Manuals & Reverts

Master Manuals and Reverts in Skate 3 to chain massive combos and boost your score. These core mechanics keep your multiplier alive between tricks and grinds.

Mastering Manuals and Reverts is crucial for chaining together massive combos and racking up those high scores in Skate 3. These techniques allow you to extend your grind and air combos, preventing your score multiplier from resetting. Think of them as the glue that holds your sickest lines together.

The Manual: Keeping the Combo Alive

A Manual is performed after landing from an air trick or a grind, allowing you to continue your combo on flat ground. It's essential for traversing gaps between obstacles without breaking your chain.

• Execution: To initiate a Manual, as your skater is about to land, quickly tap UP then DOWN on the D-Pad or left analog stick.
• Balance: Once in a Manual, a balance meter will appear. You need to constantly adjust your balance by gently tapping UP or DOWN to keep the indicator in the center. If the indicator goes too far to either side, you'll bail and lose your combo.
• Pro Tip: Practice Manuals extensively in the Skate.Park editor. Create a long, flat stretch of ground and focus solely on maintaining your balance for extended periods. This muscle memory is vital for high-pressure situations.
• Advanced Manuals:
  • Nose Manual: Tap DOWN then UP to perform a Nose Manual. This variation can sometimes be easier to balance for certain players and offers a slight stylistic difference.
  • Manual into Grind/Slide: While Manualing, approach a rail or ledge and press the appropriate grind/slide input (Y or Triangle depending on your console) to seamlessly transition into a grind, further extending your combo.

The Revert: Changing Direction and Extending Grinds

Reverts are performed immediately after landing from a ramp or quarter pipe, or at the end of a grind, allowing you to quickly change direction and continue your combo. They are indispensable for linking tricks in tight spaces or setting up for another obstacle.

• Execution: As you land from an air trick or come off a grind, press RT (Xbox 360) or R2 (PS3) while simultaneously moving the left analog stick left or right. This will cause your skater to spin 180 degrees on the board.
• Revert into Manual: The most powerful application of the Revert is to immediately follow it with a Manual. This is known as a "Revert Manual" and is the cornerstone of high-scoring combos.
  1. Land from an air trick or grind.
  2. Immediately press RT/R2 + Left/Right on the analog stick for the Revert.
  3. As the Revert completes, quickly tap UP then DOWN (or DOWN then UP for Nose Manual) to enter a Manual.
  4. Maintain balance in the Manual.
• Strategic Placement: Use Reverts at the bottom of quarter pipes in locations like the Industrial District or Downtown to instantly turn around and hit the ramp again, or to transition into a Manual and link to nearby ledges.
• Grind Reverts: When exiting a grind, a well-timed Revert can help you adjust your landing angle and immediately flow into another trick or Manual. Experiment with this on the long rails in the Monster Park.

Combining for Combo Supremacy

The true power of Manuals and Reverts comes from their combination. Every time you land a trick, think about how you can use a Manual or Revert to keep the combo going. This is how you achieve those epic, multi-million point runs.

• Example Combo Flow:
  1. Ollie onto a rail for a Grind.
  2. Pop off the end of the Grind into an Air Trick (e.g., Kickflip).
  3. Land the Air Trick with a Revert.
  4. Immediately transition from the Revert into a Manual.
  5. Manual to the next obstacle (e.g., a small ramp).
  6. Ollie off the ramp into another Air Trick.
  7. Land with a Revert Manual.
  8. Continue this chain for maximum points!
• Practice Makes Perfect: Head to the University Campus or the Resort areas. These locations offer a good mix of rails, ledges, and ramps perfect for practicing your Manual and Revert transitions. Focus on smooth, continuous movement rather than just landing individual tricks.