P4Arena/Defense

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Blocking

Ground Blocking

Hold 4 to block high attacks and hold 1 to block low attacks. Mid attacks can be blocked in any direction. As a general rule for ground blocking:

  • block low until you see an overhead, then block high
  • air attacks and All Out Rush (5+A+B) must be blocked high
  • react to throws with throw breaks or attacks, depending on how risky you feel

If you block incorrectly (for example blocking a low attack high), an exclamation mark will appear to show that you made a mistake.

Air Blocking

Hold any backward direction while in the air to block. There is no high-low blocking in the air, making it a common place for defenders to go to avoid blocking ground-based high/low/throw mixup. That's not to say that being airborne is a fail-safe defensive posture; you might need to deal with air throws, crossups, and air unblockable attacks.

Air Unblockable Attacks

Some attacks (like most character's 2Bs) can be blocked when on the ground, but are unblockable if you try to block them in the air. If you are hit by an air unblockable attack, your character will have a yellow exclamation mark above their head to show that you could not have blocked it.
These attacks are only air unblockable if done as the first hit in a string; if you cancel into it from another attack, then it can be blocked in the air. This means that these attacks should be the first attack in a string in order to be useful as an anti-air.

Instant Block

Start blocking a moment before the opponent's attack connects to perform an instant block. Your character will flash white and you will hear a clanging sound effect if you did this correctly.
Instant blocking is used for the following:

  • Recover faster and stay closer to the opponent, thus making it easier to counter attack
  • Gain a small amount of SP


Guard Cancel Attack

While blocking, press 6+A+B to immediately flash white and cancel your guard into an attack that will blow the opponent away. See Gauges (P4Arena)#Guard Cancel Attack for more details.

Unblockable Attacks

File:P4Arena UnblockableAttack.jpg
this is your cue to move

Some attacks are completely unblockable, meaning the only way to avoid getting hit is to move out of the way! You will know which attacks are unblockable when the character shows two exclamation marks before performing an attack.
Some characters can also use their R Action to avoid the unblockable attack.

Breaking Throws

When normal thrown by the opponent, press C+D within 13 frames to break the throw. This pushes the opponent away and causes the two of you to enter a quick stagger animation. Both characters recover from the animation at the same time.

R Action

Yu using his R Action. Notice that some of his health has turned Blue as a result.

Press B+D to make your character briefly flash orange, then perform a reversal action like a Street Fighter styled shoryuken or a catch-counter attack like Hakumen from BlazBlue. This varies from character to character, but they are all mostly used for one purpose: to stop the opponent's offensive momentum.
While R Actions do not consume SP, they do transform a portion of your life into Blue Health regardless of whether they hit the opponent or not.


Persona 4: Arena
Click [*] for character's frame data
System Explanations

HUDControlsFrame DataSystem Data


Movement/CancelingOffenseDefenseDamage/Combo SystemAttack AttributesSP/Persona/Burst Gauge UsageStatus AilmentsMisc