The King of Fighters XI/Gauges

Shift

(image here)

The bar fills only over time (automatically)

Neutral Shift

Input: Light Punch + Heavy Punch / Light Kick + Heavy Kick

LP + HP changes to the 2nd character (i.e. the one who is closer to the portrait of the currently active character)

LK + HK changes to the 3rd character (the one who is further away from the portrait of the currently active character)

The neutral shift/tagout has some startup (the character plays an animation before jumping out), and the character that comes in has no invulnerability (it can be hit by Super, for example)

Quick Shift:

Input: Light Punch + Heavy Punch / Light Kick + Heavy Kick while attacking your opponent

Costs 1 shift stick

Your own character jumps out and the next one jumps in (fast enough to attach a jump-in when falling).

Essential for advanced combos, and can also be used for mixup (sometimes, depending on the setup, the character simply ends up behind him instead of in front of the opponent).

The same rules as for the normal shift apply to the order of the characters.

Safety (Saving) Shift:

Input: Light Punch + Heavy Punch / Light Kick + Heavy Kick while being hit

Costs 2 shift stocks

Save your character from a combo, similar to a burst in Guilty Gear. However, this only works if your character is still standing (it must not be juggled).

The shift-in afterwards has an attack automatically - if it hits counter hit, you can even combo it (e.g. with K ', Chain Drive; or Gato, smalljump jD)

The shift has limited invulnerability, but can be hit by certain attacks (e.g. if you shift a normal safety and the opponent has already canceled the normal into a super).