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Freeflow Combat is the smooth and adaptive structure of fighting in the Arkham Series.
General
When a player reached an x3 Combo, that was indicated by the Combination Counter in the upper left hand during combat, they could transition smoothly between enemies while attacking, and attack across longer distances. That allowed the player to attack multiple enemies in a short amount of time by alternating targets. To maintain that fast and smooth style, the player made one successful move against an enemy every second, without missing, being blocked, or being struck. Any of those reset the Combination Counter to zero.
The Combo Counter grew by one point with every successful strike or counter-attack. From Batman: Arkham City onward, the player could counter more than one enemy attack at once, and the Combo Counter increased by the number of enemies that were successfully countered with that move. Critical Strikes and Critical Counters could be unlocked, which increased the rate at which the Combo Counter grew. When an attack was initiated directly after a prior attack was completed, the Combo Counter grew by x2 instead of x1, to encourage and reward patience and discipline over button-mashing.
Turning Yellow
When the Combo Counter reached x8, it turned yellow, and the character could perform a Special Combo Move. Those moves could instantly stun, disarm, knock down, or take out opponents, either individually or in groups. The combo requirement to initial Special Combo Moves could be lowered to x5 by using an upgrade, which allowed earlier access to those special moves once a fight started.
Freeflow Gadgets
Freeflow Gadgets were used to increase the variety and effectiveness of combat. Tapping the Quickfire Commands made the character integrate a gadget into combat. For example, Batman could disarm a henchman with a quickfire Batclaw, Catwoman could knock an opponent down with a thrown Bola, and Deathstroke could stun an enemy with a Neural Pellet, all without disrupting the Freeflow Combo. In fact, gadgets with a wide area of effect, like Robin's Snap-Flash, could dramatically increase the points earned in combat.
Turning Red
In Batman: Arkham City and Arkham Origins, the Combo Counter turned red once it reached x12, and the player entered what was known as Freeflow Focus. In Freeflow Focus Mode, the character's reflexes and attack speed were increased. Enemies moved in slow motion, and attacks against them did slightly more damage. Freeflow Focus ended when the character was struck by an enemy, when an attack was blocked by an enemy, when an attack missed its target, when the player failed to complete an action within one second, or when the character used a Special Combo Move. Arkham Origins had slight changes to the combat moves, such as that after purchasing an upgrade, the player used two Special Combo moves if the x12 combo had been reached. In Batman: Arkham Knight, the Freeflow Focus slow motion was removed, and instead increased attack strength after it reached the regular 8/5X combo, with damage levels returning to normal after using a special move or losing a combo.
In Arkham Knight
In Batman: Arkham Knight, Freeflow Combat was tweaked so Batman could strike downed enemies, which in previous games would have meant the end of a combo chain. Enemies could also be pulled back up from the ground so they could be finished faster. The Batswarm move was removed. However, it was replaced with the ability to pick up melee weapons and/or to perform Environmental Takedowns. Throwing enemies returned from Arkham Asylum, but instead of being a special move, they were integrated into Counters. Pressing the ground grapple combination right after knocking an enemy out, made the character throw the enemy over their head, adding insult to injury, and prevented the player from losing their combo if they didn't notice the knockout.
The number of enemy attacks were increased. Enemies could charge at Batman, and could either be evaded over, or could be instantly knocked out by quick-firing their primary gadget. They also could randomly grab the player from behind, which allowed other thugs to get a few punches in unless the hero managed to escape quickly.
In addition, in several parts of the game, players could perform Dual-Play Takedowns, which instantly took out an enemy. They consisted of both playable characters focusing their attacks on a single enemy, and taking them out quickly and effectively. They could only be done in special circumstances where both characters were fighting together, such as when Batman and Nightwing took down Penguin's weapon caches. A wheel in the corner of the screen charged as you hit enemies, and once full, allowed the player to perform the combo. That wheel also appeared on Free Roam if Batman was fighting near the Batmobile, and when full, allowed him perform an Environmental Takedown with the Riot Suppressor Cannon of the Batmobile.