responding to opponent's pressure

[Ceiyne]

I've been making some progress on my noob skills with P4A, but one thing that really jams me up is when an opponent just comes at me with heavy pressure. I do OK from a blocking perspective but I'm not sure how to learn when the "break" is that I can stop blocking and begin my counter-attack. Is this simply just playing over and over to see all the common combos many times or is there a better way?

I also have a hard time getting out of a corner once I get stuck in there, which is probably related to the above (so I don't know when to make the dash/jump/etc to freedom).

Note: I'm maining Elizabeth if that makes a difference.

[Tong]

The game supplies you with an invincible reversal (B+D) to get you out of those situations. However, it can be baited by the opponent and you might get punished horribly.

Buut, baiting gives you a small moment to reverse the momentum. People will usually try to bait Beth's B+D with a jump... in this case her gdlk 2B can beat the jump cleanly.

This doesn't mean though, you should B+D every single time you're recoverying... Don't be predicable with it.

[Fluck]

There are a number of different situations and approaches, but I'll just cover the more common ones. It helps to have knowledge of what each character can do, but you also need to understand the general principle.

Firstly, you have to understand that the opponent usually can't mix you up and continue pressuring you at the same time if you successfully block their mixup in this game. By this, I mean moves like throws and All-Out Attacks that allow them to get past your block. If they do those, and you tech the throw or block the AoA, you're free. You can usually throw a 5B or such with Liz if you tech a throw, and if you block an AoA, you are not only free from their pressure but you can also punish them with a full combo. So one way of escaping pressure is to simply block until you successfully block the opponent's mix-up. Of course, some moves are exceptions, like Labrys' Guillotine Axe which is plus on block (meaning she recovers before you and you'll get hit if you try to hit her back), but those moves have their own weaknesses which differs according to the move.

However, sometimes your opponents won't do that. They'll keep re-applying pressure and wait for you to get impatient. Usually you won't want to block forever, so you'll need to watch out for how they keep renewing this pressure and break it depending on what method they're using. One of the more common ways to reset pressure is to jump at you after their string ends and use an air normal. Using your 2B anti-air will allow you to prevent that from happening. If you just block the air normal, he'll get to do another blockstring.

Some times they'll run in after certain moves. Beating this depends on what move they used before running in, and if the moves are plus or minus on block. If the move is plus on block, you usually can beat the move by interrupting it during startup, because those moves are usually designed to have a long startup. For example, beginner Yus like to use 5D in the middle of their blockstring. If you block this, his pressure is reset and you'll have to block another string of attacks. To beat this, all you need to do is run up and hit them in the face during the move's startup. Some moves like Chie's 5A and Yosuke's 5B are plus on block and have very little startup, but they have a weakness too: they're easy to Instant Block, and Instant Blocking will reduce these moves' frame advantage to negative.

If they running after doing moves that are minus, then they're counting on you being so focused on blocking that you don't challenge them. All you have to do is hit them out of their next move if they do that, since you're at an advantage.

Of course, like Tong said you can also just use R-Action/Furious Action and it'll work as long as they tried to attack you.

[Dusk Thanatos]

Basically, you have a few important options to get out in this game

The main ones are B+D, A+C, and jumpout

A+C will beat most jump-ins

B+D is chara specific

jumpout is risky, and the hardest to time, but rewards well

there's also 6A+B OMC, which costs 100 meter, but WILL get you out