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The King of Fighters XIII/Meters and Gauges
Health
Depending on how much time is left on the clock determines how much life you regenerate the next round. Remembering that everyone has 1000HP, the breakdown is as follows:
Time left / Health regain
- 60-42sec / 300
- 41-30sec / 250
- 29-18sec / 150
- 17-0sec / 100
Introduction to KOF XIII Meter
Super Meter Stocks
At the bottom of the screen is a number next to a meter that can gradually fill up over the course of a round. This is the super meter, and the number represents how many stocks of super meter the character currently has stored. The super meter in this game allows players to do Guard Cancel Roll, Guard Cancel Blowback, EX Moves, and Super Moves(Desperation Moves). As the number of stocks increases, certain additional actions become available to the character:
1 stock: Can perform EX special moves, desperation moves, GCAB, and GCCD
2 stocks: Can perform EX desperation moves and a Neomax while in HD mode
3 stocks: Can Max Cancel a desperation move and perform a Neomax outside of HD mode (with a full drive gauge)
4 stocks: Can Max Cancel an EX desperation move
The maximum number of stocks available to a character depends on the character’s position in the team order. The first character may store up to 3 stocks, the second may store up to 4, and the final character may store up to 5 stocks of super meter. Super meter accumulated by a character who was knocked out will carry over to the next character. Super meter can be gained by:
Hitting with any attacks aside from normal throws and air throws
Having any attacks blocked
Performing special move, regardless of whether they were hit, blocked, or whiffed (with some exceptions)
Note that super meter cannot be gained while in HD mode or during certain special states (e.g. Ash cannot gain any super meter while his Sans Culotte is active)
Super Meter Buildup
Super meter gained is proportional to base attack damage (ignoring any combo scaling). With each character having 1000 HP, and with each super stock requiring 100 units:
- ANY attack that costs super meter (EX Specials, Supers, EX Supers, Guard Cancel Blowback) does NOT build ANY super meter for the one performing the move, but the opponent builds meter as expected. This also applies during HD Mode or temporary power-up supers.
- The attacker builds 10% of the damage as super meter, on hit. On block, this is reduced to 5%.
- The defender builds 12% of the damage as super meter, on hit. On block, this is reduced to 7% for Normal attacks, or 12% for everything else.
- For example, a Special that deals 100 damage builds 10 super meter for the attacker and 12 super meter for the defender, on hit; or, on block, the attacker will build 5 super meter and the defender will build 12 super meter.
- Because these values are unaffected by damage scaling, you end up building a lot more than 1000 damage's worth of super meter before defeating the opponent's character.
- The meter built for performing non-Projectile Specials is independent of this, and entirely unique to each move, although the value is usually always 9, regardless of the attack's damage. This is almost always built on the first frame of the attack's animation.
Drive Gauge and Hyperdrive (HD) Mode
Located immediately above the super meter is another meter known as the drive gauge. Having at least half of the drive gauge filled allows the character to perform a Drive Cancel (canceling one special move into another, abbreviated [DC]) or a Super Cancel (canceling a special move into a desperation move, abbreviated [SC]), both at the cost of 50% of the drive gauge. Which special moves are eligible for Drive Cancels and/or Super Cancels varies for each character. You can never drive cancel out of projectile moves. Note that Drive Cancels cannot be performed unless the first special move hit, whereas Super Cancels can be performed on hit. Also, it is not possible to Super Cancel into a Neomax.
Having the drive gauge completely filled allows the character to perform a Neomax outside of HD mode (at the cost of 100% of the drive gauge and 3 stocks of super meter) or to enter into HD mode. Activating HD mode causes the character to begin glowing and the drive gauge to begin gradually depleting. The following benefits are gained:
- All normal moves and command normals become cancelable on all hits
- Hyperdrive Cancels (abbreviated [HDC]) become available. These are similar to Drive Cancels, except they can also be done if the first special move was blocked. Each HDC will consume a portion of the drive gauge, usually around 10%.
- Max Cancels become available, which is when a character cancels a desperation move into a Neomax. Which desperation moves can be Max Canceled as well as the timing varies for each character.
- Performing a Neomax while in HD mode only costs 2 stocks of meter. Note that performing a Neomax (whether by itself, canceled from a normal move, or Max Canceled) will immediately deplete all remaining drive gauge and end HD mode.
Drive Meter Buildup
Drive meter gained is proportional to base attack damage (ignoring any combo scaling), just like super meter. With each character having 1000 HP, and with each Drive Cancel requiring 50 units:
- ANY attack that costs super meter (EX Specials, Supers, EX Supers, Guard Cancel Blowback) does NOT build ANY Drive meter for the one performing the move, but the opponent builds meter as expected. This also applies during HD Mode or temporary power-up supers.
- The attacker builds 6% of the damage as Drive meter, on hit. On block, this is reduced to 2%.
- The defender builds 4% of the damage as Drive meter, on hit. On block, this is reduced to 3% for Normal attacks, or stays at 4% for everything else.
- For example, a Special that deals 100 damage builds 6 Drive meter for the attacker and 4 Drive meter for the defender, on hit; or, on block, the attacker will build 2 Drive meter and the defender will build 4 Drive meter.
- You don't build ANY Drive meter for whiffing ANY attacks, unlike super meter.
