[P4A] Yukiko Amagi - Strategies & Tips

[Shadow_BCE]

thanks for the reply, i will check this out.

for me, yukiko is super annoying along with kanji and mitsuru, the rest i can play with no problem

[Miracleknight]

Also if she's close just DP her, recovery on the C moves is long she really can't bait at that point in the blockstring.

[Ciddypoo]

People still play this game? Or this character?

Anyway, 236C (C Maragi) is a pretty invaluable tool when it comes to controlling space, keeping people off of you or using it to get in, but the obvious drawback is that you have to hit C to manually detonate, which makes it less desirable.

Key is to 'deonate' a C Maragi using 214C (Fire Boost). Fire a C Maragi off and you're usually free to do a 214C, or even better, 214C if they jump and force them to block, halting their approach and building an extra stock. I've been trying this out lately and it's definitely a neat way to build stocks up, especially if you're up against characters where you NEED to kill them in a single combo (like Yosuke or Slab).

The same applies for whiffing a throw (C+D). A neat little use is to throw out a 236C and run forward behind it. Detonate using C+D. It lets you approach an opponent or easily detonate if they try to jump it. If they tried to roll your 236C, the C+D might catch them into a throw. This is also really helpful against rollers in general, since they have to roll through both a slow moving Maragi and be faced with a mostly auto-correcting C+D if they clear it.

Another interesting thing is to try and end blockstrings up close with a 1/2/3B, sj-cancel back and throw a j.1B fan to cover your jump, 1D, airbackdash and throw another fan at the ground as you land. This creates a loose unblockable setup without you having to rush in (they have to block the 1D high cause it's an overhead, and the air fan will hit them low). If they tried pushing a button, you can confirm a counterhit. This also keeps you safe from most DPs, and allows you to run up and punish them if they do one anyway. This setup seems to work particularly well against characters that can't deal very well with stuff directly above them, like Kanji.

[MikelAL93]

I still play this game and I still play with Yukiko from time to time, but I mostly am occupied with BB and White Knight Chronicles II at the moment.

Great tip there, Ciddy. Thanks for sharing. I will check this out once given the chance to play P4U again.

[744Dante]

Great finds Ciddy using Freak Break to deonate C Maragi is great and will come in handy thank you so much for this

[bingsoo]

I am just starting to learn this game now that school is settling down, and Yukiko is my main It sucks that a lot of the players moved on, but hopefully there are enough people to keep playing with! And thanks for that info, Ciddy!

[Ryd']

Mostly moved on to 3D until GGAC+R is released. I still play on rare occasion, but there a few design philosophy quirks with P4A that make me a little disinclined to take it too seriously.

I never put the pieces together for confirming off CH for the midair unblockable setup. I used something similar pretty liberally when poking and as a way to break off close-range pressure in the corner when it started to feel dangerous to stay in. I don't recall getting many CHs though; the people I played tended to hesitate and block at persona+fan, especially if there was an Agi on top of it all.

[Ciddypoo]

If you play against a lot of deer-in-headlights kind of people (the ones that block everything), start dazzling them with Agi detonations as you run up and throw them. Or just build meter with blockstrings and turn Fire Break on whenever you build enough for a super. If neutral game's been stale and your opponent's been letting you build fire stocks, the sudden presence of fire break and enough meter for super will probably catch their attention, especially if you can position your Persona to pull off a C Agidyne -> sideswitch -> sweep -> D Agidyne.

If they're hardcore blockers, you can usually afford to throw in a 6D during blockstrings on occasion. It's not safe, but if they just wanna block everything, at least start pushing them toward the corner where it's easier to set up unblockables and stuff.

[NeonCrusader]

Yukiko has an unreactable high/low; it's so simple that I either 1) can't believe someone else hasn't found this yet or 2) can't believe that I don't remember someone else finding this.

After airdash jAA you literally just choose between jA or jB for a high/low. jB is really hard to hit as a low in this instance, but the entire thing is a true blockstring even on IB and either option is too fast to react to. The confirm off of either is the exact same thing too ([mixup hit], 2A, combo) and 2A is also a blockstring regardless of the aerial you used. So if they end up blocking the 50/50, you can still apply pressure.

[WT_Neptune]

Am I insane for thinking it's worth it to pump most of your meter into EX Fire Amps? It seems like the boost would be a better long term investment, especially if you can fire off two quickly and be halfway there to lvl 8.

[Ryd']

What long-term investment? You can't take them with you, so it's a mid-term investment at best.

Somewhat more seriously though, it depends. Every 25SP means you're sitting on a potential Maragi loop, which means possible unblockable reset. 50SP means free unblockable setups from supers (corner pre-awakening, anywhere post), or Maragi loop into unblockable reset into another Maragi loop (damage!). You can build a fair amount of Amp levels relatively quickly in most matches if you really want to, but the thing is, only Maragi and Maragidyne combos will really benefit from it, and Yukiko can't get those whenever she wants. If you're sitting on a ton of meter, then sure, a single EX Amp won't hurt you too much. But considering how easily Yukiko can burn 75~100SP in unblockable setups and optimal damage followups (not even counting things like OMCs for safety, reversal supers, guard cancels, EX Agi to keep someone pinned down...), you're probably better off saving the meter and making sure that you're able to capitalize on the hits that land and keep yourself alive, rather than coming up short and being sad because you wanted to do crazy-high damage in a single combo. Just for reference, at lv 0, it takes around 3 realistic high-end damage combos for Yukiko to kill most characters. At level 8, it still takes 2. Take a look at how much meter you're looking to burn on EX Amp, how much you routinely gain in a round, and how many chances you get for big damage in the first place. Is it worth gambling that you'll get an opportunity after you've built up to lv 8 and have enough meter to blow someone up? For most, it really isn't. Especially since Yukiko's damage can add up really quickly without Amp if you know how to string unblockable resets together.

[Adam0812]

I agree with everything ryd said, as cool as it do bust out a TOD combo with lv 8 boost. Most of the time your opponents health at the time will be 50% or less anyway and a big boost isn't needed

[Ciddypoo]

SB Boost might be worth it if you have spare meter you can throw one in mid combo if you think you need that small bit of extra damage for the kill (i.e., D Maragidyne, SB Boost, Agidyne) or something.

I don't think it's worth 25 meter. With just 25 meter Yukiko can force a few situations just by turning fire break on:

- Fullscreen combo threat off of SB Agi.

- Unblockable Agi > OMB to ~4K pre-Awakening (very important vs low health characters or players who like to Burst early)

Plus SB Agi itself is usually a better tool to go to than SB Boost. For an opponent that seems to block everything sometimes you need to expend the meter to create trickier mixups or unblockable setups.

And it's nice to have the meter for Counterassault if you need it. Some situations just call for it, and I'd hate to be 25 meter short of a CA cause I opted to SB Boost.

It's not like you need to *SB* boost or anything ... just a regular one is fine. It's a bit slower but... oh well.

[Ryd']

So, uh...

-in awakening-

2A 5B 5C 2C 236 214214D ]B[, 214C (just 'cause) run under (in case of Naoto, step back for a split second) 2D (will land behind + hit meaty) run up 2A+B!! 236B 66 6BB 236[A+B] 5C ]A[ 236D~D 214D ]B[ 236D!! Maragi loop ~ 5BB 236 214214D ]B[ (timing's tight) into...214C (just 'cause), run under (in case of Naoto, step back for a split second) 2D (will land behind + hit meaty) run up 2A+B!! etc.

Has this been mentioned before? I know I posted the reverse 2D + 2A+B unblockable before with a different setup, so here's another one. The full thing takes a full 150SP (up to the second 214214D), but it should kill everyone from full health, starting at lv 0 Amp. Around 3K for the initial Maragidyne combo, 2.5k from the Fire Break setup, and then like 5k from the Maragi loop into Maragidyne. And then you can do another 3k or so from the second high/low if you haven't regained enough meter for another Fire Break setup (I haven't paid too much attention to how much meter is gained over the whole thing when you're burning it all over the place); if you have enough SP (FB should be off cooldown by then), then you can go for more damage. In case 13k isn't enough or something.

As with unblockable Maragi setups, not teching will beat it (though this has the benefit of not wasting your Fire Break and not putting them into a position to air tech and escape), but if they're starting to do that, you can always delay it a little.

[Adam0812]

Thanks for all this ryd, I'm a UK yuki player so keep these tricks coming as I'm obsessed with the game and need all the tricks/set ups I can get!!

[Adam0812]

Not really a tip but 2a > OMB > loops n stuff does pretty insane damage considering the starter. Nice if you can win the round and have a burst

[Miracleknight]

I try to always OMB if it means I gaurenteed kill the opponent in a situation I Can't afford not to kill them (Most situations!) and it won't kill otherwise.

[gli]

OMB should only be used for kill combos. Otherwise save it so you can burst into awakening if you find yourself hitting the awakening life percentage while eating a combo. Her ability to comeback from awakening is really strong after a successful burst. Not only do you gain the free SP, you are also in an ideal zoning position which is where Yukiko wants to be.

[Adam0812]

OMB should only be used for kill combos. Otherwise save it so you can burst into awakening if you find yourself hitting the awakening life percentage while eating a combo. Her ability to comeback from awakening is really strong after a successful burst. Not only do you gain the free SP, you are also in an ideal zoning position which is where Yukiko wants to be.

Gli do you know what the SB agi combo of AoA~C is? I've seen it before but it not listed (presumably not very optimal)

[Ryd']

The challenge mode combo?

[Adam0812]

The challenge mode combo?

Well there it is, I've never actually looked at yuki's challenges! Can you do it so it does cross up/reverse direction?

[gli]

Honestly, I've never used it. In the heat of a match, consistency is important and it's very easy to drop the combo. Admittedly it looks so cool so styling on guys is its main use.

[Ciddypoo]

Some rambling and theory-ish stuff here, but I thought I'd share.

So if you like to Maragi loop in the corner you've probably encountered the awkward forward tech that kinda gets your opponent back in your face. I was trying to find a way to stop that, and though in retrospect it's pretty common knowledge I thought I'd share my findings in case just to get some thoughts outta my head.

Off of a standard D Maragi starter, your common double D Maragi Loop looks something like:

5bb > 236A+B > 5c > 236D > ]A[ > 5c > 236D > ]B[ > 236A.

The main problem is that when you're in the corner, you can't use B Agi to set an Agi on top of your opponent for meaty/oki. You have to use A instead. Unfortunately, A Agi does not have the hard knockdown property of B, so your opponent can tech in the air, forward, and be in Yuki's face.

Using C Agidyne will force the hard knockdown, so that's not a problem if you have ~75 meter going into the Maragi loop, but with only 25 meter, you have to make a few choices if you want to keep your opponent in the corner. I'm going to put some numbers here for damage based off of a D Maragi starter, just for reference against a non-awakening character.

1. TK Agi autocombo route :: 5bb > 5c > 5b > 2369A > ]A[ > 5aaaaa (3634 Damage)

At 25 meter (actually around 19 or so?), this combo will build enough meter to let you do a C Agidyne through the autocombo, which forces a hard knockdown. However you must keep A agi held down. If you release A agi, the opponent can immediately tech, even in mid-Agidyne. The A Agi needs to be held (which is ideal for the oki anyway). Note: This version will NOT work off of a meaty Agi hit, which is usually the safest way to set up a Fire Break unblockable.

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2. Double D Maragi, B Agi Ender :: Some variation of 5bb > 236A+B > 5c > 236D > ]A[ > 5c > 236D > ]B[ > 5bb > 236B (3.6K ~ 4.3K Damage or so)

The B Agi will cause a hard knockdown, but you won't have an Agi sitting on top of the opponent for oki. This version will do slightly more damage than option 1 the more fire stocks you have built up.

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3. Single Maragi, Double Agi, B Agi KNockdown :: 5bb > 5c > 5bb > 236A+B > 5c > 236D > ]A[ > 5c > 236A > ]B[ > 236B (3609 Damage)

Here you do a single maragi loop into 5c, using the SB Agi's B release to set you up for another Agi B hit, which causes the hard knockdown. The fireball from the B Agi will be offscreen, but it's okay because the A Agi you did earlier is still there. This is a bit less damage than the other two, but it ensure a hard knockdown with only 25 meter expense.

Note: If you start this combo off of 5a anti air, then obviously omit a 5c > 5bb, since Yukiko can't combo like that.

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Just some food for thought. The 3rd option seems really good since, like all 5bb > 236A+B combos, it'll work off of a meaty A Agi explosion, which is really important in your Firebreak unblockable mixups (I realllllly don't like having to commit to an unblockable Maragi most of the time). Anyway, Damage values can vary heavily depending on what variation of Maragi combo you use, but the whole point was to find a good solution that does a solid amount of damage coupled with a hard knockdown and meaty A explosion sitting on top of your opponent in the corner, and to prevent the dreaded forward tech.

[Adam0812]

For option 3 ciddy you say you retain oki because A agi is still there yet the combo you've listed shows you releasing it. Am I being stupid??

EDIT: I see it now, you've a seperate A agi other than the 236a+b nice set up

I was watching some oogi play (and some other master yuki player) and he did a sick combo of an FC 5c in the corner where he did something like the standard meter less combo with a TK A Agi but then finished it with 236a+b, gaining oki or unblockable if you wish.

I would rewind it but traveling at the moment does anyone know what I am talking about? The advantage of it seemed that you can start with less than 25 meter

[Achtzehn]

Welp, I figure I'll share this setup I've been using recently. The way I set it up is I came up with a new BnB for myself, which is just 5aa 5b j236[a] xx ]a[ 2ab jump forward j4d. What happens is you jump and immediately put the persona out above them, by the time they have teched, you have recovered from doing j4d and should be in the air above them jumping in on them, at this point there are multiple options you can do. One is simply block to bait if they reversal or try something on wakeup, however just air blocking will lose if they do wakeup 2b. To beat wakeup 2b you can simply air backdash and throw a fan for a free CH and confirm it. Doing air backdash will beat almost any escape option they attempt (save for specific supers such as cross slash, aigis shield rush super, chie meteors), and if you autopiloted into it and they blocked you end up starting up your fullscreen pressure. Obviously this setup like most others requires you to be paying attention and make the call whether or not to air backdash or continue with the jump in for mixup, but so far this is in my opinion the best okizeme setup yukiko has. Hope this paragraph makes sense, I'll post up some other combos I found that lead into this oki in the combo thread and at some point I'll make a short video showing the okizeme vs all sorts of different options.