Hey everyone, Raidhyn here.
Next week on September 13th, Season 6 of Brawlhalla will begin, and the new Dash mechanic will go live.
This is one of the biggest gameplay features we've added since last year's chase dodge, and we can't wait! We've been testing this for months, gathering feedback, fine tuning, adjusting, and now we're ready for it to go live.
The question now is, are YOU ready?
Below I've included links to a couple of videos you may find useful. The first is our initial announcement video, which explains a lot of the design thinking behind the mechanic. Additionally, I put together a short video today explaining some of the basics of how it works.
Finally, I've included my notes of complete changes and new things that are possible related to Dash.
I hope you're excited for Season 6! Remember that you can prepare for the changes now by playing in the Experimental 1v1 queue, or by turning on Test Features in custom lobbies or the training room.
Cheers
- R
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAtnLV8keRU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GVdLPP30V8
My Dash / Dodge Changes Notes
Note: I say they're mine because it's how I write my notes and also because some of this stuff may change slightly between now and this Wednesday. These aren't patch notes as much as they are a final result of all changes made over the last several months of testing. Again, some of this might change, but reading through this should give you a very strong idea of how things are shifting.
Here are the mechanics getting replaced in Season 6:
- No more speed dodges in neutral, which means no more chain dodges in neutral. (No more double dodging through people knowing you won’t get hit.)
- No grounded directional dodges in neutral. Instead, you'll now perform a dash.
- No more dodging upward from the ground in neutral. (You can dash jump now, which is legit)
- All non-chase dodges have a slightly shorter invulnerability duration.
- Grounded spot dodges are no longer cancelable. There is a flat recovery time meaning that players can no longer spot dodge through a move and punish you back immediately.
- No speed dodges in the air in neutral. You can still dodge in eight directions with a normal dodge.
- On a grounded chase dodge on hit you can no longer dodge backwards / back diagonal as your second dodge option.
- If you attempt to do this you'll get a spot dodge instead.
- Less overall options for invulnerability so you can hit your opponent more often.
Here's what's the same:
- Gravity cancels still exist, you can still do swag stuff and meme worthy edge guards.
- On hit, you get a chase dodge still. Fast, invulnerable, cancelable, and good for hard reads and chase downs.
- On the ground, your chase dodge on hit can still be used twice.
- Other dodge interactions like dodges ending on wall touch, dodge startup being throw invuln, etc. still remain.
Here's what's new in Season 6:
Dashing!
All dashing can be done from a standstill or while running on the ground for a burst of speed!
To Dash Forward Press:
Forward + Dodge
or Forward + Down + Dodge
Forward + Diagonal Down Forward + Dodge
To Dash Backwards Press:
Back + Dodge
Back + Diagonal Down Back + Dodge
Forward Dash
- Forward + Dash gives you a forward dash! (RIGHT?)
- Forward dashes provide a fast burst of speed.
- No recovery means you can do ANYTHING YOU WANT after forward dashing.
- Literally anything: you can jump, attack, spot dodge, forward dash again, back dash, etc.
- Dashing twice takes a few frames longer than attacking or jumping out of a dash. (More on Dash Jumps below!)
- Forward dashing provides a momentum boost to all followup actions with momentum based benefits (like some signatures, and side lights).
Sprinting
- From forward dash if you hold foward your character will go into a sprint. This is faster than normal running, or repeated dashes.
- You also look like you're really busy but you're late for the bus and need to catch it on time to get to work.
Slide Dodge
- If you spot dodge immediately after starting your dash the momentum from dash will let you slide forward while dodging!
- Good for super sick mixups and destroying your opponents minds!
Dash Braking
- Hold back after dashing forward to stop your momentum short. THE MIND GAMES ARE REAL NOW.
- This technique can also be applied to slide dodges.
- Distance traveled when dash braking is cut short by around 50% compared to a full dash.
Back Dash
- Back + Dash gives you a back dash!
- Back Dash provides a quick hop backwards.
- Back dashes have a small amount of recovery compared to forward dashes
- You can x-pivot with certain attacks out of back dashes by using a move immediately when the recovery ends.
- Back Dashes can be Dash Braked by holding forward during the back dash.
- Back Dashes can be canceled into a forward dash to enter a dash dancing state or do any of the fancy things you wanna do out of a forward dash.
- You can't chain together two back dashes.
Dash Jumps
- When jumping out of a dash you can jump immediately to do a low to the ground jump with lots of momentum and distance coverage.
- When doing this out of a forward dash you will look like an action hero, and probably deserve a cape of some kind.
- You CAN do this out of backdash, but it is slower, and doesn't maintain momentum.
- Dash jumping into fast falls + air attacks look pretty slick.
- Dash jumping into fast fall + land + neutral sig also looks pretty slick.
- I think we can all agree that Dash Jumps are pretty slick.
Turning Things
(controlling if you want forward or back dash)
- Holding the straight direction has a shorter turn delay than turning using the diagonal+direction.
- So if you're looking to turn the other way and forward dash, use straight.
- If you want to ensure the backdash, use the diagonal (back+down diagonal).
- The difference here is a few frames, so it isn't massive, but for ease of execution this can be significant.
During the Brawlhalla Shuffle
(Rattle me this!) (THE RATTLE)
- This is related to dashing out of the movement state where you are rapidly pressing left and right.
- If you are holding any straight direction and press dash you'll dash forward no matter what (only when rattling).
- The only way to get a backdash in this state is to use the back+diagonal input.
Dash Dancing
- You enter a dash dancing state any time you dash forward and backwards and continue to do so. (or start backwards and forward and so forth).
- You stay facing your original direction during this state.
- You look pretty cool. (Well, I think so)
Dash Throughs
- You can dash through people like you used to dodge through them. Except now there's no invuln.
- You do look very very brave though and will feel like a boss when it works.
On Hit Dashing / Chase Dodging
- In the air chase dodging can be done in any forward facing direction, or straight verticals. Backdodging results in a normal dodge when landing an air hit.
- On a grounded hit you can choose between a chase dodge follow up or a dash followup.
- On grounded hit you can chase dodge forward, up+forward, or up.
- If you want to dash follow up you can input down or down+diagonal to get a dash instead of a chase dodge. Useful for the most ultimate of messing with your opponents.
Soft Platforms
- You can dodge through these by holding straight down.
- Using a straight horizontal or down+diagonal input you will get a dash like you would on normal ground.
- You can ledge cancel into a dash by using the down+diagonal input.
- Throwing your weapon in neutral while on the ground will allow you t o chase dodge afterwards.
- You enter the chase dodge immediately after throwing the weapon, not when it connecs.
- Chase dodges off of throw only work while on the ground.