Oh boy. You ready?

Movement

• For aerial Normals/Heavies, you can only do each once per jump, but you can reset this with an Air Jump/Wall Jump/Air Dash/Super Dash/Dodge.
• For aerial Specials, you can only do each once per airtime (air movement options will not reset this). EX Moves count as a different move than their non-EX versions.
• You can walljump up to 2 times before you have to land. Walljumps reset your Air Jump and Air Dash count, 
• Dashing does not give iframes normally, but they do have "head-profile" which shrink your hurtbox to your head.
• Jumping also give you head-profile on the first few frames after jumpsquat. You can evade attacks with narrow hitboxes and counterattack via short jumps.
• Dodging through a attack allows you to act earlier afterward allowing for an easy punish.
  
• Dodging passes through soft platforms and is not cancelled by landing. Use Air Dashes to wavedash instead.
• Wavedashing is a bufferable action, you can chain wavedashes together easily by holding Down+Jump and mashing Dash, or hold Down+Dash and mashing Jump. Of course, you can't do this if your input buffer is too low or you toggled off Input Assist (why would you do that?).
• Right after finishing a ground dash, you can press the opposite direction to do a pseudo "Dash Dance".
• You can Jump/Fastfall/Dash/Super Dash/Dodge Cancel most Normals on hit (unblocked) during recovery frames. Landing a Sweetspot may allow you to do some of these cancels earlier.
• Heavies can be cancelled into any movement options on hit on active frames.
• When doing most attacks in the air, holding Down will cause you to ignore soft platforms.
• When respawning, pressing directional keys (or not pressing any) will determine your respawn location. Each stage has 9 Respawn Points corresponding to neutral and the 8 directions.
• If you press the Jump button (not Up) at the same time as entering the input for an action, you will jump while buffering the input allowing you to perform the action on the 1st possible frame after jumping. You can do stuff like Instant Air Dashes and Instant Aerials/Air Specials this way.
• Landing an aerial attack give you +1 Air Jump, you can't get above your Max Air Jump count though.
• If you attack an opponent at the corners towards the wall you will get pushed back a bit (depending on move). The amount pushed also depends on the defender's GG.

Impulse:

• If you are pressing forward when starting a ground attack, you will slide forward a bit during startup (you will see a puff of dust). This is a mechanic called "Impulse".
• Pressing forward and attack on the exact same frame will do a Perfect Impulse, moving you further.
• Since you can turn during the 1st few frames of the startup of attacks, you can Impulse away from opponents then turn quickly, allowing you to attack while sliding backward.

Super Dash:

• Pressing Block + Dash at the same time will perform a Super Dash that can be aimed in any of the 8 directions. Release Dash to stop Super Dashing. You can Super Dash while Blocking.
• You can Super Dash once per air time, starting a Super Dash from the ground does not consume it.
• You can steer with directional keys while Super Dashing. Speed and turning of Super Dash is character specific.
• Super Dash passes through soft platforms.
• You can armor through Lvl 1/2 Projectiles while Super Dashing, but this cost GG, so be careful when using it.
• You can cancel Heavies/Specials with Super Dash Cancel (SDC) in various ways.
  • Using Super Dash during a landed unblocked non-EX Special will perform a "Blue SDC" for 0.5 bar of EX Gauge. Some moves (projectiles, movement Specials) allow you to Blue SDC without having to hit the opponent.
  • Using Super Dash during the recovery frames of  a Special will perform a "Pink SDC" for 1 bar of EX Gauge. Pink SDC can be done on whiff and block, and EX Moves can be Pink SDCed.
  • Heavies can be SDCed without meter on hit, but on whiff it can be Pink SDCed during the recovery frames.
  • Blue/Pink SDCs can be done even after exhausting your Super Dash, but will exhaust your Super Dash if you still have it.
• Basically, it's kinda like a limited version of Soku's flight with a bit of Arcana Heart's Homing.

Offense

Sweetspots and Punish Hits:

• Many attacks in this game has Sweetspots, which add damage/hitstun/Guard Drain/knockback and allow dash/jump/super dash cancels to come out on active frames instead of having to wait till the recovery frames. The increased knockback can make combo harder though, so you need to watch out. The visual indicator for a Sweetspotted hit is the defender flashing white.
• Hitting an opponent during the active/recovery frames of their attacks will result in a Punish Hit, which has effects similar to Sweetspotted hits but has no increased knockback. The visual indicator for a Sweetspotted hit is the defender flashing red.
• Some states will also result in Punish Hits if the opponent is in them when attacked. Examples are during Dodges, dashes and Super Dashes.
• It is possible to do a both a Punish Hit and Sweetspotted hit for the same attack to stack the effects!

Semi-Disjoint Hits:

• Most weapons in this game has a special hurtbox called the Semi-Disjoint Hurtbox (SDHurtbox) when they are swung.
• If the SDHurtbox is hit, the defender will stagger backwards (no damage taken) and lose GG.
• That means there wouldn't be true "Swordies" in this game. Mindlessly throwing out hitboxes can get you killed, watch out!
• There are true disjointed attacks in the game though, but they are rather uncommon (Gura's Heavies are true disjoints, for instance).

Projectiles:

• Has 3 levels:
  • Level 1
    • Can be destroyed by any attack.
  • Level 2
    • Can only be destroyed by Heavy Attacks/Special Moves/Supers/Bursts.
  • Level 3
    • Cannot be destroyed or reflected.
    • Cannot be Super Dashed through, but can still be armored through via actions with Projectile Armor.
    • Deals Guard Drain on Block.
    • Can Stun and score Lethal Hits.
• Projectiles can clash with each other. Each projectile has an "Absorption Value" that dictates how much projectiles they can absorb.
• Unless stated otherwise, non-EX Projectile Specials can be Blue SPCed during the active frames. The timing requires a little precision, doing it too late will result in a Pink SDC instead. Handy to use to cover your approach.

Priority System:

• Attacks in this game follows Priority based on this order:
  • air Light < ground Light < air Fierce < ground Fierce < air Heavy < ground Heavy < air Special < ground Special < air EX < ground EX < Super
• However, some attacks have increased or decreased Priority.
• How Priority works is this: if you attack an opponent who is in active attack frames and is using an attack with higher priority than yours, your attack cannot hit them during the 1st 2 frames but they can hit you. This can lead to some weird and janky interactions, but it's an easy system to implement.

Repeat Penalty:

• Attacks on an opponent in hitstun are remembered, repeating a move on a hitstunned opponent will result in a Partial Penalty, reducing the damage by 30% and reducing the hitstun. All command grabs and hitgrabs will fail on Partial Penalty. Attacks under Partial Penalty cannot score Sweetspots.
• Repeating a move twice will cause Full Penalty, halving the damage and reducing the hitstun to 0. You cannot chain from a move under Full Penalty.
• Some attacks can be repeated twice without Partial Penalty (Gura's a.dL), and some attacks (multi projectiles) can be repeated any amount of time without Penalty.
• Do remember that EX Moves count as a different move than their non-EX versions.

Combo System:

• holoVersus uses something like Reverse Beat for combos. Landing a Normal allows you to chained into any other Normal except for one that is already used in the chain.
• Dash cancelling does not reset the chain, you wouldn't be able to use a attack already used in a chain during the dash if you Dash Cancel during the chain.
• Normals/Heavies can be chained into Specials. Heavies cannot be chained on block.
• You can use Impulse and Quick Turn (turning during the first few frames during the startup of attacks) to adjust your spacing mid-chain, may be handy for landing Sweetspots.
• You can chain certain attacks on whiff in this game with different chaining rules:
  • During Whiff Chains, you cannot chain Fierces into Lights.
  • Heavies cannot be Whiff Chained.
  • Whiff Chains can only be done during recovery frames (normal chains can be done on active frames), making them slower.
  • Remember that whiffed attacks cannot be jump/dash/Super Dash/Dodge/Fastfall cancelled, which means that eventually the chainer will chain into a move they cannot chain out of. They probably can still escape with a Blue SDCable Special though.

Move Variants:

• Some moves have a Held Version that changes it slightly.
• Some moves will change if Up/Down is pressed after 8 frames (mostly moves that can be aimed). For this moves pressing Up/Down too early may result in another move instead if there is input overlap.

Instant Actions:

• Some moves are known as Instant Actions, they have no animation and can be done anytime out of hitstun, even while you are attacking or blocking.
• All Instant Actions uses the Unique Button (which locks all buttons except Left/Right/Jump/Block while held).

EX Gauge:

• You generate EX Gauge when attacking opponents. Blocked attacks generate less EX Gauge. Projectiles do not generate EX Gauge.
• You also generate EX Gauge during hitstun.
• You also passively generate EX Gauge over time. This passive generation is proportional to your horizontal distance from the center of the stage, tapering off to zero at the corners. Being airborne halves this passive generation. This is kinda meant to be an anti-stalling mechanic, whoever manages to stay at the center and control the stage will get free meter.
• If you used EX Gauge for anything, you wouldn't be able to gain any EX Gauge till the opponent is out of hitstun. Thus, it may be better to save EX Moves for later parts of combos, but they may be able to escape the combo via DI/Burst Escape. Decisions, decisions...

Lethal Hits and Overkill:

• Reducing your opponent's HP below zero is actually not enough to kill them. You have to connect a "Lethal Hit".
• Lethal Hits are done when you land a Heavy/Special/Lvl 3 Projectile/Sweetspotted attack with high enough knockback to send opponent into "Launch Hitstun" while their HP is <0.
•  Landing a Lethal Hit massively increases the knockback and allows the opponent to pass though the Blast Walls/Ceiling killing them.
• Do note that even with a Lethal Hit, the velocity of the opponent must also be high enough to pass through the Blast Walls/Ceiling.
• When opponent's HP is below -50% of their max HP, all attacks with high enough knockback will cause Lethal Hits.
  
• When a player loses a Stock, if the HP of the killer is below 0 it is set to zero, then the killer is healed by an amount proportional to the "Overkill Damage" on the defeated player. Thus, it may be possible to devise combos that deliberately avoid Lethal Hits till the last hit to maximize the Overkill Damage and thus the healing amount. This strategy may not be too useful till Supers are introduced though.

Wall Slam:

• When the opponent has >100% GG, knocking them into the Blast Walls/Ceiling at high enough velocity will cause a Wall Slam.
• Wall Slams have 3 levels corresponding to how fast you send them into the Blast Walls/Ceiling. Wall Slams deal a small amount of damage to the opponent and drain a chunk of GG from them, and can allow you to increase the damage of your combos.
• You can only do 1 Wall Slam per combo. Design your combo to send the opponent into the Blast Walls/Ceiling at the highest velocity possible to maximize the effect!

Defense

The Guard Gauge:

• The Guard Gauge is more than just Shield Health. It also acts as a "Stun Bar" as well as the combo length limiter.
• If you are hit outside hitstun, you lose GG (the stronger the attack, the higher the Guard Drain).
• If you are hit during hitstun, "Guard Swell" begins and your GG will start rising up to 200% as long as you remain in hitstun.
• When GG is over 100%, the higher your GG, the lower damage you take, the higher the knockback you experience (knockback is not based on how much damage you took in this game) and the stronger your DI (Directional Influence, more on that later), making it easier and easier to escape combos.
• At 200% GG, Burst Escape can be performed without the need for a Burst Token. Do note that using Burst Escape this way cost 100% GG.
• Thus, Guard Gauge serves as a way to limit combo length and power.
• Since the first hit of the combo will do Guard Drain, the stronger the move you use as the combo starter, the longer the combo you can do.
• When GG is over 100% outside hitstun, it will fall rapidly back to 100%, but since the fall is not instant, it weakens continuous pressure and give the defender some breathing room.
• When GG is under 100%, landing a hit or successfully parrying an attack will grant you "Positive Flow", causing your GG to rapidly regenerate back to 100%. Projectiles do not grant Positive Flow.
• Having your GG reduced to 0% via most attacks will cause Stun. Light Normals and Lvl 1/2 Projectiles cannot Stun.

Blocking:

• Blocking start from frame 1, but has a notable recovery when you release Block (called Block Release, and is an equivalent to Shield Drop in Smash Bros).
• Most characters do not have grabs in this game, and for those that do, many have their command grabs being EX only.
• Primary way of getting past Blocking is cross-ups and Normal/Special mix-ups.
• Normal/Special Mix-Up:
  • When blocking a Normal (Light/Fierce), the attacker can still chain and both players are pushed away from each other, making it hard for the defender to counterattack.
  • Most Heavies/Special Moves in this game are unsafe and punishable on Block. However, unlike Normals, they do Guard Drain even on Block! This means that if the defender does not have enough GG to block the hit, they will get Stunned, but if they do, they can get an easy punish on the attacker. Lvl 3 Projectiles also do Guard Drain on Block, but not Lvl 1/2 Projectiles.
  • All these mean that Normals, Heavies/Specials and Block has a weird highly situational RPS relationship. Normals can beat Blocking (being hard to punish causing the defender to lose GG over time), Blocking can beat Heavies/Specials (if the defender has enough GG), Specials can beat Normals (most Specials have better range and higher priority), but all these can easily change depending on circumstances.
• You can change the Blocking direction by pressing Block and the other direction during Block Release.
• Projectiles cannot cross-up defenders, the defender will automatically face them however.
• Cross-ups can't be done if the angle between the attacker and defender is too high/low or if the attacker is way too close to the defender. 
• After successfully blocking an attack, for 0.5 seconds you are in a special block state. During this block state you are immune to cross-ups/grabs/Guard Drain, making it difficult to do unblockable stuff. During this 0.5 seconds, Block Release can be canceled into Dodge.
• Parrying:
  • Blocking just before you get attacked by certain attacks can allow you to "Parry" the attack, negating Chip Damage and gaining Positive Flow. The Parry window is 5 frames.
  • All blocked attacks within 0.5 seconds of a successful Parry will be Parried, if possible.
  • If you release Block within 0.5 seconds of a successful Parry, you will do a faster Block Release that can be cancelled into most actions.
  • Successfully Parrying a physical attack prevents the attacker from chaining into another move.
  • However, since the hitstop is so short and there is no screen freeze, punishing opponent off a Parry can be very difficult unless you are some kind of yomi god. It may be better to only attempt to Parry projectiles which are much easier.
  • Heavies, Specials and Lvl 3 Projectiles cannot be Parried.

Anti-Air:

• Some attacks (most grounded up-normals)  in this game has an Attribute called the Anti-Air Attribute. Attacker using moves with this Attribute are immune to physical attacks of equal or lower "tier" by airborne opponents above them.
• The "tiers" are Normal/Heavy < Special < EX < Super.
• Do note that to successfully anti-air an opponent, they have to be both airborne and above you. Most aerials in this game do not get cancelled upon landing, so a "grounded aerial" cannot be anti-aired.

Armored Moves:

• Some moves have armor against certain attacks.
• Examples:
  • Projectile Armor:
    • Armor against Lvl 1/2 Projectiles
  • Weakarmor:
    • Armor against Normals (Lights/Fierce) and Lvl 1/2 Projectiles
• Some armored moves may only has armor if your GG is above certain thresholds.

Burst:

• Pressing Aux + Block outside hitstun will perform a Burst Counter, AKA "Yellow Burst", for 1 bar of EX Gauge (does not use the Burst Token).
  • Burst Counter is invulnerable on startup but has a lengthy one. It is unblockable and upon landing will blow the opponent far away and do a fair amount of Guard Drain. It will also refund 0.5 bar of EX Gauge and give Positive Flow on landing.
  • Burst Counter can be performed while Blocking or Dodging.
  • If you have a Burst Token, you can keep holding Aux + Block to perform a Burst Awakening, AKA "White Burst". It acts the same as Burst Counter, but maxes out your EX Gauge and grants Positive Flow even on whiff. It consumes your Burst Token though, and this prevents you from regaining it even after a kill (you will have to lose a Stock to regain it).
• Pressing Aux + Block during hitstun will perform a Burst Escape, AKA "Blue Burst", costing your Burst Token.  Burst Escape can only be done when GG is over 100%.
  • Same invulnerability on startup as Burst Counter. Cannot be blocked.
  • Cost 50% GG.
  • As stated before, Burst Escape can be done without Burst Token at 200% GG, but doing this will cost 100% GG.
  • Multi-hit moves temporarily lock out Burst Escape till the last hit.
  • You cannot Burst Escape with negative HP.

Directional Influence:

• DI in this game is proportional to your GG. DI strength starts at 0 when GG is 100% and maxes out at 200% GG.
• 3 types of DI:
  • Vector DI
    • Use directional keys to affect knockback vector horizontally and vertically during launch (kinda like Vectoring in early Smash4).
  • Drift DI
    • Hold left/right during knockback to influence your horizontal trajectory (kinda like in Rivals).
  • Gravity DI
    • Hold up/down during knockback to increase/decrease the effect of gravity on you.
• Multi-hit moves temporarily lock out DI till the last hit.
• You cannot DI with negative HP.

Teching:

• There are two types of hitstun in this game: Flinch Hitstun and Launch Hitstun.
• During Flinch Hitstun, you recover automatically after hitstun runs out. The "Unflinch" animation can be cancelled into most actions.
• You can hold Dodge/Super Dash to do them from Flinch Hitstun as soon as hitstun runs out.
• During Launch Hitstun, you DO NOT recover automatically after hitstun runs out and instead enters a "Techable State". You can tell when when you enter Techable State when you flash white and stop emitting the smoke trail.
  • You will automatically recover upon landing in this state.
  • Anytime during Techable State, you can Dodge or Super Dash out of it. Holding Dodge/Super Dash during Launch Hitstun will allow you to perform them as soon as hitstun runs out.
• Teching using Dodge/Super Dash can be done even after exhausting your Air Dodge/Super Dash, but will exhaust your Air Dodge/Super Dash if you still have it. Teching using Dodge will not cost GG, but if your GG is >100% it will be set to 100%.
• During Launch Hitstun, if you land on the ground at low enough velocity, you will automatically instantly recover even before your hitstun runs out.

Got all that?