Focus Attack

A Focus Attack is a game mechanic in Street Fighter VERSUS which first appeared in Street Fighter IV. It hasn't been modified a whole lot to fit this game.

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A Focus Attack allows you to absorb attacks (while still taking damage from them) and retalliate with an attack once it either fully charges or you release the buttons. The Focus Attack comes in three different levels depending on how far along it was charged. During the 'charge' animation of a Focus Attack, you can still cancel into Super Combos or forward and backward dashes.

Level Properties
The first level deals a low amount of damage and leaves the opponent standing. It is not possible to combo off this Focus Attack, as this one isn't dash cancelable. A Level 1 Focus Attack can be Super canceled, however, to get some damage off it provided your character has a fast enough super (for example, Rocket Upper combos just fine off a Level 1 FA)

Your character will flash and a small quake sound effect comes up when your character reaches Level 2. On hit, a Level 2 Focus Attack will crumple the opponent and if you dash forward will be able to get a (heavily scaled) combo off of the hit. It also deals more blockstun than a Level 1 FA does making it a teeny bit safer.

If you charge Level 2 long enough, your character becomes coated in black ink and performs a very damaging Level 3 Focus Attack. This is unblockable, it still crumples, and impacts damage scaling in a combo slightly less than a Level 2 does. It features many of the same cancel properties as well. These have the Armor Break property, meaning other Focus Attacks and some other super armor attacks can not absorb them.

Against an airborne opponent, Level 2 and 3 Focus Attacks cause a spinning knockdown. A Level 1 Focus Attack simple knocks them a bit away, and the opponent air recovers a bit afterward.

Focus Attacks function a bit differently when they counter hit an opponent. A Level 1 FA will crumple, but impacts damage scaling even more than a Level 2 one will. Level 2 ones function like a Level 3 Focus. Level 3 Focuses only get the standard damage boost an FA gets.

Limitations
Focus Attacks do not deal any stun damage, deal chip damage when blocked or cost Guard Meter to block, and will heavily impact the damage scaling of a combo when used; much moreso than other combo starters so you'll mostly see them used after you dizzy the opponent. All three levels can also be parried, and these are also the only attacks in the game that can be parried without using up one of your parry stocks, meaning you can parry an FA at 0 stocks!

The big change to the Focus Attack is that every character can now absorb up to 3 hits with the armor it provides. It is possible to Focus absorb some Super Combos, provided they deal less than 4 hits. This gives them a bit more utility than before. However, if you try to just waltz through a chain combo with a Focus Attack your attack may take a bit to unwind; it takes time to absorb an attack and continue moving. There are also several moves that can not be absorbed with them. Level 3 Super Combos can not be absorbed, and most characters can throw you right out of a Focus Attack, even with blockable throws like Necro's Snake Fang. Every character (including Zangief this time around!) has at least one attack that can be used to break a Focus Attack's armor instantly, known as an Armor Break move.

Any damage you take from a Focus Attack absorb is converted into red life. Attacks landed from moves that break a Focus Attack (throws, Armor Breakers, the fourth attack landed, etc.) make you not only take yellow damage but make you lose all the red life you absorbed (any red life you got from non-FA means is kept, however). Getting hit in any other state with Focus Attack red life available will let you keep all of your red life.

Focus Attack Dash Cancels
Focus Attacks are treated as an in-between between a special move and a Super Combo. Focus Attacks can be buffered into from normal attacks and many special moves (the general rule is that the special must be performed grounded at one point; almost every projectile and anti-air move is FADC-able) at the cost of two EX bars. Be pressing MP + MK while performing a Special or Normal you can perform a Focus Attack Cancel, then cancel the FA into a forward dash, backward dash or Super Combo, which has a lot of purposes. It can make a move safe without you having to use a meter of the Super Meter by advancing away from the opponent after your unsafe move is blocked, or you can use the dash cancel to extend a combo off of a moderate-stun special move.

Focus Attack Dash Cancels are not considered attacks, as they don't hit your opponent or really have any impact on them. That means they don't do anything to damage scaling.