Astral Chain introduces players to a kinetic blend of stylish combat and tactical control, putting you in the boots of a rookie Neuron officer wielding a special weapon called the Legion. While the game opens with a relatively simple set of mechanics, the depth rapidly unfolds as you progress. This article breaks down the core movement and base combat mechanics—covering your three primary weapon forms, special attacks, synchronized movement, and basic Legion chain techniques.

Whether you’re just starting out or want a refresher on the combat foundations before diving deeper into Legion-specific gameplay, this guide has you covered.

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Opening Combat – Prologue Mechanics

In the prologue, you’re introduced to the Baton and Blaster weapon forms. These operate with limited combo strings, generally consisting of three hits. Upon synchronizing with your Legion, these combo trees extend to five hits, and new movement options—including multi-dodge—become available.

Basic dodging during the prologue offers just one dodge. The character will pull back depending on directional input:

• Back or side dodge: a backpedal or sidestep animation.
• Forward dodge: a ducking step-in.
• Dash + dodge: triggers a dive-roll, using momentum to quickly reset your position.

These foundational movements evolve significantly once you’re fully synced with your Legion, gaining fluid chaining and perfect dodge counterplay.

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Synchronized Combat Overview

Combat while synchronized breaks into three distinct weapon styles:

• Baton – Fast, ideal for agile enemies.
• Blaster – Ranged, excels against airborne or distant threats.
• Gladius – Heavy, best for breaking enemy defenses.

Each weapon supports:

• Base combo chains
• Air combos
• Charge attacks
• Delay attacks
• Command skills (Assault and Spin Attacks)

Let’s break them down individually.

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Baton – Fast and Versatile

Ground Combo: Begins with diagonal slashes, builds into a mid-air twist and powerful downward kick, ending in a low sweep and upward thrust finisher.

Air Combo: A flow of diagonal slashes ending with a horizontal swipe.

Special Attacks:

• Charge Attack: Tosses and catches the baton before unleashing a wide horizontal slash.
• Delay Attack: Leaps backward while slashing—a strong evasive option.
• Assault (Command Skill): Flick stick forward/back to jump kick toward enemies—great for gap closing.
• Spin Attack (Command Skill): 360 stick input triggers a flashy spin-slash, effective in tight groups (though limited range).

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Blaster – Mid-Range Master

Ground Combo: Consists of successive burst shots while shifting stances and changing gun hands. The finisher features a flip and knockback shot.

Air Combo: Repeats two aerial bursts, ending with a flip-shot for crowd control.

Special Attacks:

• Charge Attack: Raises and spins gun before unleashing a high-power shot that propels the user backward—useful in both offense and repositioning.
• Delay Attack: Jump back while firing three shots—effective for evasive firing.
• Assault (Command Skill): Dashes forward while unleashing a flurry—good for closing gaps and shifting to close-range weapons.
• Spin Attack (Command Skill): Acrobatic flip followed by wide-angle burst—excellent for clearing space.

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Gladius – Heavy and Defensive Breaking

Ground Combo: Opens with horizontal and downward slashes, transitions into forward thrusts, a leaping spin kick, and ends in a powerful falling slash.

Air Combo: Straightforward thrust into horizontal swipe.

Special Attacks:

• Charge Attack: Overhead two-handed smash—interrupts incoming attacks.
• Delay Attack: Leaping diagonal slash—useful for repositioning under pressure.
• Assault (Command Skill): A body-check style thrust to knock enemies back.
• Spin Attack (Command Skill): Sweeping rotation with high AoE—greater reach than Baton.

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Universal Techniques and Synchronization Mechanics

Sprint + Attack: Executes a sliding strike—quick and efficient against groups.

Stun Counter: If near a stunned enemy, your character will either flip backward to launch them or slide in from a distance with a knock-up.

Synchronized Dodge Variants:

• Back/Forward Dodge: Handspring, roll, and flip (directional dependent).
• Side Dodge: Side twist.

Combo Preservation Rules:

• Dodging once mid-combo preserves your chain.
• Dodging twice or more resets your combo string.

Perfect Dodge: Timed precisely, it slows time. Countering during this window launches enemies with a stylish kick-chain.

Aerial Recovery: If launched, a dodge just before landing triggers a recovery flip.

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Legion Chain Tactics – The Basics

Legions bring chain-based support into play:

• Chain Bind: Encircle enemies to lock them down (can’t be reused until the bind ends).
• Chain Counter: Use the chain to catch and throw charging enemies.
• Chain Jump: Leap between locations or enemies using the tether.
• Chain Multi-Jump: Bounce from enemy to enemy for bonus positioning or damage.

Note: Chain visuals turn dull when a bind is active, signaling it’s unavailable.

Weapon appearance will change visually when your Legion is summoned—purely cosmetic, but a cool touch. The Legatus core on your character’s shoulder also serves as an energy gauge, showing depletion and recharge at a glance.

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Weapon Switching Caveat

While you can switch weapons seamlessly, doing so resets your combo string. You won’t be able to combo from one weapon into another—each starts fresh.

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Final Thoughts

Astral Chain’s combat offers far more nuance than first meets the eye. Between combo timing, perfect dodging, charge variations, and synchronized Legion tactics, even the base systems provide a deeply engaging loop.

Understanding how each weapon functions—along with how dodging, syncs, and chain skills interweave—will lay a strong foundation for mastering the Legions in future battles.

Up next: deep dives into individual Legion combat styles. Until then, experiment with what feels good—my personal favorite is the Gladius, a surprising joy despite its heavier speed. Feel free to share your favorite and keep exploring this layered combat system!