Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising Maps & Locations Guide: Every Area Covered

Q: Do Simple inputs deal less damage than Technical inputs?

Not in Rising. The 2020 game penalised one-button skills, but the creative director confirmed that Simple and Technical inputs have identical damage and properties here. Simple inputs are a legitimate competitive choice.

Q: What are Bravery Points for?

Each player starts a round with 3. They pay for Brave Counters, and they are drained by Raging Strikes, guard crushes and Skybound Art damage. Your defence weakens as they fall, and taking a Raging Strike at zero leaves you defenceless for the follow-up.

Q: How do I deal with an opponent spamming Raging Strike?

A Raging Strike costs meter and only pays off if you are sitting in block. Brave Counter out of the guard crush at a cost of 1 Bravery Point, or contest the approach instead of blocking. An opponent who leans on it will run their own gauge dry.

Q: Do I need to have played the first Granblue Fantasy: Versus?

No. Story Mode's first two acts recap the original's plot, and 24 of the 28 launch fighters came across from it. Rising also removed the RPG progression layer the first game used, so nothing carries over mechanically.

Q: Is there crossplay and rollback netcode?

Yes to both. Rising supports rollback netcode and crossplay between PC, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, and Versus Rank is tracked separately for each character you play.

Complete Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising maps and locations guide. Every area with difficulty, rewards, progression order, and what to do in each zone.

EarlyGuides Editorial Team

Researched and editorially reviewed. Updated August 12, 2026.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is Arc System Works' follow-up to the 2020 fighter, published by Cygames and released on 14 December 2023 for PC, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. The launch roster ran to 28 fighters, with Anila, Siegfried, Grimnir and Nier joining the 24 who came across from the first game. The defining change is Bravery Points, a three-point per round defensive resource that Raging Strikes, Brave Counters and Skybound Arts all pull from.

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising features distinct areas with increasing difficulty. This guide covers every major location in progression order: what to do, what to get, and when to move on. For the step-by-step path, see our walkthrough.

Area Progression Order

Order	Location	Difficulty	Key Rewards	Recommended Role
1	Story Mode	New players and returning players	The new third act, plus entries for the in-game notes and collection	Charlotta
2	Grand Bruise Legends	Any skill level	A break from ranked, and a lobby activity that non-fighting-game friends will actually join	Charlotta
3	Training Mode	All levels, essential above Ranked beginner	Frame data, matchup-specific punish drills, combo routes per character	Gran
4	Ranked Match	After roughly ten hours in Training Mode	Per-character rank, and the only reliable read on whether your gameplan survives real opponents	Gran
5	Figure Studio	Any	Screenshots, and posing options for every character you own	Gran

Story Mode: Starting Area

Three acts, the first two carried over from the 2020 Granblue Fantasy: Versus and the third written for Rising. The JRPG systems from the original were stripped out, so progression is stage by stage rather than through a party and equipment layer.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	New players and returning players
Key Rewards	The new third act, plus entries for the in-game notes and collection
Recommended Role	Charlotta
Key Weapons	Super Skybound Art

What to Do Here

Learn the basics of Bravery Points. This is where you practice without heavy punishment.
Collect starting resources and your first weapons upgrade.
Clear all main content before moving to Grand Bruise Legends.
If you're struggling, read our beginner's guide.

Grand Bruise Legends: Early Game

A 30-player party mode in a chibi art style, running sets of three minigames covering obstacle courses, team collectathons and survival rounds. It has nothing to do with the fighting game underneath it, which is the point.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Any skill level
Key Rewards	A break from ranked, and a lobby activity that non-fighting-game friends will actually join
Recommended Role	Charlotta
Key Weapons	Super Skybound Art

What to Do Here

Focus on mastering Guard Crush. It's critical from this point on.
Farm for Super Skybound Art if you don't have it yet.
Complete all objectives for maximum rewards.
Prepare for the difficulty spike in Training Mode.

Training Mode: Mid Game

One of the more complete training suites in the genre, with frame information, colour-coded displays, character breakdowns, combo practice, situational training and punish training all built in rather than left to community mods.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	All levels, essential above Ranked beginner
Key Rewards	Frame data, matchup-specific punish drills, combo routes per character
Recommended Role	Gran
Key Weapons	Super Skybound Art

What to Do Here

This is the main skill check. Bring an optimized build.
Skybound Art becomes accessible here. Prioritize getting it.
Master Simple and Technical inputs for the boss encounters.
Check our boss guide if you get stuck.

Ranked Match: Late Game

Ranked runs on rollback netcode with crossplay across PC, PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Ratings are stored per character, so a second or third pick can be trained in ranked without damaging your main's standing.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	After roughly ten hours in Training Mode
Key Rewards	Per-character rank, and the only reliable read on whether your gameplan survives real opponents
Recommended Role	Gran
Key Weapons	Skybound Art

What to Do Here

Full build optimization is expected by this point.
Skybound Art should be your primary, fully upgraded.
Per-character Versus Rank mastery starts mattering here.
Farm resources for the push into Figure Studio.

Figure Studio: Endgame

A diorama builder where you pose characters against backgrounds and set pieces. Purely creative, with no bearing on the fighting game, and one of the reasons the game holds a non-competitive audience.

Attribute	Detail
Difficulty	Any
Key Rewards	Screenshots, and posing options for every character you own
Recommended Role	Gran
Key Weapons	Skybound Art

What to Do Here

This is endgame. Best-in-slot gear and a perfected build are mandatory.
See our boss guide for endgame fight strategies.
The reward loop: clear content → upgrade → push harder content.
Experiment with Lancelot for variety once you've mastered the meta.

Exploration Tips

Clear areas in order: Story Mode → Grand Bruise Legends → Training Mode → Ranked Match → Figure Studio. Skipping areas means missing resources you'll need later.
Check every corner: Hidden caches and secrets are often in non-obvious locations.
Match your weapons: Some areas favor different weapons types.
Read the walkthrough: Our walkthrough provides exact progression milestones for each area.
Don't rush: Clearing an area fully gives more resources than speedrunning two areas.

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