One button, two jobs
R is both the combo escape and the counter evasive. Every fighter has it. It is not a character-specific skill.
- While you are stuck in a combo, R spends evasive meter and breaks the stun.
- Timed as a counter when you are hit, it spends half the evasive log.
- Whiff the counter and the whole log is spent.
The log fills as you take hits and keep trading. The point of that refill is to stop a single touch from being an inescapable kill. It does not mean you should press R the first time you get poked.
When to keep it
Save R for a starter that leads into awakening damage, a cutscene, or a long extender. Named examples in the evasive notes are Luffy's Red Hawk and Gojo's longer sequences. A stray M1 is a bad spend. After you escape, you still need a plan, because a second combo will arrive before the log is full again.
Players who pause an M1 string on purpose are fishing for your panic R. If you mash it, they get a true combo with no escape left. Block the first hit or answer with your own M1 instead.
If they pop awakening, hold the evasive until the armored or guard-breaking move comes out. Awakening skills are often the move that kills, not the transformation flash itself.
Walls
A wallsplat stops extra stun. You cannot keep adding light hits forever. Use the splat window for the heavy follow-up or the reset your character actually has, then expect them to escape if you hesitate.
Ranked habit
In a real set, count their evasive the way you count your own. Land a short string, stop, and see if R comes out. If it does, use the skill that you were saving. If it does not, you still have your own R for their answer.
Keybinds can be changed. If R does nothing, open Settings before you assume the mechanic is missing.