Dissidia 012 PvP Build Styles Explained

Adamant Chains - Increased air dodge distance through the "Adamant Chains" set bonus. Primarily used to make air dodges safer to perform and difficult to punish by the opponent. Characters with average fall speed and inconsistent post-dodge defensive options can benefit a lot from it, such as Yuna, Squall, Cloud, Garland, Ultimecia and The Emperor. Vaan can also use it for dodge cancel combos.

Back to the Wall - Low health, but heightened stats / accessory boosters. Revolves around the special accessory "Back to the Wall" that causes the player to start the fight with 90 % of health already depleted. A "glass cannon", loosely speaking.

Balanced - Access to both EX and assist with no strong focus on one specific aspect. Also known as "hybrid".

Bravery Boost on Block / Dodge - Bravery gain with each successful block / dodge. Strong against frequent projectile users, such as The Emperor, Ultimecia or Sephiroth.

Bravery Boost on Stage Destruction - Gain bravery when destroying stage elements such as World of Darkness pillars. Revolves around the "Mindbreak" basic accessory.

Center of the World - EX only, no assist. Greatly enhanced EX gain for earlier EX mode access and depending on the build, longer EX mode duration. Abbreviated as "CotW".

Damage - Increased damage output through high base bravery + brv recovery, higher critical hit rate, high ATK stat and / or wall rush damage.

Defense - High DEF stat and reduced wall rush / physical / magic / chase brv damage. Over the course of a match this will require the opponent to hit more times than what would be normally required. Equipment such as Hero's Shield, Grand Helm, Maximillian or accessories such as Block Ring, Decoy or Amulet may be used.

Depletion - Enhanced meter depletion through accessories Battle Hammer (assist meter) and / or Dismay Shock (EX meter). May be used in conjunction with Judgment / Seal of Lufenia equipment set bonus for even greater boosts.

EX - A variation of "balanced", with more emphasis on some aspect of EX, such as meter intake or intake range. Weapons such as Cleaver orsSpecial accessories such as Tenacious Attacker, Glutton, White Drop(s) and White Gem are a good starting point.

EX Core - Increased EX Core intake and / or spawn rate. For characters who do not generate a lot of EX consistently, but can still benefit from EX. Genji / Soul of Yamato equipment set, Dragonfly Orb basic accessory and weapon exclusives Squall's Lionheart and Vaan's Zodiac Blade are often used for this purpose.

First Strike - Abnormally high initial damage. Based on the Extra Ability "First Strike" that guarantees critical hits for the first connected attack.

High base bravery - Increased default bravery for higher damage output without relying on bravery damage. For equipment, Piggy's Stick, Royal Crown and any LV100 piece that adds bravery are a good starting point. Investing in wall rush (Sniper Eye basic acc) and bravery recovery (Bravery Orb, Great Gospel accs) is also recommended. Commonly used with the special accessory Side by Side.

King of Tragedy - Named after the full King of Tragedy set. Extended EX Revenge duration for longer EX Charge time with Gabranth or higher damage output during EX Revenge (Garland).

Level Gap - Lowered character level in exchange for incredibly strong accessory booster multipliers. A type of glass cannon with Iai Strike, seemingly immortal with Last Chance...?! Level + Level Gap accessories are banned by the in-game "Official" ruleset which has been community standard for years, however.

Machines - Increased bravery damage + HP wall rush damage at the cost of max health.

Mindbreak - Based on the titular basic accessory. Gain bravery every time a stage element is destroyed. Known to be practical in World of Darkness, but all other aspects of the build will be compromised if commited to this build style.

Side by Side - High damage with assist (and wall rush). Based on the special accessory "Side by Side" that disables EX gauge, but generates assist bar when player's HP connects with the portion that inflicts HP damage. Potent with HP linkers (Cloud, Jecht, Onion Knight) and characters with strong HPs (Squall, Kefka). Abbreviated as "SbS".

Wall Rush - Increased wall rush damage. Commonly paired with other damage build styles, such as Side by Side. Booster and Sniper Eye basic accessories, as well as weapons with additional wall rush damage boosts, such as Earthbreaker are often used.