Eternal Fighter Zero/Advanced Mechanics

Introduction

This is a page dedicated to explaining aspects of EFZ in extreme detail. Much of this page is a translation of the omake page on Bamboo Sword, consisting of findings from Japanese players over the years. The omake page was written before programs such as EfzRevival and EFZ Frametools were released, so a fair bit of the information is inaccurate and gradually being corrected over time. You may also notice a unique writing style in the translated portions.

Attacks

Hitstop

Weak:Medium:Strong = 3f:6f:9f

I’m not 100% sure on this, but years of experience tells me this is probably right.

As the game is running in ⅓ frames, moves with special hitstop (moves that have no recovery time for you) have the above values as positive frames.

Advantageous Frame Differences Between Block and Hit

Attack Level	On Block	On Hit	Notes
Attack Level 1	9F	10F	Hit Class 1 in Frame Viewer.
Attack Level 2	14F	16F	Hit Class 2 and 3 in Frame Viewer.
Attack Level 3	21F	23F	Hit Class 4 and 5 in Frame Viewer.
Air Block (attack level makes no difference)	19F	Attack Base Untech Time * Proration	Not affected by Hit Class.

Certain moves will have special hitstop, so take note.

E.g. Mai (5B), Nanase (5A), Misaki (5A), etc.

Air block is special in that attack level makes no difference.

Air Throw Ranges and Power

Name	Pixels Above	Pixels Below	Pixels Forward	Attack Power
Nagamori	-15	68	48	1200
Nanase	9	36	46	1400
Nanase (Bare-handed)	9	40	46	1400
Akane	11	34	49	1200
Misaki	17	28	48	1300
Mio	-3	50	46	1000
Mayu	12	28	46	1000
Unknown	17	35	48	1000
Ayu	17	28	47	1100
Mai	18	34	49	1300
Makoto	6	44	48	1100
Shiori	22	28	47	1100
Nayuki (Asleep)	-6	56	51	1300
Sayuri	10	44	48	1200
Misuzu	11	39	47	1200
Kano	3	44	48	1200
Minagi	24	26	48	1200
Kaori	-1	36	43	1400
Doppel Nanase	9	40	46	1400
Ikumi	6	44	53	1200
Mishio	1	48	46	1150
Nayuki (Awake)	-3	47	48	1200
Akiko	1	49	49	1200

• The numbers above are the number of pixels from the top of your character’s hitbox vertically and the middle of your character’s hitbox horizontally that will result in a successful air throw.
• Excluding Kanna, all characters begin an air throw during frame 1 of jC or j6C. If all requirements are met, the air throw happens on frame 2.
• Air throws hitboxes last 1 frame (frame 2).
• If the air throw fails, your character will perform j6C (or jC if j6C does not exist).
• With some exceptions (Ikumi, Kaori, etc.), characters with slow jumps will have a larger throw box, while fast characters will have a smaller throw box.
• All character’s throw boxes are centered slightly upwards, but you cannot air throw an opponent directly above you, so beware.
• Air throw attack power tends to correlate with character size.

Throw Specifics

Throw Trading

Most basic throws, ground and air, are invincible while active. However, some throws are not and can trade with enemy attacks. The throw is considered a 0 damage, level 1 attack (same as 2A/5A) in this case, with air throw trades making the opponent fall untechably.

Comboing Into Throw

Regular throws can "combo" if they connect with the opponent on the same frame as another attack, such as a projectile. As you cannot throw characters out of hitstun or blockstun, these simultaneous hits must be the start of the combo.

Whether or not a command grab can be comboed into simply depends on the grab.

Y Position Throw Bug

Ground throws can hit airborne opponents if their Y position is low enough to the ground. Examples are a low Makoto air backdash and the first 0.66 airborne frames of UNKNOWN's jump startup.

Inactive Throw Subframes

Most ground throws in this game do not connect on the first subframe of active, even though an active hitbox will appear in training mode. The reason why is unknown, but it effectively increases the startup by 1 subframe. This also means that the active period is reduced by a subframe for affected throws, but the fake active subframe will still be invincible. Air throws and command grabs do not have this bug.

Example: Nayuki(Awake) becomes invincible on frame 5.00 of her ground throw. At the same time, a hitbox appears that will not actually hit the opponent. On frame 5.33, the throw will actually connect, but the opponent can still input a reversal on this subframe even if they were standing in the previous frame's hitbox. On frame 6.00, the active frames and invincibility end at the same time.

Characters with normal startup and active ground grabs include: Mai, Mayu, Mishio, Sayuri.

Characters with worse, +0.33F startup and -0.33F active ground grabs include: Akane, Akiko, Ayu, Doppel, Ikumi, Kano, Kaori, Makoto, Minagi, Mio, Misaki, Misuzu, Mizuka, Nayuki, Neyuki, Rumi, Shiori, UNKNOWN.

At that point... which ones are the bugged ones?

Akiko 623* Clean Hit Logic

Version	Clean Hit Logic
623A and 623B	Opponent's origin point must be between 32 and 48 units above Akiko's origin point.
623C full clean hit	Opponent's origin point must be between 47 and 53 units above Akiko's origin point.
623C lesser clean hit	Opponent's origin point must be between 40 and 60 units above Akiko's origin point.

Notes:

• 1 unit = 1 pixel at the native internal resolution (320x240).
• A character's origin point is defined in each character's frame table. It is point 0,0. The position of the origin point relative to the sprite is not always consistent, but it is always aligned with the top of the juggle meter.

Defense

Recoil Guard and Recoil Counter Specifics

All RG mechanics apply to RC as well. The only difference is that RG is done in neutral and RC is done in response to RG.

General Rules

After pressing 4 or 1, RG will trigger if a move is blocked within the next 10 frames. If the 10 frame window ends and no move was RGed, there is a 10 frame cooldown before it can be attempted again. RG cannot be "buffered" during this cooldown, however it will mercifully continue to tick down during hitstop and superflash. RG cannot be attempted by switching from 4 to 1 or vice-versa, you must release your block to RG. However, during the hitstop of a blocked move you are able to quickly let go of the directional input and resume blocking while starting an RG attempt. This becomes more difficult against moves with small amounts of hitstop (like multihit projectiles).

RG Freeze

Whenever an RG occurs, both players (and most other things present in the match) are immediately frozen for a brief period known as RG freeze (or RG hitstop). Both players are not frozen for the same amount of time, however, and the exact amounts of time depend on whether the defender RG'd while standing, crouching, or in the air. The defending player always ends up being at a slight frame disadvantage. Refer to the table below for the exact data. Buffers function as normal during RG freeze, meaning it is easier to act immediately out of RG with a buffered special than an unbufferable normal.

	RG Freeze (Defender)	RG Freeze (Attacker)	Defender Disadvantage
Stand RG	20F	19.66F	-0.33F
Crouch RG	22F	19.66F	-2.33F
Air RG	22F	20F	-2.00F

RG Stun

After RG freeze ends, the defender has 20 frames (21.66 for Sayuri) of RG stun (or RG recovery) where they cannot walk, jump, or (air)dash, but are able to block and input attacks (with the exception of normal throws). RG stun will be cancelled if the defender blocks another hit, gets hit, or uses a move during this recovery. When on the ground, RG stun cannot be cancelled into RG. This means that the fastest way to RG multiple hits on the ground is to RG every other hit by blocking out of RG stun, then RGing the next hit. This restriction does not apply in the air, making consecutive air RGs easy.

RC Eligibility

In general, an attacker that gets RG'd may RC the defender’s attack provided that they are in the same animation they were in when the RG occured. This means that the window to RC usually lasts until the attacker recovers, so even if the defender waited until after RG stun ended to attack they could still get RC'd. This also means that you can RC during animations that aren't the RG'd attack, such as another attack (ex. FICing a projectile that gets RC'd) or even hitstun (ex. hit by a projectile on the same frame they RG). Not all ramifications of this "same animation" policy benefit the attacker, though. For example, if you buffer a move during RG freeze (such as chaining a normal) you will forfeit the ability to RC as you have entered a new animation. Additionally, while multihit moves can be RC'd regardless of which hit the opponent RG'd or if the later hits whiff, followup type moves often have their followups considered as separate animations, disqualifying the user from RCing. There are some moves which you may not expect to possess these animation shifts, like the mashed hits of Makoto's j2C or the landing recovery of some DP's or other specials which travel through the air.

Due to this leniency on RC, many DP's and other punishable moves become safer when RGed than they are when blocked normally, so savvy players may choose to not attempt an RG when trying to block a reversal. Additionally, since you cannot normal throw during RG stun, command throws become very powerful on defense for characters that have them, as RGing into a command grab can provide a guaranteed punish in the right situation instead of playing the RC game.

Other Notes

If a player throws out a projectile and it is RG'd after the players have switched sides, the defending player will turn to face the direction their opponent was in when the projectile was created. This also includes entities like Michiru, working off of when Michiru was commanded, not when her attack becomes active. Attacks done out of RG Stun in situations like this will be done in the wrong direction.

If a player RC's on an active frame of their attack, they will successfully RC but the attack will also still be active for that frame.

Guard Gauge

To read about what effects this has on combos, please refer to the Juggle Gauge section.

The Guard Gauge has a maximum value of 360. The value added to the guard gauge is calculated as (BlockedMoveBaseDamage/30) rounded down as an integer, then stored as a float (thanks Tasofro). The depletion of the guard meter value is as follows:

State	Depletion Rate per Subframe
Block/RG Stun	0
Neutral	0.075
Grounded Hitstun	0.2
Knocked Down	0.2
Air Hitstun	1.0

Unthrowable States

As is normal in fighting games, characters cannot be thrown when in hitstun or blockstun. Characters in RG stun are also unable to be thrown.

Characters receive 9 frames of throw immunity after waking up, leaving blockstun (or RG stun), or leaving the "invulnerable" state. These 9 frames persist no matter what action the recipient takes. Some moves may be invincible by means of lacking hurt and/or collision boxes while not possessing the "invulnerable" property, such as Rumi's bunt. Such moves are instantly throwable after.

Characters receive no throw protection whatsoever after leaving hitstun. Also, even if you air block a move, the moment you touch the ground your character is considered throwable.

Jumping (and sometimes double jumping) grants throw invincibility, see Jumping Throw Invincibility.

Movement

Character Speeds

Walk, dash, backdash, and airdash horizontal speed comparison. Speeds are measured in "units per frame", referring to the character's x position (tracked with Cheat Engine) which can be between 20 and 619 on any given stage.

※ Decelerating dash. Look for acceleration info is in the second table.

※₂ Walk speed at 0 jam. Speed increases by 0.06 units/frame per jam level.

Character	Speed (units/frame)
Akane (Walk)	2.1
Akane (Run)	4.95
Akane (Hop backdash)	6
Akane (Airdash)	6
Akiko (Walk)	2.4
Akiko (Hoverdash)	6
Akiko (Backdash)	9
Akiko (Airdash)	5.4
Ayu (Walk)	2.4
Ayu (Back Walk)	3.3
Ayu (Hoverdash)	5.4
Ayu (Hover backdash)	5.4
Ayu (Airdash)	5.4
Doppel (Walk)	2.7
Doppel (Run)	5.1
Doppel (Hop backdash)	4.8
Doppel (Airdash)	4.5
Golden Doppel (Walk)	3.15
Golden Doppel (Run)	5.7
Golden Doppel (Hop Backdash)	5.4
Golden Doppel (Airdash)	5.1
Ikumi (Walk)	2.4
Ikumi (Run)	7.5
Ikumi (Hop backdash)	5.7
Ikumi (Airdash)	3.9
Kanna (Walk)	2.4
Kanna (Hop dash)	6
Kanna (Hop backdash)	6
Kanna (Horizontal airdashes)	6
Kano (Walk)	1.8
Kano (Run)	4.5
Kano (Backdash)	8.94※
Kano (Airdash)	3.3
Kaori (Walk)	3.3
Kaori (Dash)	7.05※
Kaori (Hop backdash)	7.5
Kaori (44~66 Dash)	11.7※
Kaori (Airdash)	6
Makoto (Walk)	2.1
Makoto (Run)	6.6
Makoto (Backdash)	6.412※
Makoto (Airdash)	5.565※
Mai (Walk)	1.5
Mai (Hop dash)	7.5
Mai (Hop backdash)	6
Mai (Airdash)	3.9
Mayu (Walk)	2.7
Mayu (Hop dash)	7.5
Mayu (Hop backdash)	10.5※
Mayu (Airdash)	5.4
Minagi (Walk)	1.8
Minagi (Run)	4.8
Minagi (Hover backdash)	7.14※
Minagi (Airdash)	4.2
SR Mio (Walk)	2.1
LR Mio (Walk)	1.5
Mio (Run)	5.4
Mio (Hop backdash)	6
SR Mio (Airdash)	5.4
LR Mio (Airdash)	3.6
Misaki (Walk)	2.4
Misaki (Run)	6
Misaki (Backdash)	8.94※
Misaki (Airdash)	6
Mishio (Walk)	1.2
Mishio (Run)	3
Mishio (Hop backdash)	5.1
Mishio (Airdash)	3.9
Misuzu (Walk)	2.4
Misuzu (Hoverdash)	5.4
Misuzu (Hover backdash)	5.4
Misuzu (Airdash)	5.4
Mizuka (Walk)	3
Mizuka (Run)	4.5
Mizuka (Hop backdash)	5.4
Mizuka (Airdash)	5.4
Neyuki (Walk)	1.8※2
Neyuki (Hop dash)	4.2
Neyuki (Hop backdash)	6.9※
Neyuki (Airdash)	5.7
Nayuki (Walk)	2.55
Nayuki (Run)	6.6
Nayuki (Hop backdash)	7.5
Nayuki (Airdash)	3.9
Rumi (Walk)	2.1
Rumi (Run)	4.5
Rumi (Hop backdash)	4.8
Rumi (Airdash)	3.3
Barehanded Rumi (Walk)	2.7
Barehanded Rumi (Run)	5.1
Barehanded Rumi (Hop backdash)	4.8
Barehanded Rumi (Airdash)	4.5
Sayuri (Walk)	2.1
Sayuri (Hoverdash)	4.5
Sayuri (Back hoverdash)	5.4
Sayuri (Airdash)	6
Shiori (Walk)	2.1
Shiori (Run)	4.5
Shiori (Hop backdash)	4.8
Shiori (Airdash)	3.9
UNKNOWN (Walk)	2.1
Boss UNKNOWN (Walk)	2.4
UNKNOWN (Run)	4.5
UNKNOWN (Hop backdash)	7.5
UNKNOWN (Airdash)	6

Acceleration rates for all dashes it applies to.

Character	Initial Velocity (units/frame)	Acceleration (units/frame)
Kano (Backdash)	8.94	-0.36
Kaori (Dash)	7.05	-0.45
Kaori (44~66)	11.7	-0.45
Makoto (Backdash)	6.412	-0.18
Makoto (Airdash)	5.565	-0.135
Mayu (Hop backdash)	10.5	-0.495
Minagi (Hover backdash)	7.14	-0.36
Misaki (Backdash)	8.94	-0.36
Neyuki (Hop backdash)	6.9	-0.18

Jump Startup Specifics

Jump startup typically takes 3.66 frames and cannot be cancelled. Frames 1 and 2 are still grounded. Frame 3 is airborne, but no action may be taken. After frame 4, control is regained and the character can block or attack.

Double jump startup is 0.66 frames for most characters.

Sayuri cannot block or RG in the first 2 actionable frames of her jump, meaning she can only block or RG from frame 6 onward. Sayuri can still attack or airdash at the same time as other characters, though. Sayuri's double jump also has abnormal properties, with her being unable to block OR attack/airdash for 3.66 frames.

Jumping Throw Invincibility

The first subframe of jump startup is grabbable. Jumps grant 11.33 frames of throw invincibility from frame 0.66 of jump startup. UNKNOWN's jump startup is the exception, not granting any grab invulnerability at all. Double jumps grant 9.33 frames of throw invincibility on the following characters: Doppel, Ikumi, Kaori, Minagi, Mio, Mishio, Nayuki(Asleep), and Shiori. This double jump invulnerability also only starts from frame 0.66.

Amount of Leeway in Using Jump to Escape

This is measured by having both players standing in neutral, and 1P Rumi pressing f5B.

I then measured how late each character could avoid the button by jumping (8) over it.

The below amounts are measured in subframe increments (e.g. 5 = 1.66f), and characters with higher amounts have more leeway.

Character	Increments of 1/3F
Nagamori	13
Nanase	10
Akane	7
Misaki	6
Mayu	12
Mio	4
Ayu	5
Nayuki (asleep)	6
Makoto	10
Shiori	10
Mai	11
Sayuri	7
Misuzu	10
Kano	9
Minagi	11
Ikumi	16
Doppel	9
Unknown	13
Nayuki (awake)	13
Mishio	6
Kaori	-1
Akiko	9
Kanna	5

Excluding Kanna, the average leeway was 8.86f.

Minimum Air Dash Height

Forward air dashes have a minimum height of 30 pixels.

Backward air dashes have no minimum height.

Time Before Being Able to Act During a Hover Dash

Name	Forward Dash	Backwards Dash
Ayu	13F	14F
Sayuri	12F	―
Nayuki (Asleep)	17F	―
Misuzu	13F	14F
Akiko	17F	―

Time Before Being Able to Attack During a Dash

From dash startup to the time you stop and are able to act. During movement, most characters are able to cancel their dash into a dash attack, special move, jump, or backdash. While it might appear that there is a difference in when characters can dash-up throw, the difference comes from each character’s dash startup (harder to see with slower characters).

Characters with hover dashes are listed later.

Name	Dash Duration	Notes
Nagamori	19
Nanase	20
Akane	20
Misaki	19
Mio	19
Mayu	20~32	Special step-dash Distance travelled is affected by holding 4 or 6. If a dash attack is input (after frame 4 of dash), landing recovery is extended by 10 frames.
Unknown	33	Special dash, invincible during part of dash. For more information, refer to the character pages.
Mai	10	Step-dash. Before movement = 2 frames Step movement = 8 frames Landing recovery = 0 frames
Makoto	20
Shiori	19
Kano	19
Minagi	20
Kaori	23	Ducking-type, may cancel into attack. For more information, refer to the character pages.
Doppel Nanase	20
Ikumi	20
Mishio	19	If an attack is input after 20 frames into the dash, the acceleration of the attack is doubled.
Nayuki (Awake)	20

Time Before Being Able to Attack During an Air Dash

Name	Time Unable to Act
Misaki, Shiori, Ikumi, Mishio	12F
Others	14F
Nayuki (Asleep)	18.66F

Misaki, Shiori, Ikumi, Mishio are able to act on frame 13 of their air dashes.

Nayuki (Asleep) is able act on frame 19.

All others are able to act on frame 15.

Unlike ground dashes, air dashes may not be cancelled into any other action during this time. The only exception is Mayu, who may double jump after an air dash.

Combo System

Juggle Gauge

Important note: The Juggle Gauge only begins depleting once the Guard Gauge value is 0. While the value is higher than 0, the Juggle Gauge will remain at the maximum Juggle Time value determined by the formula below.

The Juggle Gauge appears when a character is launched into the air (also known as Untechable Time). When there are 20 frames of hitstun remaining the Juggle Gauge turns yellow and when there are 10 frames of hitstun remaining it turns red. When the Juggle Gauge completely empties the opponent enters an invincible state, falls to the ground and is able to Airtech.

Juggle Time is calculated according to the following formula:

• Juggle Time (in frames) = ((Juggle Value/1.25)*(Power/100))-1)/3

Juggle Value can be found in the Frame Data Viewer (alpha), under the "Juggle Timer" field.

Untech Time From a Wallbounce

(Wallbounce Move's Base Untech Time) x 2 = Untech Time

This also includes the time it takes to reach the wall, so any time spent in the air to reach the wall is reduced from the untech time after the wallbounce.

Damage Scaling

There are 3 factors that can affect your damage output:

• Power: As you chain hits together in a combo, the power of subsequent attacks will be lowered by the proration of all previous attacks. As the combo gets longer, the proration accumulates, and the power decreases more and more. The current power factor is shown as part of the combo display.
• Guts: As the opponent's life decreases, they will take less damage, to a minimum multiplier of 0.5. The exact formula is:

• Guts Factor = 0.5 × (life / 10000) + 0.5

• RF: As your RF meter increases, your damage will increase linearly, to a maximum multiplier of 1.1. The exact formula is:

• RF Factor = 0.1 × RF meter percent + 1.0

Formula:

• Damage dealt = Base Damage × Opponent's Guts Factor × Player's RF Factor × (Player's Power / 100)

Hitstop

Most attacks cause 10f hitstop for both the attacker and defender, but certain moves inflict additional hitstop on the defender only (e.g. Mai c.5B or Rumi 5A). Attack level does not affect hitstop in any way. This applies on hit and on block.

System

Subframes

EFZ visually runs at 64 frames per second, while the game logic runs at 192 frames per second. This means that for every frame seen by the player, there are also 2 extra frames that are never seen. These 3 game logic frames, which we refer to as subframes, make up 1 visual frame. The table below provides a visual:

	Visible Frame	Hidden Frame	Hidden Frame	Visible Frame	Hidden Frame	Hidden Frame	Visible Frame
Subframes	0	0.33	0.66	1	1.33	1.66	2
Full frames	0			1			2

A subframe-by-subframe video demonstration can be found here.

Inputting on subframes is nigh impossible for humans as they are processed near simultaneously (<1ms). For the sake of efficiency, EfzRevival does not send or recieve inputs during subframes.

Although inputting on subframes is out of the question, buffered actions can still happen on subframes, and movement/collisions will increment on every subframe too. Also, moves can have subframe data, such as Kano's 5A in the video demonstration.

Reinforce Meter (RF)

This meter will slowly build over time as long as you are not in hitstun, a juggle state or a downed state. Notably, the RF gauge will continue to build even during hitstop and before/between rounds.

The rates at which the RF gauge builds are as follows:

	RF Value <500	RF Value >500
Neutral	0.9 per frame	0.3 per frame
RG/Blockstun	1.8 per frame	0.6 per frame
Downed/Hitstun	0 per frame	0 per frame

The RF gauge starts at 0 and builds according to the state of the character. At 500 RF, RF moves and Red IC become available and the gauge will start filling at a third of the normal speed. Using an RF move during the red stage costs 500 RF, and if Red IC is used the gauge is depleted entirely. At 1000 RF the gauge maxes out and enters the Light Blue stage. Any RF moves used with Blue IC in stock will cost only 250 RF, and if Blue IC is used it is depleted entirely.

At the neutral rate, it takes 556 frames (~8.69 seconds) for 500 RF to build from empty, and an additional 1666.33 frames (~26.03 seconds) after to reach 1000 RF from 500.

In total, it takes 2222.33 frames (~34.72 seconds) to build Blue IC from an empty gauge.

Superflash Specifics

General Superflash Behavior

SP gauge is not consumed until superflash starts.

Superflash freezes both characters for 40 frames, and IC/FIC freezes last for 30 frames. Players regain control on the last subframe before the background returns to normal, unless it is a Level 3 super where the background takes longer to do so.

Players also kind of have control for the first subframe of superflash as well. Characters can still move during this subframe, but any attacks will not progress in their animation during this time, holding their current sprite for an extra subframe.

After superflash, the camera will try its best to focus on the player who supered for a few seconds, even if it means unnecessarily leaving the other player offscreen. This does not apply to IC/FIC.

The character who initiated superflash is invincible during the freeze in IC and most supers. They also usually have invincibility on the subframe before superflash starts.

Simultaneous Superflash Behavior

If both players initiate superflash at the same time, Player 1's animation will have 0.33 frames shaved off, leaving Player 2 behind by 0.33 frames. It's important to note that Player 2's super is not being delayed, but rather Player 1's super is just faster than normal. Depending on the super, they may start up at the same exact time, but Player 1 seems to always recover first.

Superflash Bugs

Sayuri's grounded IC flash lets her recover and act after 28 frames instead of 30. Her opponent remains frozen for the normal amount of time.

In certain bugged scenarios, players can be hit out of superflash. They will recover from hitstun normally during the frozen time, and may be able to punish their opponent on hit. One bug which can cause this is with supers that fail to have proper invincibility at the start of superflash. Normally this should not matter for Player 1, as Player 2 will either hit them before superflash starts or be frozen in startup as soon as it starts, but strangely Player 1 will successfully start up on the first subframe of superflash IF their attack would hit Player 2. A possible explanation is that the game processes Player 1's actions (the hit) before Player 2's (superflash freeze effect). Supers susceptible to this bug include: Ayu's (j)214214*, Kano's 236236A, Makoto's 236236*, Awakened Mai's 236236S, Mayu's 214214*, and LR Mio's (j)236236A.

Wakeup Time

These times are counting from the frame a character hits the ground and becomes invincible (if not in OTG state) until they regain their hurtbox and are able to act. The table divides this time into phases, but you can view the totals on right.

The first phase of a character's wakeup animation (Falling) is important as that is the amount of time that a character is vulnerable during OTG state.

Next, the Downed phase estimates how long a character stays motionless on the ground with their collision box staying very small, lasting generally 33.33 frames and not given a column in the table as a result. Exceptions to this standard Downed time are mentioned in the Comments column.

Lastly, during the time that the character is waking up (Rising), their collision box tends to shift quite a bit, which may be important for okizeme against certain characters.

A very important note concerning wakeup time is that the final 0.66 frames of wakeup can be cancelled into attacks, so there is a slight difference in meaty timing between an opponent who blocks and an opponent who mashes.

Name	Falling	Rising	Total (+33.33)	Comments
Mizuka	19	13	65.33	Can cancel the final 0.66F into forward dash.
Makoto	18	16	67.33
Minagi	20	16	69.33
Misuzu	17	19	69.33
Doppel	20	16.33	69.66
Rumi	20	16.33	69.66
Akane	20	17	70.33
Ayu	16	21	70.33
Nayuki (Asleep)	20	17	70.33
UNKNOWN	20	19	72.33	Can cancel the final 0.66F into grab.
Ikumi	20	20	73.33
Kaori	20	20	73.33	Can cancel the final 0.66F into back or forward dash.
Sayuri	20	20	73.33
Shiori	20	20	73.33
Mai	17	23.33	73.66	Mai has 4 frames in the middle of her rising animation where she is taller than normal.
Misaki	20	21	74.33
Mishio	20	21	74.33
Akiko	16	26	75.33
Nayuki (Awake)	18	27	78.33	Nayuki hops up during her rising animation, making her collision box taller than normal.
Mio	19	26.33	78.66	Mio hops up during her rising animation, making her collision box taller than normal.
Kano	20	29	82.33	Kano's collision box never changes during her wakeup.
Mayu	20	39	82.33	Mayu has 23.33 downed frames instead of 33.33. Mayu hops up during her rising animation, making her collision box taller than normal.
Kanna	20	31	84.33

During Air Techs

All characters have 15 frames of vulnerability during an air tech.

If you are hit during the first frame of teching, the hit is considered a part of the previous combo.

Character Heights (as of version 4.02)

Name	Crouching	Crouch Block	Standing	Stand Block
Nagamori	57	58	86~88	85
Nanase	56	56	86~88	88
Akane	56	54	85	83
Misaki	56	55	92	82
Mio	50	48	77~80	70
Mayu	45	47	54~59	57
Unknown	56	55	70	70~73
Ayu	54	51	72~86	68
Mai	52	55	93	87
Makoto	55	57	72	68~70
Shiori	56	55	86	82
Nayuki (Asleep)	51	40	84~90	79
Sayuri	56	55	88	87
Misuzu	57	56	87	86
Kano	52	51	84	83
Minagi	56	55	92	82
Kaori	56	55	90	89
Doppel Nanase	56	56	76	88
Ikumi	47	47	87	86
Mishio	56	55	80	82
Nayuki (Awake)	59	58	90	89
Akiko	59	58	96	95
Kanna	59	62	92	82

The above values are only on the Y-axis.

Ayu and Nayuki (Asleep) will dance around during neutral standing, so their heights vary greatly.

Height Comparison Sheets:

Crouching

Crouch Block

Standing

Stand Block

Health

Health is the same for every character, and is a total of 10000 points. Guts applies, and is stronger the lower your character’s health is, for a maximum of 50% damage reduction. The RF gauge has a very slight effect on attack power, and will result in 110% damage at max RF gauge. Chip damage cannot kill a character.

Using the attack’s base power, the above guts percentage, and the additional RF gauge attack power, you can determine how much damage a move will do.

Timers

Some timers still tick during superflash, RG Freeze, and hitstop, including: Akiko's 641236* timeslow and 214214* curse, Ikumi's Genocide install, Mini Mai's lifespan and recovery charge, Mai's FM install, Mishio's FM install, Misuzu's poison, and Nayuki (Awake)'s 641236* snowbunnies. Timers that properly pause include Rumi's 4123641236S kimchi install and Shiori's 5S shield.

Special Recovery and Frame Advantage

After the recovery of any action, before any other action may occur, there exists 1 subframe in which the only action you may take is to block. This includes recovering from being hit or blocking a move but does not include actions that are cancelled such as chained normals, as they do not complete their recovery. This means that on block, special recovery can benefit the attacker with pseudo-frame advantage, while on hit it can act more like recovery by restricting link combos.

For an example of how it looks, Kano 5A (when affected by the variable startup bug) might appear as if it is 0 on hit if observed one full frame at a time, with both players returning to their idle poses on the same frame. However, if an action like walking, jumping, or a special move is buffered, Kano will be acting on this frame while her opponent will remain idle. This is because her opponent was in special recovery when they appeared idle while Kano was in hers the subframe prior and is now actionable, making her +0.33 frames.

For an example of how it affects link combos, SR Mio's 66B (+4 on hit) linked into 2A (4 frame startup) will not combo because included in that advantage is the opponent's special recovery from hitstun (0.33 frames), meaning that a move would need 3.66 or less frames of startup to link after. However, Mai's 5A (10.66 frames of hitstun when ignoring the subframe it hit) will combo into her summoned 214214C (10.66 frame startup) because the 214214C is cancelled into instead of linked, preventing the 5A from fully recovering and making Mai enter special recovery.

When waking up, this special recovery can be bypassed with certain actions. The final 0.66 frames of a character's wakeup animation can be cancelled into normals and special moves (and sometimes other actions depending on the character), preventing their wakeup animation from fully completing (and putting the character in special recovery) in addition to letting them wake up faster than normal. Wakeup will not be cancelled into actions such as walking or jumping, however, meaning that blocking on wakeup can result in a slightly different wakeup time than a wakeup reversal.

Input Interpreter

Overview

Generally speaking, the input interpreter of EFZ is very lenient. Any "garbage" between directions is ignored, and many moves have shortcuts to make inputting them easier, especially on a keyboard. For example, moves written as 41236 are strictly speaking read as just 413, except for Minagi, who has a 4136 instead. However, since misinputs are ignored, inputting the 2 and 6 will not cause the move to fail either, they're simply ignored by the game.

Most of the tricks described here are mere curiosities. Don't worry if you find it difficult to incorporate them in your play.

The following table contains the common buffered inputs used in the game with their strict versions the interpreter actually looks for. It's important to note that the neutral direction (5) can be part of an input, for example, if you perform Makoto's 6B overhead and wish to IC it, you have to first return to neutral direction before inputting the 22C, instead of rolling 632 2 C.

Notation	Strict	Buffer Window (frames)	Notes
236	236	15
214	214	15
623	623	20
421	421	15
412	412	15
41236	413	20	Minagi has a 4136 instead with a 23f buffer
44 / 66	5454 / 5656	15
22	5252	30	Applies to IC for everyone, and other 22 inputs except Misaki/Kano (15f)
236236	236236	30
214214	214214	30
214236	21436	30	Minagi's buffer is 27f. Sayuri and Mayu can press the attack button on the same frame as the final 6, everyone else must wait at least 1 frame.
641236	6413	25
463214	4631	25
4123641236	41364136	45
6321463214	63146314	45
222	25252	20	Misaki FM
236236236		35	Ikumi FM
23693		35	Mayu FM
263	2563	20	Makoto FM
C236236		30	Nayuki (asleep) FM
236236BC		30	Shiori FM
666S		30	Kaori FM
Button Series (Raging Demon)	/	45	Various FM's

It's worth noting that some FM inputs require the neutral direction input in the same way as 22 does.

Move hierarchy

When determining which move will come out when pressing an attack button, the game splits moves into three main classes (super, special and normal in order of highest to lowest priority) which are then split into different priority levels. When the button is pressed, the game will first try to find a super motion in the input buffer. If there are multiple matches, the one with the highest priority will be chosen. If the input is considered valid but doesn't have a move associated with it (a common occurrence with the S button, more on this later), or the player doesn't have enough super meter to perform the move, or no super at all could be matched, the game will move to the next class. The same process will then be repeated for specials, and if no special move can be performed, the game then looks at the last button that was pressed and tries to perform a matching normal move.

The priority orders for common inputs:

Class	Inputs
Super	4123641236 > 2141236 > 63214643214 = 641236 = 463214 > 214214 > 236236
Special	41236 > 421 > 623 > 236 > 412 > 214 > 22※

※ This also applies to ICs. Usually this doesn't have many implications, but there are some specials that have long buffer windows and fast startup, where the move's own input can override a low-priority IC input. For example, Minagi's 41236 has a long buffer window but the FIC point ends fairly early into the move, so you have to delay the final button press to be able to FIC it (minimum 12 frames from the beginning of the input for the C version).

FM inputs can often break these rules, they range from very high priority to below even specials (for example, Makoto's 263S is below 214).

Button Priority

Usually the interpreter matches attack buttons in the order they are pressed. An exception is made when when multiple attack buttons are pressed on the same frame. At that time the interpreter will prioritize the heaviest button first for supers and specials (S > C > B > A), and the lightest button first for normals (A > B > C > S).

Buffering Special/Super Moves

In EFZ, there is no input buffer clearing at all. The interpreter doesn't care if existing inputs or buttons have already triggered a move and will keep them in the buffer. This means that a grounded special or super move can be easily executed immediately after landing by inputting it in the air. As long as there is no aerial special/super move associated with the motion, the character will perform an air normal and instantly do the special/super after land cancelling it. This can have some side effects however. For example, one input can make you perform the move twice if your first move was interrupted and you then recover before the input has fallen out of the buffer. It's even possible for a move to be faster than its input buffer length, so if you input it too fast it will be performed twice in a row. An example of this is Rumi's shinailess 41236: When the move is input too fast and whiffs, Rumi will immediately try to throw again, which will make it easier to punish. To avoid this, you can jump or immediately input a 41236S to avoid the 2nd throw from coming out. See below for why the latter works.

Buffering Normal Moves and Command Normals

With normals, things are a bit different. Normals can only be buffered during the startup and hitstop of a move that is normal cancellable, otherwise they only come out on the frame they were pressed on, or ignored when that's impossible. This difference makes them much harder to use on wakeup or after an RG. When buffering normals, only the button that was pressed last will count. For example, if you hit with a 2B and buffered a 5C, you can "clear" that 5C by pressing 5A (or 5S on characters that don't have use S) if you haven't yet reached the cancel window of 5B. Do note that these buffers only work with cancels and will not produce additional normals on whiff.

There are some interesting rules regarding how directional inputs are read when buffering normals. Normally, only the button is buffered, and the direction can be changed up until the cancel window. This means you can input 5A 5B [2] and get 5A 2B instead, and the same will go for command normals (5A 5B [6] will be read as 5A 6B). You can also buffer a normal when a cancel into it is unavailable and turn it into an available command normal later, for example 5B 5B 5B as Ayu returns c5B f5B, but 5B 5B 5B [6] will do c5B f5B 6B. In this case, the unavailable button will still be buffered throughout the move's cancel window. Buffering crouching normals is where the rules get weird, as buffering 2A/B/C/S will maintain the 2 input until the move comes out, and a 4 or 6 input will be interpreted as as 4+2(1) or 6+2(3). This does not mean that adjustment is impossible though, as the input can still be overwritten by later button presses (Example: 5A 2B [5] becomes 5A 2B but 5A 2B 5B gives 5A 5B). Below is a summary of how buffered normals/command normals are interpreted.

Normal Buffering Cheat Sheet

• 5A 2B outputs 5A 2B as expected, even if you let go of 2 before the move starts.
• 5AB 2 will also output 5A 2B if 2 is held when 5A cancel window starts, but 5A 5B if you let go of 2 before that.
• 5AB 6 performs 5A 6B if the character has a 6B, otherwise 5A 5B.
• 5A 2C 6 is interpreted as 5A 3C. Kano is the only character with a 3C, and for any other character, even if they have a 6C, this will become 5A 2C.
• 5A 2B 4 is similar. If you have a 1B (Mayu), you get 5A 1B. For everyone else, even if you have 4B (LR Mio), this is a 5A 2B as per the priority order list.
• 5AB 2 4, due to the direction not being read until the move comes out, will be a 5A 4B for LR Mio (if 4 is still held) and 5A 5B for everyone else.

Different move versions

The game always considers all 4 buttons to be valid for a specific input. For example, if your character has a 236 move, the inputs 236A/B/C/S will all be considered valid, even if there's no S version of the move. This can be used to shortcut out of a move class to block or delay an unwanted special input, as the game will keep trying to use the higher priority input each frame until it finally falls out of the buffer.

Examples

• Ayu has a fairly tight timing to link her Shining Finger super (236236) from 5C in a combo like 5AABC 236236A. It's easy to either misinput 5C 236236A as 236C, or miss the cancel window for 5C and drop the combo. However, she can use the fact that she has no 236S move to her advantage, as the game will still register that input, notice that there's no move associated with it and shortcut to normal moves. After the 2nd 236 the game will still recognize the full 236236 input and output the super. The full combo could then be input as 5AAB 236S C 236A.
• Makoto can combo her 5C into 214214 supers, but usually not the followup shots (5CCC) because they come out too fast to input the super in time. If you buffer 214214 before the last shot, the super will come out directly and the combo will drop. To avoid this, she can use the higher priority of 641236S to block out 214214 for some time so it'll only come out after the last shot hits. An example combo input could be like this: 5ABC 641236S C 214214B C (this would be insanely difficult to do in a real match, but probably the easiest way to combo from the last shot).

Random Select

EFZ can be prompted to select a random character either by selecting the icon or pressing C on the character select screen. Instead of a more traditional approach to randomness, the game rolls 60 times whether to move the player's selection down, left, right, or to not move at all. Note that it will not move up. This means that the random select is not a perfect system, especially when pressing C, as each character's odds will change depending on where the player is currently hovering. Additionally, if the random selection lands on the icon, it will roll one extra time, meaning it will either land on Rumi, Akiko, or Kanna, the most favored characters in the "random" system.

Miscellaneous Bugs

A list of esoteric bugs. Match viable bugs can be found on the relevant character pages.

System

Wallbounce Vulnerable Landing State

Sometimes when landing from a wallbounce, characters can be put in a special comboable state. While in it, they will continue to move horizontally but not vertically (keeping them in the air for slightly longer than normal), and they can be hit by grabs (likely due to their low altitude) or juggled by strikes, even if the juggle gauge has already expired. The time they spend in this state is variable, being observed to last from only a single subframe to even more than a full frame.

Mayu example with frame-by-frame.

Sayuri example.

Infinite Momentum Bug

Mayu Example

Video Replay Backup

Currently the only video and replay file evidence of the infinite momentum bug.

In this clip, Mayu's 236C gets RG'd by Nayuki on the same subframe the first ice bunny hits Mayu and the same subframe Mayu's 236C becomes active. If the second ice bunny is counter RG'd on the first subframe after RG stun, Mayu will fly up at an angle infinitely.

Momentum Bugs

Dash Momentum

Nayuki Example

In the above example, Nayuki's momentum switches directions when a normal is input on the exact subframe Nayuki turns around after her dash ends. If a normal is input 1 subframe early, the normal used will inherit the momentum from the previous subframe for a large portion of that normal, but she will not switch directions. If a normal is input 1 subframe late, no momentum is inherited.

Other Momentum Bugs

Mayu 236A~A example.

ICing the subframe after Mayu becomes airborne will produce this effect.

Nayuki 214B example.

Blocking immediately after Nayuki side swaps with 214B causes this strange momentum oddity. Could be related to momentum inheritance, hard to tell.

Backwards Airthrows

Ikumi example

Unknown example

Nayuki (awake) example

Believed to be caused by airthrowing at the same time as clipping into the opponent's collision from below in a manner that causes them to be pushed behind the player. This results in the opponent being grabbed facing backwards causing the airthrow's momentum to be applied towards the player rather than away. Only works with certain airthrows (see examples above).

Stage Border Displacement

Video example.

Using Sayuri player 2 air throw trade bug, it is possible to push the opponent of the stage, which displaces the stage walls. Whether this can be performed by other methods is unknown.

Mayu

214 Softlock

Video example.

If the opponent gets between Mayu and the wall she is attempting to jump to with 214*, Mayu will get stuck until the opponent moves out of the way.

Minagi

Michiru falls out of the stage

Replay File

Michiru disappears when hit on a specific frame of her FM.

Michiru Softlock

Replay File

Michiru will get permanently stuck if 236* hits at a specific height.

Mio

Momentum Loss Bug

Video

Using Long Range 412C four times in a row from the ground then mashing jS and 2 will make Mio gradually lose momentum until she stays floating in the air.

Reversed Pushback Bug

Cancelling a normal into LR 236C on block will push Mio towards the opponent instead of away. This is because she faces away from the opponent during the move, being pushed "back" into them.

Mizuka

j623A Bug

Video Example

If j623A is performed above ~280 units in the air (approximately the height of the moon on the default stage), Mizuka will recover before reaching the floor entering a standing state while floating in the air.

632146A Bug

Video Example

The 13th active frame will scale combos to an unbelievable extent and its 14th active frame is broken in the opposite manner, setting POWER in the thousands. Use of the latter is banned in most tournaments, even if the setups are obscure.

Unknown

Barrel Bug

Setup example.

Example of how it interacts with moves.

If Unknown is hit out of barrel super startup, does another barrel super afterwards, and both barrels successfully activate after the second barrel hits, then one of the barrels will remain in the activated "deal damage" state for far longer than intended, causing gameplay oddities.

Infinites

This should be edited later with video examples but just to get the ball rolling--

Various characters can perform infinites in very obscure situations, these are:

• Mizuka's 632146A Scaling Infinite
• Unknown's OTG Hammer Infinite
• [/ Unknown's flight bug Infinite]
• [/ Kanna 5C Loops]
• [/ Gold Doppel's 66B/662A Infinite]
• [/ Akane Akiko-only Infinite]
• Neyuki Backturn Roll Infinite