mods, e.g., bots that gain power while blocking can have their block disrupted by single ranged shots because they will dodge instead of block. Two consecutive shots is a bit riskier but can be useful in setting up 7a -hit combo but a miss on the second one will make you vulnerable to the opponent dashing in at you and getting their combo on your face! Three consecutive shots is the riskiest of all and should only be used when your bot has a RANGED SPEED buff, e.g., Arcee, Mirage, Starscream after a SP1.  In these cases, the opponent cannot dash in fast enough, keep in mind, this will only be temporary for the length of the buff.

**Heavy Attacks** can be used to deal more damage in a single hit and break an opponent's block. Some Bots have heavy melee attacks, while others have ranged heavy attacks. It is ideal to use a heavy attack when an opponent is at the edge of the arena.

**Blocking** can be used to reduce damage from attacks, but your block may be broken by heavy attacks. Backstep or Sidestep away from them to continue blocking. Some Bots have abilities that activate through Blocking, for example Optimus Prime's Armor or Hound's Projectile Switch. Block Proficiency can increase the damage that is reduced. Some Special Attacks may bypass Blocks, like Megatronus' Special II.

**Sidestepping** can be used to dodge ranged attacks at a distance. This is particularly useful if you're Blocking for a while and want to keep doing so. Some Special Attacks are hard to sidestep, like Shockwave's Special II.

## Special Attacks

**Special Attacks** are three powerful attacks that Bots have access to. A Special Attack can only be used once a Bot has gained enough Power to do so, which is generated when a Bot lands and receives enough hits, along with some other abilities. Once enough Power has been acquired, the Special Attack bar will glow a certain color, depending on which Special Attack it is (Green for Special Attack 1, Yellow for Special Attack 2, Red for Special Attack 3).

All Bots have access to all three of their Special Attacks from the start. Before then, 1~3-Star Bots unlock their Special 3 at Rank 2. Before v2.0, Bots had to unlock each Special by Rank (Special 2 at Rank 2, Special 3 at Rank 3), while 1-Star Bots only had 2 Special Attacks.

Only one Bot can use a special attack at a time and is invulnerable while performing it. Special 1 and 2 attacks can be normally blocked or dodged, so be sure to use your Specials when your opponent is vulnerable, and be wary of the opponent's Specials as well. Abilities that disable Special Attacks also exist. (Jazz, Grindor)

An in-depth guide to dodging Special Attacks, made by Forged to Fight Forum user BonesetterHUN, can be seen here (Original forum post) This guide is particularly helpful if you're trying to dodge a particular Special (for example, Bumblebee (DOTM)'s Special II).

### Kabam Support Guide

*Special attacks depend on your bot. Each one has a different set of special attacks that is based on their tier and rank. This combat style will charge while you are fighting and glow green once the first charge is full, yellow for the second charge, and red for the third and final charge.*

*This move cannot be interrupted, as the cast is instant, though the first two levels can be blocked.*

*The higher the level of your special attack, the stronger the effect of your move. For example, if your bot has unlocked the set of three specials, it will be able to charge its level one attack and cast it. You can also continue fighting and charge up to its second or third level, and then cast a more powerful move.*

*A bot will always perform the highest available move when the attack is activated. For example, you cannot have three charges and activate a level one attack.*

*Remember that you will need to rank up 2-Star and 3-Star Bots to unlock their tier two and tier three specials (respectively).*

*1-Star Bot: Starts with a one-bar special attack*

*2-Star Bot: Starts with a one-bar special attack*

*3-Star Bot: Starts with a two-bar special attack*

*4-Star Bot: Starts with a three-bar special attack*

*Some attacks have special effects. As some examples, bots can have an increased chance at critical damage and a chance to stun or have the ability to remove armor. There are several different kinds of special effects. Here is an example of the first two special attacks of Optimus Prime:*

* *Sideswipe: Swagger - % Increase in critical rate and chance to inflict Stun for a given period of time.*
* *Optimus Prime: Guardian Stash - Energon Axe strikes have a % chance to inflict Armor Break, removing enemy armor and applying a % armor reduction for a given period of time.*
* *Optimus Prime MV1: Energon Chop - % chance to inflict Bleed on slashing attacks, dealing % attack over a given period of time.*

*Make sure that you check out the special attacks of your bots by opening the bot profile and tapping on the INFO button for more information about each move.*

*Good luck with your battles!*

## Combinations

* R = basic ranged
* H = heavy ranged
* L = light melee attack
* M = medium melee attack (this is effectively the same as what some people call "dash in" when it's executed from a distance)
* SP = special attack
* BS = backstep
* SS = sidestep

All of these combos presume there is distance between you and the opponent at the start of the combo. They follow a general pattern [setup]-[combo]-[bonus]-[reset] with many variants.

### General use, setting up an "opening"

```
R    SS

```

```
RR*  SS

```

```
RRR* SS

```

\* see notes above on basic ranged attacks and the associated risks with consecutive ranged shots

### Common combos

```
R MLLL M  BS

```

```
R MLLL H  BS

```

```
R MLLL SP BS

```

```
RR MLLL M  BS

```

```
RR MLLL H  BS

```

```
RR MLLL SP BS

```

### Counters when sidestepping an opponent's M (or dash in)

```
SS LLL M  BS

```

```
SS LLL H  BS

```

```
SS LLL SP BS

```

further discussion: https://forums.transformersforgedtofight.com/discussion/8985/how-do-you-combo

## Auto-Fight

At Commander level 19, Auto-Fight becomes available in Solo Missions and Arenas, allowing your Bots to be automatically controlled. (Special Attacks can still be manually activated) It is recommended to only use this feature with high-ranking Bots to grind though easier maps. Full manual control is recommended against Bots in harder difficulty maps.