Guilty Gear Strive: Best button layout

Guilty Gear Strive, the highly anticipated newest entry in the Arc System Works developed franchise, is finally here, being praised for its stellar gameplay, seamless rollback netcode, and incredible art style that will certainly draw new players to the series or the genre as a whole. 

As a result, many newcomers may feel intimated by the plethora of customization choices the game offers, specifically in terms of button mapping.

Whether you're playing on pad (controller) or bought an arcade stick for Guilty Gear Strive, hopefully, this beginner guide will help you find your optimal button layout. 

Guilty Gear Strive: Best controller button layout

(Picture: Arc System Works)

If you're trying to play Guilty Gear Strive on PS5, you'll most likely notice that there aren't a lot of sticks that are compatible with the console, Luckily, Arc Sys has put a lot of thought into the default layout for pad users, however, it can be improved just a tiny bit.

Here is our recommended button layout for controller users:

• Square - Punch
• X - Kick
• Triangle - Slash
• Circle - Heavy Slash
• Dust - R1
• Dash - R2
• Roman Cancel - L1
• Psych Burst - L2

Guilty Gear Strive features a dedicated Dash macro, which is a very neat and welcomed addition. Yes, you can still try to dash using the stick if you come from something like Dragon Ball FighterZ, but definitely try using the Dash button, which doesn't come mapped out by default. 

• Read more: Guilty Gear Strive - How to challenge extreme final boss Nagoriyuki in Arcade

Now, let's check one for stick users.

Guilty Gear Strive: Best arcade stick button layout

(Picture: Dustloop)

As you can see, a stick allows for more customization simply by having a more practical button layout. As a beginner, we recommend you stick with the Type-A pictured above, adding new buttons to the mix, so in theory, it should look something like this:

• Upper Row: Kick, Slash, Heavy Slash, Psych Burst
• Lower Row: Punch, Dust, Roman Cancel, Dash

On a personal note, I move the Heavy Slash to the lower set of buttons so it sits below regular Slash, as mentioned, this is all personal preference as Guilty Gear Strive isn't as mechanically demanding as previous titles.

Further note, while the pictures show a six-button stick layout, most have eight total buttons so you can use the extra to map those sweet macros.

So there you have it! Stay tuned for more Guilty Gear Strive coverage coming.