Sword skills, switching and parrying

Sword skills

Every unit has up to three sword skills (often called SS1, SS2 and SS3), shown as buttons at the bottom of the screen. Sword skills hit much harder than normal attacks but cost MP, which you build up by landing normal attacks.

SS1 and SS2 are cheaper skills you can use often.
SS3 is the unit's signature skill: a long, powerful move that costs the most MP.
Some ★6 units have an Acceleration Skill SS3 that slows down time while it plays.

Each unit's skills, MP costs and hit counts are on its page in Units, and the full list is in Skills.

Switching

Tap another unit's icon to switch to them. You need at least two units in the party. A good switch:

brings in a unit whose element beats the enemy (see Elements and weapon types),
lets the incoming unit open with a sword skill if they have the MP,
saves a unit that is low on HP.

Some accessories and skills boost "skills at switch", so switching is worth practising.

Parrying

When an enemy's eyes flash red, its next attack can be parried. A successful parry stops the attack. If you switch right after a parry, the incoming unit fires its SS3 for big damage, as long as it has enough MP.

How to parry depends on the weapon:

Weapon	How to parry
Sword, Dual Blades, Rapier, Dagger, Mace	Hold to guard, then flick up as the attack lands
Lance	Quick-step to dodge the attack, or flick while guarding
Sword and Shield	Flick the screen, or guard at the right moment. Some units guard by themselves while moving, and a perfectly timed guard takes no damage even from attacks that cannot be parried
Sniper Rifle	Flick while charging a Focus Attack
Bow	Quick-step backwards to dodge the attack
Rod	Flick, or lift your finger, while charging
Automatic Rifle	Press and hold while attacking, then flick

If the switched-in unit lacks the MP for SS3, it uses SS1 instead, or simply switches in. If its SS3 heals or buffs, a damaging skill is used instead.

Focus Attacks

With a Sniper Rifle, Bow or Rod, press and hold to charge, then release for a stronger shot. With a Sniper Rifle, release as the circle shrinks for a "Great" critical hit; releasing as it grows is a "Miss".

Crossing Skills

Some units have a Crossing Skill. When one of them uses SS3, switch to another unit with a Crossing Skill and both fire their SS3 together.

It triggers Crossing Link, a shared boost such as higher stats, or MP from normal attacks shared with the unit on standby. Only one Crossing Link is active at a time; a new one replaces the old.
With a matching partner it also adds a wide shockwave Additional Attack.
Neither triggers if the unit is staggered or interrupted during the skill.

Assistance Characters

Some units have Call for Assistance. Add an Assistance Character to your party on the Edit Party screen, then call them in during battle. An Assistance Character:

takes no damage and attacks on their own,
refills your current unit's MP with their normal attacks,
uses their SS3 when you use a skill, tap the Assist icon, or switch units,
does not count toward party cost.

Only one can be on the field at a time, and calls are limited per battle.

Battle skills and leader skills

Battle skills are passive effects on units, weapons, armor and accessories, such as "MP & Atk. +15%" or "Crit. Damage +10% (vs. Fire)". They work automatically. Skills marked Leader or P-Leader only work when that unit is your party leader (the first slot), and often boost the whole party.

Look them up on any unit, weapon or armor and accessory page, or search them all in Skills. Units can unlock more effects through skill slots.

Advanced techniques

Skilled players found animation tricks that the game does not explain. The community database sheet listed these:

Technique	What it does
Sliding	Another way to move, and a quick way to move upwards
Attack Connect and Dash Cancel	Cancel the end of an attack or a dash into the next action
Attack Cancel	Cancel an attack into a guard, so you attack and defend at the same time
Sidechange Switch	Switch units so the new one appears on the other side of the enemy
Just Guard	Guard at the exact moment of a hit. Chained with normal parries, it blocks almost any attack safely

These take practice. Try them on easy story quests first.