Alice Gear Aegis CS/Controls

Control Types

The primary mechanic that Alice Gear Aegis CS players live and die off of is its Boost and Dodge (or Step in Japanese) mechanics. This mechanic is so important that there’s a special section in the controller options reserved for how Boost and Dodge activate.

Control Type A

The default setting. How it works is as follows:

• Tilting the left analog stick slightly in any direction will make your Actress move normally
• Pushing the left analog stick all the way to the edge in any given direction will activate Boost movement
• You can disable automatic Boost by holding down the Boost button. The default location of this action is the left analog stick’s internal button, but can be remapped to somewhere else on the controller
• Pressing the bottom face button on your game pad (B for Nintendo controllers, and X for Sony ones) activates Dodge

This control scheme is recommended for players who have good mechanical control of their left thumb to do those very precise tilts on their analog stick during the heat of battle.

Control Type B

The inverse of Control Type A. This scheme works as follows:

• Your Actress will move at normal speed regardless of how far you tilt the left analog stick.
• Boosting is only activated by holding down the Boost button, with the default location being the left analog stick’s internal button. This action can be remapped to somewhere else on the controller.
• Pressing the bottom face button on your game pad (B for Nintendo controllers, and X for Sony ones) activates Dodge

This control scheme is recommended for players who want to hold a button down to trigger Boost activation instead because the mental strain of remembering to be gentle with the analog stick just to move normally is one more thing they don’t want to worry about.

Control Type C

This is a good way to throw off a Senko no Ronde player's muscle memory. This scheme works as follows:

• Boosting AND Dodge Step is mapped to one button. By default, this is the controller’s upper-right trigger button (R for Nintendo controllers, R1 for Sony ones). Since you now have two actions mapped to one button, the left analog stick’s internal button does nothing now. It is possible to remap it to that location if you want to though.
• Tapping this uniquely programmed button activates Dodge as intended
• Holding down the same button for a few moments ignores the Dodge command and activates Boost movement instead for as long as it’s held down

The Japanese wiki says that this Control Type is reminiscent of Sega’s Border Break series, but the trade off is you do not get instantaneous Boost activation like you do with the other types, and a few of the default actions for the first two Control Types were moved to different buttons on this configuration for some reason.

Unique Movement Actions

Boost

Boosting accelerates your Actresses’ default movement speed. There’s a game mechanic that prevents you from using this all the time, so keep that in mind when using this during the heat of battle as its usefulness is pretty obvious during those moments.

Dash (Step in Japanese)

Press once to quickly move your Actress a short distance in the direction you were holding the left analog stick towards. If you pressed the button without holding a direction, they’ll Dash straight forward. Performing this action has faster startup animation and movement speed that’s faster than Boosting.

Like Boosting, Dash Stepping is tied to a game mechanic that prevents you from recklessly using it.

Roll

Your Actress can perform a second Dash Step anytime during the peak and end of the first Dash animation by holding a direction on the left analog stick and pressing the Step button again.

The Japanese wiki calls the second Dash Step a Roll since your Actress will do a barrel roll aileron roll animation.

Clash Gear (Cross Gear in Japanese)

Clash Gear is your melee attack button. It’s lumped in with the other movement options because most Cross attacks will automatically make your Actress close in on your opponent if they’re not already within striking range. What the tutorial didn’t mention about this feature is that there’s more than one type of Clash attack:

• Left analog stick neutral + Clash Gear: The default melee attack. If your Actress is not in striking range of the target when this button is pressed, she will autopilot Boost towards her target a predetermined distance and then stop moving before swinging her weapon either when she’s in striking range or has reached the max distance. You can swing her weapon manually during this process by pressing the Cross button again. Most neutral Clash Gear weapons have three swings to them, so you have to press the Cross button two more times to complete it after the first swing.

• Left analog up + Clash Gear: Your Actress will travel a greater distance forward (and usually faster) and will swing their weapon while they still have some momentum in their movement. This can either be used to attempt hitting fleeing opponents or if your Actress needs to cover more ground than what a neutral Cross attack could reach. Depending on the weapon, all of the swings might be done automatically without your input.

• Left analog left + Clash Gear or Left analog right + Clash Gear: Your Actress will Boost strafe horizontally in a 90 degree angle either left or right of your target, and if they are still out of range, autopilot Boost towards them before attempting to swing. Most weapons have 2 swings that you must manually press down to confirm you want to continue the combo.

• Left analog down + Clash Gear: Your Actress will immediately use their Clash Gear. They will have also minor knock back resistance during their attack animation, and depending on the weapon, will position themselves in a way that will make the opponent completely whiff their attack. This melee attack has the fastest startup and is typically used when your opponent is closing in on your Actress with their own melee strike.

Boost Gauge

The Boost Gauge determines whether or not your Actress can perform Boost movement or Dodge Steps. It consists of five bars (frames).

• Boost movement will gradually deplete the Gauge
• Dodging will deplete one bar from the Gauge
• Rolling after a Dodge depletes about 80% of one bar from the Gauge
• Performing Neutral and Left or Right Cross Gear attacks will drain various amounts of a single bar from the Gauge

To completely refill the Boost Gauge, do not perform any of the above actions for about one second (this is actually longer than you think). If you do, it resets the timer.

However, this countdown timer pauses:

• During the startup flash of a Torso or Leg Skill and ends about a split second after the animation for the skill finishes
• When an Up or Down Clash Gear attack is used and ends around a split second after the animation is finished
• When the Shield is activated and ends around a split second after the Shield is turned off

The only offensive move your Actress can do without affecting the Boost Gauge’s recharge timer is using her Firearm Gear.

Overheated State

The Boost Gauge can actually give your Actress EXACTLY five Dodge Steps if she doesn’t perform any other action that drains it. The last frame on the Boost Gauge will have a pink outline to let you know that it’s only partially full and attempting to Dodge in this state will cause the Boost Gauge to overheat.

The moment the Boost Gauge overheats, a series of three 1-second pulsing animations around the Boost Gauge frames will play. Assuming you didn’t do anything else to pause the refill timer, this is how long it’ll take for the Boost Gauge to refill. However, while the refill timer is counting down:

• Boost movement and Dodge Step is disabled, making your Actress an easy target
• All other actions that would pause the refill timer still pause the refill timer
• It is still possible to do Clash Gear attacks, and the ones that would’ve drained the Boost Gauge instead pause the refill timer