Gakuran Combat Guide: Parry, Posture & PvP
Gakuran's combat is built around a small set of mechanics that reward timing and positioning over button-mashing. This guide breaks down every system — from the basic punch-M2 combo to the parry window — with the exact details from the official Trello board.
Combat in Gakuran takes place across the school campus with up to 50 players per server.
Attacks
Light Attacks (M1)
Left-click to throw light attacks. M1s are your bread-and-butter damage and have no cooldown — they chain into each other and set up your M2. Don't spam: opponents can parry your M1 string to shut it down for free. Note that a successful parry no longer stuns the attacker — that flat 1-second parry stun was removed in the v7.400 update, so a parried opponent can act again immediately.
Heavy Attacks (M2)
Press R to throw a heavy attack. M2s deal more damage than M1s and have their own animations per fighting style, but they come with a cooldown — you can't throw them back-to-back. Some style perks interact directly with M2 (for example, Karate's Balanced Strike refunds 25% of your max Posture when M2 lands).
Defense: Blocking vs. Parrying
Blocking
Hold F to block. Blocking reduces damage from incoming hits but still lets some chip damage through (block chip). Each blocked hit also drains your Posture. If your Posture is empty when you try to block, the next hit guardbreaks you instead of being blocked — leaving you completely open.
Parrying (Perfect Blocking)
A parry is a timed block executed right before an attack lands. When you parry successfully:
- No damage taken — not even block chip
- No Posture lost
Crucially, parries do not require Posture. You can parry at zero Posture, which makes parrying the correct response when your Posture is depleted rather than trying to block. As of the v7.400 update, a successful parry no longer stuns the attacker for a flat second the way earlier patches did — it still denies all damage and Posture loss, but you'll need to follow up fast rather than relying on a guaranteed stun window.
To parry: face the attacker and time your block input inside the parry window just before impact. The window requires reaction, not button-holding — tapping block on reaction to the attack animation is the correct approach.
Guardbreaks
A guardbreak is a move that bypasses blocking entirely. Landing a guardbreak on a blocking opponent resets their defensive state, leaving them open. When you're guardbroken, avoid trying to block immediately — use a dash (Q) to create space instead.
Posture (Stamina) System
Posture is a shared resource that powers both sprinting and blocking:
- Sprinting — Hold Shift to run; doing so drains Posture over time
- Blocking — Each blocked hit drains Posture
- Empty Posture — Attempting to block results in a guardbreak; sprinting stops
- Posture regenerates automatically when not sprinting or blocking
Several fighting style perks modify Posture: Basic's Swift Recovery gives +15% regen rate, Karate's Steady Nerves adds +15% regen for 3 seconds after a perfect block, and Muay Thai's Crushing Force II deals +15% extra Posture damage on blocked hits.
Guard Pierce: Block Chip Damage by Style
Every fighting style has a Guard Pierce tier that sets how much block chip damage it deals to a blocking opponent:
- Guard Pierce I — 10% block chip damage (Wingchun)
- Guard Pierce II — 15% block chip damage (Hakari, Karate, Kure, Sky Gaolang, Wild, Wrestling)
- Guard Pierce III — 20% block chip damage (Boxing, Taekwondo)
- Guard Pierce IV — 25% block chip damage (Bulky, Dirty, Variant)
- Guard Pierce V — 30% block chip damage (Muay Thai)
A blocked attack that would normally deal 5 damage only deals 0.5 damage at Guard Pierce I, but 1.5 damage at Guard Pierce V — so a Muay Thai user chipping away at a turtling blocker does 3x the damage a Wingchun user would.
Other Combat Options
| Action | Key | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dash | Q | Quick repositioning; use to escape guardbreak situations |
| Use Style | T | Activates your fighting style's special move |
| Carry | V | Carry another player |
| Execute | B | Used on downed opponents |
| Grapple (Clinch) | Triggered by clash | 25% chance with Basic style's Resilience II perk |
Height-Based Combat Modifiers
Your character's height (a rerollable stat from the character customization system) affects how combat plays out. Taller characters and shorter characters behave differently in exchanges. Exact modifier values have not been confirmed.
PvP Tips
- Mix M1 and M2 — a predictable M1 string is easy to parry
- When your Posture is low, switch to parrying instead of blocking
- After a successful parry you take no damage and lose no Posture, but the attacker is no longer stunned (that changed in v7.400) — follow up fast instead of expecting a free window
- Dash (Q) to close distance or create space; don't stand still
- Watch for opponents who spam M1 — wait for the string and parry the last hit