【GGST】Lucy’s “Deepdive” May Be A New Mechanic for 2.0

GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- is receiving a 2.0 update sometime within the future, to which we expect to hear some information regarding its implementation during the Arc World Tour finals this year (March 20-22, 2026). Many of us speculate what this could bring: A new season of characters, complete reworks, system overhauls, and new mechanics. I believe however, that they’ve already introduced one with Lucy’s “Finisher: Deepdive” move.

At 4:05 in the video, you can see Lucy’s “Finisher: Deepdive” move. This is her typical Overdrive “Livewire” that has an automatic follow-up if certain conditions are met: You have 100% tension and the opponent has 15% or less HP upon connection of the move. In addition to the impressive cinematic that displays, it also denies the opponent an ability to burst or stage a comeback should Livewire not kill due to combo scaling; securing the victory where you might otherwise have to vie for another hit to closeout the match.

 Finisher Replacing the Instant Kill Mechanic 

It is my belief, that in GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- 2.0, that we will see everyone with a “Finisher” mechanic. IK’s or “Instant Kills” were a big part of both Guilty Gear XX and The Guilty Gear Xrd/Revelator series. This is mainly because, under ideal conditions, you could end the round within a flash; but that does not really transfer over to Strive’s gameplay philosophy which deals with a departure from classical Guilty Gear mechanics in lieu of spiritual successors: Wall breaks, less tension blocks, Positive Bonus for Gold Burst, etc. Having something which grants a cinematic finisher puts it in line with past series and anime-titles it has published (Astral Finishers, for instance).

Of course, this is just my guess and could not be the case, but it would be nice to see within tournament as a smart way to end the round. You would have to block without resorting to Faultless Defense, Yellow Roman-Cancel, or possibly getting a hard knockdown from an Overdrive Wall Break just to make sure your opponent does not need to get hit by your okizeme or that they have the ability to mount a comeback. Just a thought!