Hello. My name is Yung Peen. Some of you may have seen me in game. Some of you may have seen my previous guide on the Maps of Gang Beasts.

As the title suggests, I am going to go over certain moves in this guide, and try to cover different aspects of the game, starting with the Triangle theory of Gang Beast fight styles, going into the microadjustments of dropkick variants, and even some of the more complex or rare moves to find people using in game.

Hopefully, you will walk away from this guide learning at least one new move, or learning how to counter people who abuse certain moves, or maybe you just want to read this and kill time.

Ever heard of boxing Triangle theory? Well, if not, let me sum it up quickly.

There are 3 main boxing styles. Slugger, Swarmer, and Outboxer. Sluggers have overwhelming power and are adept at knocking opponents out, as long as they can get close enough. Swarmers are fast, durable, and attempt to 'swarm' and opponent with rapid fire punches to all areas of their bodies while tanking or dodging oncoming punches. Outboxers are tall, agile boxers with long reach and incredible endurance, dodging opponent punches and keeping a large distance where their long arms are able to get the occasional jab in, but their opponent can't reach them, eventually tiring their opponent out long enough to deliver a final blow, or waiting out the clock and winning by decision.

Sluggers usually can knock out swarmers, but have difficulty reaching outboxers and get tired faster. Swarmers are fast and durable enough to close the distance on outboxers, but get walloped by sluggers easily. Outboxers can jab and dodge sluggers like target practice, but get their guards broken and overwhelmed by swarmers.



In Gang Beasts, there is a different triangle theory, but it focuses on many of the same aspects.

STRIKER:
Strikers are most similar to sluggers, in a way. They utilize powerful moves, usually kick or head based attacks, and focus on outdamaging opponents to knock them out continuously until the opponent can't fight back, leaving for an easy elimination. They utilize all different variants of dropkicks and headbutts, sometimes using agile moves like Lucha Libre style to gain more momentum on their moves, increasing the chance of a 1 hit KO. However, they usually do not focus on grabs because their arms must remain empty at most times to resort to 2 handed punch style if they cannot get the distance to ramp up their running attacks.

BRAWLER:
Brawlers are the deadliest close-range combatants in enclosed spaces with no running room. They don't use many moves that make them easy to knock out, and they make sure you don't escape them by grabbing you with one hand, and beating your buns with the other. Brawling usually refers to this 'one-handed grabbing punch' style, but brawlers overall should recognize the need for variance, and might throw out a powerful headbutt while grabbing you, now and then. The idea of brawling is to encircle you and swarm you with punches, keeping you down, out, and locked in the jaws of the beast.

GRAPPLER:
Grapplers are the rarest form of combatant in gang beasts. Sure, any player worth his salt knows how to quickly throw out KO'd opponents, but only a grappler tries to eliminate his opponents while they are still conscious. They utilize fast momentum shifts, well placed grabs, and powerful throws to use their opponents power against them. Because of this, they usually fish for light, low risk attacks to bait their opponent in, so that they can throw them off the map when the opponent commits to something risky.

If you couldn't guess what the triangle theory looks like for this, here it is:
Strikers can usually out-damage brawlers, switching between powerful airborne attacks and two handed punch style to 'Slug' them.
Brawlers can wipe the floor with grapplers, since up close and personal, locked in a grab is where they do their most damage anyways, and so the grappler's versatile tool becomes their worst enemy.
Grapplers are extremely effective against strikers, since they can shift the momentum of a lunging, high risk move like a dropkick, and use it against them. Also, since strikers rarely try to lock up in grabs, it leaves them wide open for a sneaky throw.

For these photos, I will be using a classic 1v1 ring as a clear example.
I will refer to the buttons as:

Jump
Kick
Punch
Lift
Headbutt

If you are reading this guide, you should already know what buttons these are for your keyboard or controller.

:The Punch:


Possibly the most basic thing in game, punching. Tapping Punch with either hand throws out punches.
On their own, they aren't a very powerful move, but they have different variations.




:The Haymaker:

The Haymaker is a much deadlier punch that is accomplished by Jumping, spinning in a circle, and throwing out a punch. The timing is hard to pull off, and you have to punch a half-second before you think you would, but it is a safe option that is used to keep distance and stay as a threat, however, it becomes powerless if you are grabbed or your movement is restricted.

:The Brawl:


Since you have two hands, you can use one to grab the opponent and keep them still, while punching with the other hand. This is the base of the brawler style. The grab not only makes your punches hit closer to home, but also gives your more control of your opponent, limiting their movement and making sure they can't run.

:Headbutt:

The headbutt is used in many different moves. The most basic is the Standing Headbutt, which is just pressing H, a weak maneuver used mostly when both arms are occupied. The pictures here depict the Charged Standing Headbutt, which is executed by tapping Headbutt, then immediately holding Headbutt afterwards. The result should make your beast lean back more, and headbutt with more force. It does more damage, but makes it easier to knock yourself out.

:Kick(not depicted):
Pressing K throws out a tiny little stomp. It's a terrible move in a regular situation, but it does do some damage, and if, say, you're hanging off a cliff and someone is below you or on you, you can try to kick them off.

:Dropkick:

The Dropkick is the gold standard for strikers. Useful in a variety of situations, the damage is great, the risk is usually lower than a headbutt attack of the same caliber, and it's very easy to mold it to different purposes.
For instance, the standard dropkick (holding Jump and Kick at the same time) is a great all purpose counter, but is made deadlier by using the harder, more unsafe Charged Dropkick(Tap both jump and kick, then hold both).
If you are looking for more of a curveball, the Drop Slide is the move to learn. (Tap jump, tap kick, then hold both while midair.) It propels your beast forward with a powerful kick, but only gives a huge boost of momentum once it hits the ground, hence drop *SLIDE*.
There is also the Diving Dropkick, which requires you to hold jump to run, then hold kick while running. After a second has passed, your beast will lunge forward, delivering the hardest hitting dropkick. However, this move requires much more running space, and is very predictable and unsafe.

:Flip Kick:

The flipkick is the counter move for all the dropkicks. (It is performed by holding kick for about a half-second, then jumping.) It causes your beast to do a backflip, kicking up any airborne attacks coming to you. It also makes you rather slippery, and helps bypass grapplers by making you harder to grab. Timing it just right can knock an incoming headbutt straight into the sky. However, this move loses power when held forward, making it rather weak on offense, and mainly a defensive reading tool.

:Charged Flying Headbutt:

The Charged Flying Headbutt is one of the most powerful moves in the game. It is accomplished by Jumping, tapping headbutt, then holding it down. It comes out rather fast, does meaty damage, and is great for edge-guarding opponents. However, throwing it out willy-nilly is ill-advised, as the attack makes you rather vulnerable while using it.
Now, there isn't really a such thing as a regular flying headbutt. I mean, there is. You just hold jump and headbutt at the same time. However, this move has very little damage, but a lot of knockback, and is dubbed the "Belly Flop."
The Belly Flop is a very weak move used mainly for gibbing players in the air on vents, or in the water on buoy, due to it's high knockback but low damage.

:Diving Headbutt:

The Diving Headbutt is an even more powerful headbutt than the CFH. However, it is much harder to aim, as it's completely player input. The Diving Headbutt is to the Charged Flying Headbutt as the Diving Dropkick is to the Charged Dropkick. It comes out faster than the Diving Dropkick, and is very useful for grapplers, as you can grab while doing the move, but once again, it's very predictable as you have to be running to use it.

:The Throw:


The photo above shows a well placed grab. You usually want to grab the opponents by the ass, as it's the hardest for them to grip you back, and makes throws a breeze to pull off.

A standard throw requires some form of momentum, usually from spinning a bit or from lifting, sometimes from the opponent themselves. After you reach peak velocity, you simply stop lifting and let go of the grip to throw them.
A Power Throw is the same, except followed up by a raw headbutt. This headbutt not only has a chance to knock them out, negating their ability to recover and climb, but also pushes them forward, increasing their velocity over the ledge.

I will probably add more to the guide if there is demand for it. I intend to potentially go over more styles, such as:
Lucha Style, a high-octane moveset focused on handstand grabs, fallaway dropkicks and reverse headbutts.
Crouching Tiger Style, a defensive moveset useful for countering brawling that is weak to diving attacks and grappling.
Slam Style, a grappling style that focuses on dealing damage by slamming your opponent into the ground rather than throwing them off the map...
And much much more!

Thank you for reading this! Show this to your friends, as long as you are confident they won't get better than you.

Thank you guys for so much positive support so far! It really makes all the difference. Because of all the positive feedback, I have created this addition to the guide which goes into more niche techniques that you can see being used by high level players, such as Slav2175, Lubecruz Moris and geno1906.

Lucha style is a gang beasts reference to the high-octane, high flying, and high risk maneuvers of Luchadors in the art of Mexican Wrestling, or Lucha Libre. Luchadors in Gang Beasts will find themselves hard-pressed to reenact most of their favorite moves, but can still pull off a few rather critical techniques that will absolutely dominate matches.

Luchadors fall into a category of Striker-Grappler hybrid, in which they are constantly mobile and offensive like a striker, and aim to get powerful attacks for easy 1 hit knockouts, but they use grapples and momentum shifts to obtain those knockouts, rather than raw power. Using their opponents momentum and attacks to their own advantage, they can decimate opposing beefs with powerful moves, like the Fallaway Dropkick.

Learning the Basics of Lucha

I could probably make an entire guide on lucha style alone, but there's one reason why I don't. I can't describe some of the moves used against me when I'm fighting a luchador. So instead, I'll tell you as much as I know.


THE HANDSTAND:

The Handstand is the bread and butter of the Luchador kit. To pull off a simple handstand is rather easy. Hold down your headbutt button, grab a surface, then hold jump. (It's critical that you press and hold headbutt FIRST, and then jump. Otherwise it may not work.) You can then angle yourself and position with your movement after you have grabbed the surface.

Handstanding can be applied in several different cases, whether it be to swing yourself from a ledge to a platform, or just to taunt an opponent. But here's how Luchadors use it.




That's right, they use it to grab opponents by the head or back or limbs, and lift themselves off of their opponent. This alone can make them hard to reach or grab back, making them take little damage. However, the grip they use while doing this, plus the compromising position they are in, makes most moves do much more damage to them, so they will often sway around to ensure they don't take damage.

This technique can be used in several applications. They can let go of the headbutt button and input in a jump + kick, which will unleash the Fallaway Dropkick. A powerful move, it lacks the one hit potential of a charged dropkick, but because you fall inwards to perform the dropkick, it actually pushes you away from your opponent, hence the name "Fallaway". This makes it a very safe move unless it is caught. Because of this, Luchadors will often fish for these types of moves more than anything else.

They can also attempt to headbutt you for chip damage while attached to you. Note that it is VERY rare for a luchador to punch you, as they need both hands to maintain a good position above you, and if they let go one, they lose most of their advantage.

If they have a REALLY good grab on you, one right under your gooch, where there is no hope of you being able to grab them back, they might go for a Sunset Flip. A sunset flip is pulled off simply by letting go of headbutt and flipping over the opponent directionally. Sunset flips are incredibly rare, but probably the most powerful move a Luchador can have, as the flip itself put them on the ground, you in the air, and gives enough momentum for them to chuck you. The power from a Sunset Flip Throw is akin to a Superthrow (a term for a cross-map throw that is utterly ridiculous and beyond measure, those hit by a superthrow have their grip broken, and usually ends in an elimination) if not a bit weaker.

Of course, Luchadors can only do these moves if they get the diving grab they want. They usually fare pretty well against both Strikers AND Brawlers. (Obviously, not all of the time. If a Brawler catches a Luchador and locks them in, or if a Striker counters the diving grab with a flip kick, the Luchador will most likely lose that encounter.) The best way to play Luchador is to have it be unexpected. Because of this, Luchadors will usually have a Striker or Grappler playstyle until their opponent is left wide open. They can also be Brawler/Lucha hybrids, but these are less common as the two playstyles combined are two sides of the same coin, and don't offer much diversity in tactics. In other words, the same techniques used to counter a Brawler can counter a Lucha.


Crouching Tiger Style



Another important technique is Crouching Tiger Style. This, much like many other names on this list, are based off of actual terms rather than the names of attacks according to the Gang Beasts Devs. Crouching Tiger style refers to a patient type of martial arts that relies on countering overly- aggressive opponents.

In order to pull of crouching tiger style, it's very simple. You hold down jump, kick and headbutt at the same time to reach a type of lean. If done right, your character will lay back, slightly leaning up. There are several reasons why this is effective. First, your head is leaned back, making it out of range of most attacks, and so you mitigate much of the damage dealt to you. (You can still be 1 hit by certain flying moves, but diving moves will almost always go right over you.) Second, your punches not only go forward, but upward. In practice, you hit your punches at their apex more, and do more damage overall. Lastly, techniques that rely on multiple consecutive hits or require you to be on equal level (Most notably Brawling...) are much less effective when you take this stance.

There are, however, many prevalent drawbacks when doing this. In Crouching Tiger Style, your movement is extremely slow. And although you might do a lot of damage to over-aggressive enemies, more patient or observant ones can simply stop fighting you, move back, and grab your feet for a throw. Speaking of which, because you are limp and ragdolled, it's in your best interest to not do this technique against proficient grapplers. They see this as a freebie, an easy throw.

Despite all that, it only takes half a second to get out of Crouching Tiger anyways. So, in theory, you can bait your opponents to attacking you with caution, then get up and wail on 'em.


This concludes addendum 1.

I have received a lot feedback and overwhelming positive reactions to this guide, so I thought I would add some more. My tips on grappling were rather lackluster in the past, so I thought I would clear up some things and add a bit more to that pile o' knowledge.


Let's start with the first grab type: The perfect grab. This is not called the perfect grab because of it's danger, but it's effectiveness. It is incredibly difficult to hit someone who is grabbing you by the shoulder blades. The best thing you can hope for is a lucky backwards headbutt before they lift you, which looks like this.



In this state, the person you are grabbing has lost all lethality. They can try to squirm and get in a slight position for moves, but they cannot actively grab you back without lots of moving and squirming. And this is the perfect time to throw your opponent, or at least bring them closer to the edge of the map.

Next is a simple reverse grapple. I covered this technique in the sunset flip section of Lucha, but since it's not a strike, it's important to review it's importance. Getting behind an opponent in optimal grapple position is often difficult against smarter players, and this is one technique to help you get that positional advantage.




This was covered in the Lucha section, but the goal is to grab the opponents head, flip over them, and then finish off with a throw in a lethal direction. As stated before, grappling is dangerous mostly because of good positioning to overpower your opponent off the map without knocking them out.


Lastly, the foot grab. Some people prefer striking and brawling playstyles, and struggle with getting other over the ropes or off the map. This can be solved with a footgrab. Keep in mind that once your opponent is knocked out, dealing more damage to them does nothing. Instead of repeatedly pounding them, attempting to grab them in an optimal location is your best play. The footgrab is incredibly dangerous. It's easier to wiggle out of than the perfect grab, but puts the grabber in the most control of momentum to throw. If you have a footgrab, you should capitalize on this as soon as possible before the opponent can retaliate.





Lastly, Slam Style. Too often do I see people grab opponents only to do nothing with them. No throws. You know, throwing can be done onto the map as well as off of it. If there is a wall or ledge to throw someone on, you should do it. Hit headbutt as you release a throw to get more distance and power. Slamming opponents into the rails can knock them out pretty easily.

If there's one thing I have to say about grappling is that you haven't missed a throw until you get knocked out. If you fail the throw the first time, theres no shame in going for it a second time.

This concludes Addendum 2.