Skullgirls/Controls
Basics
Skullgirls is controlled with six attack buttons and the standard fighting game nine direction joystick.
The buttons are comprised of three punch (
) buttons and three kick (
) buttons:
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LP = Light Punch / Jab MP = Medium Punch / Strong HP = Heavy Punch / Fierce LK = Light Kick / Short MK = Medium Kick / Forward HK = Heavy Kick / Round House
Directions are notated using numpad notation, which uses numbers to describe directions in accordance to their location on a numpad.
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Directional motions are used to execute specials and supers. Here is a list of all the motions you will find in Skullgirls:
| Visual | Notation (arrows) | Notation (numpad) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
   |
236 | A quarter circle forward (QCF), or a smooth motion between the down and forward directions. Sometimes called a fireball motion. |
 |
  |
214 | A quarter circle back (QCB), or a smooth motion between down and back directions. |
 |
|
623 | The dragon-punch motion (DP), or a tap forward before hitting down and down-forward |
 |
|
421 | The reverse dragon-punch motion (RDP), or a tap backward before hitting down and down-back |
| - | (hold) |
[4]6 | A horizontal charge motion, or holding back then pressing forward. Sometimes called a sonic boom motion. |
| - | (hold)  |
[2]8 | A vertical charge motion, or holding down then pressing up. Sometimes called a flash kick motion. |
 |
 |
360 | The 360 motion, or a circular motion that hits all four axis directions in sequence. Since there is no '0' in numpad notation, '360' is used to describe the motion in numpad notation for brevity, even though it doesn't describe the literal directions. |
Universal Command List
Movement
Walk - Hold or for backwards and forwards walk, respectively
Forward dash - or +
Back dash - or + +
Jump and Double Jump - or or 
for backwards, neutral, and forward jump respectively. Double jump is character specific.
Super Jump - then or or for backwards, neutral, and forward super jump respectively
Airdash - + while in the air. Character specific.
Backwards airdash - + + while in the air. Character specific.
Attacks
Throw - 
+ 
Air Throw - + while in the air
Defense
Block - Hold or for stand block or crouch block, respectively
Air Block - Hold any backwards direction (, , or ) while in the air to guard any mid, high, or low attack. You can still block mids and highs during jump startup on the ground while holding .
Pushblock - + while in blockstun
Ground Tech - Hold or and press any button after being knocked down to tech backwards or forwards, respectively.
Throw Tech - + while being thrown. Must be standing.
Burst - Any attack button once a combo becomes burst-able (indicated by special green/red/gold hit effects, see Combo Mechanics)
Team Mechanics
Assist (2nd character)
+ 
or
+ 
or- +
Assist (3rd character)
- + or
- +
or - +
- When playing a duo, any of these will call your 2nd character.
Tag - 
+ 
or 
+ 
to tag to the 2nd and 3rd character, respectively.
- When playing a duo, either input will tag to your 2nd character.
Snapback - + + or + + to tag to the 2nd and 3rd character, respectively.
- If your opponent is playing a duo, either input will snap in the 2nd character.
- In all formats except for 1v1, the motion is actually 23 (
). This is to allow you to buffer a reversal snapback from blockstun without getting Alpha Counter instead.
Alpha Counter - + + or + + while in blockstun or during a burst to alpha counter to the 2nd and 3rd character, respectively.
- When playing a duo, either input will Alpha Counter to your 2nd character.
DHC - During a super, perform any super from the the next-in-line character.
- You cannot DHC directly to your 3rd character.
Macros
Two macro buttons (usually L1 and L2) can be mapped to any combination of simultaneous attack button presses.
- These are usually used for assist calls, but sometimes they're used for dash/pushblock inputs, throw inputs, tags, or any other input that is otherwise difficult on your input method.
- You cannot use these to perform sequences, or any directional inputs.
There are also two analog stick assist macros that are fixed in their mapping:
- Pressing up on the right analog stick acts as a + macro (2nd Character assist).
- Pressing down on the right analog stick acts as a + macro (3rd Character assist).
- These two macros behave exactly the same as the remappable ones. They are equivalent to holding down their respective attack buttons, just like the remappable macros.
- These macros are intended for pad players, but on the PC version they can be remapped to other buttons so anyone can make use of them.
- These macros are not remappable to other buttons on PS4, so you will need to have real right analog stick input. This is possible to implement in hardware on stick/hitbox.
