Before you start
Skill moves are gestures, not button combos. One recognizer reads them from the right stick on a controller, a right-mouse drag on keyboard and mouse, and the skill pad on touch — with the same thresholds on all three, so a move you learn on one input is learned on every input.
Step by step
What to actually do
- 01
Cut across the defender
A directional cut is the bread-and-butter move: a sharp gesture that takes the ball across your body and out of the tackle's line.
- 02
Half-turn out of pressure
A half-turn takes you from facing your own goal to facing theirs in one motion — the escape for a striker receiving with a defender on their back.
- 03
Spin through contact
The full spin carries the ball through a complete rotation, shedding a defender who committed to the first direction.
- 04
Burst when the lane opens
The burst is acceleration as a skill move — a sudden change of pace that turns half a step of space into a real gap.
- 05
Shield when there is nothing on
Holding the skill control while carrying shields the ball with your body. It is not invulnerability — it is time, bought legally, for a pass to appear.
Worth remembering
- On keyboard the shield sits on Space while carrying; the same key defends when you are off the ball.
- The Move Lab previews every shared and signature move with its timing and counterplay before you risk it in a match.
See it in the build
In-engine captures of the screens this chapter refers to, from the governed screens gallery.
