P4AU/Yukari Takeba/Strategy

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Neutral

Yukari's neutral is very strong, it's likely her biggest asset, she doesn't have the BEST neutral in the game but it is quite good.
The things that make it good are as follows:

  • Speed - She is incredibly fast, the only character faster than her being Yosuke. She can abuse her speed to move around the screen and put herself in the ranges and positions she prefers.
  • Projectiles - Though requiring precision Yukari has a multitude of projectile that she can use to cover space and zones that help her land the hits and confirms she desires.
  • Conversions - With a lot of experience Yukari allows your to convert off many stray hits in neutral into very big damage.

Garu

One of Yukari's strongest tools in neutral is her orbs. These Garu orbs redirect arrows that are shot into them to the position that the opponent is at. These are all the moves that Yukari has to put up orbs.

  • 5D - It's not the best for shooting orbs as it leaves you sitting on the ground and is quite easy to punish.
  • 2D - This one is similar to 5D, but much better as it cover air space at an arc most jump will hit.
  • j.D - One of the best orbs to throw out as it is quick and has very little recovery, allows you to air dash quickly after.
  • 214C/D/CD - The air that it makes is large, but it is very laggy. The best way to use this is in the air, in the air the recovery is way less making it very strong.

Each of these have their own uses and optimal ways to be used. You can think of shooting arrows through orbs as formation that you switch between on the fly. Here is a list of orb formations.

  • 2D > 2B/[B] - This is very strong when an opponent is sitting fullscreen or is showing no intent to approach because one the 2D is up you could try covering the ground of even shoot the orb and cover the ground and sky.
  • 5D > 5B/[B] - Not very good since the 5D is not too hard to punish and shooting it into the 5D isn't covering any extra space.
  • J9.d > AD AT > j.B - This is VERY strong is opponent is passive as the j.D could cover your approach and the j.B will continue to cover your approach or possibly snipe the opponent for a confirm.
  • j7.d > AD Back > j.B - Another extremely good formation since this not only allows you to retreat but also be putting out hitboxes while remaining relatively safe.
  • sj7.214C > AD AT > j.[B] - One of the best formations as you go very high into the air and you shoot the arrows as you land giving you pretty space control while being hard to catch/punish. One of the best round starts yukari has.

General Gameplan

These are all examples, there are far more formations that yukari can use to play around with orbs in neutral these are to give you an idea for what she can do. The general gameplan is to poke around, confirm random stuff, punish them hard, and using movement like 214C > airdash > airturn, airturn > D flip (Her movement is very crucial). You can abuse how fast Yukari is, don't stop moving while shooting arrows, if one of them catches them on counter try to confirm it. Use 5D/ j.D a lot, it has a lot of blockstun (+24) and covers her a lot, with that you can jump in safely (and mash j.5A like guilty). Surprisingly it is not easy to hit Isis, and if they do there's probably a trade that you can confirm into a combo. Try to put a 5D/j.D and shoot at it in one jump/double jump/air dash, to stop them from moving around. Bombs make great setups for unblockables, use them if the opponent jumps a lot. You can play yukari reactionary too (not easy, since you have to guess sometimes), but I just do it when I know they are sold after doing stuff and punish them with the right combo. Also when Yukari's in Awakening if you manage to land a DP, cancel it to Magarula SB, if they tech they're forced to block in the air (blow them with the bomb while blocking, HUGE damage), if they don't tech they eat the super but dont worry you have a way to get the knockdown after that, They have to delay neutral tech to hit the ground then block the mixup to get out of the situation.

Offense

Yukari's offense very strong, she has strong blockstrings and very potent damage; however she lacks mixup. He blockstrings can be quite long if your condition your opponent to respect your gaps with good baits, though she can put people in blockstun for quite some time the blockstrings themselves aren't threatening so it's important to implement tick throws and try to force your opponent to pick an option to get out.
Her most important tools for pressure are:

  • 5A - +1
  • 5AA - -1
  • 2A - -2
  • 5D/j.D - +24 but it'll always have a frame gap
  • 214CD - Magaru reset that leaves you in +12 is worth spending meter for it when you need to
  • 214C/D - Leaves you in +2 but is pretty much pressure reset
  • j.236AB - Good for presure, bypasses its landing recovery which means you can land safely and gives your air actions back
  • 5A - Jump Cancelable
  • 5AA - Jump Cancelable
  • 2C - Jump Cancelable
  • 5C- Dash cancelable on block as well, leaves you in -5 pretty good for a throw attempt, if you saw japanese footages you'll never see them doing it but is a good option regardless as it only loses to 5f jabs with the right timing.
  • j.5C throwbait - Good for baiting throws and also good for catching your opponent when he's about to press a button, useful against Margaret and Elizabeth MU, however it loses to fuzzy jump option select

Jump cancel that makes her pressure much respected, because between basic revolver string 5AA > 5B > 5C > 2C, throws, magaru resets, go back to neutral, in general you have tons of options to work around with, but also try to variate so your pressure doesn't turn to be very predictable.
You can layer these moves and structure your blockstrings in many different ways:

Safe Blockstrings

  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > 5B > 5C > 2C > j.C > j.236A
  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > 5C > 2AB > 214C
  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > j.7D > j.5B
  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > 2B > 214CD

j.D Blockstrings

  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > j.7D > airdash > j.A(x4) > 5A....
  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > 5C > 2AB > 5D > dash > 5A...
  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > j.9D > 5A > 2A > 5AA...(empty low mix)
  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > j.9D > airdash > j.5A > 5A (overhead mix)

Dash cancel/Backdash cancel

  • 5A > 2A > 5A... (5A is +1)
  • 5A > 2A > 5A > 5C > dash cancel (5C > dc leaves you in -5) you can go into 5A, Throw, j.5C throw bait
  • 5A > 2A > 5A > 5C > 2C > dash cancel (also leaves you in -5)
  • 5AA > backdash cancel (leaves in -8 but you're relatively safe on block)
  • 5AA > 5C > 2C > backdash cancel
  • 5AA > 5B > 2B > backdash cancel

Jump Actions Stuff

  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > hjc > j.2B > j.214C (leaves you to neutral, plus also you have access to air actions after C magaru)
  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > b-iad > j.D...(has a frame gap but once respected you can go and pressure again with dash 5A, can be used to check/bait DPs
  • 5A > 2A > 5AA > airdash > j.A(x4) > 5A...
  • 5A > 2A > 5A > 5B > 5C > 2C > j.5C > j.236AB > airdash > j.A
  • 5A > 2A > 5A > j.5C > j.236AB > airdash > j.A

Throw Attempts

  • 5A > throw
  • 5AA > throw
  • 5C > dash cancel > throw
  • 2C > dash cancel > throw


Matchups

Matchup Information Directory
Character Matchup Ratio Recommended Flip Ailments Matchup Breakdown
 Aigis - Charm -
 Akihiko Sanada Even Matchup Charm Yukari can effectively keep Akihiko away and deal with his tool in neutral fairly well, but Yukari's poor defensive options and low health makes losing any interaction potentially fatal for Yukari.
 Chie Satonaka - Charm -
 Elizabeth - Charm or Mute -
 Junpei Iori - Charm -
 Kanji Tatsumi - Mute -
 Ken Amada 5-5 Charm Yukari mobility in this matchup against Ken is really good since Ken already struggles a lot against zoning and has hard time catching her so Koromaru is there to interrupt her existence with 2C but if she blocks it, she can go and play neutral again. Her 236A is a good fullscreen against Ken and dog neutral, if it's 236AB even better cause it beats rolls on reaction, you get frame advantage, takes good chunk of health on the dog, in general you're gonna be playing a lot of fullscreen, runaway and lame out Ken until you find a way in. On offense Ken can't interrupt jump cancel stuff, his 2B is bad against her so he has to risk for reversal DP or Super, which if she blocks it is a huge problem for Ken and her stagger pressure is really good too cause Ken doesn't has reversal mash. While the dog can't act if Ken is on blockstun. On defense, the patience and defense is important since he can infinite blockstrings, do 50/50s and left/rights, dog > roll is a struggle too, so for the left/right mixups you need to block the side where you're facing Ken, this is a important thing to know since 236D > Roll is a very effective mixup. If the dog is behind you, don't try to throw stuff in neutral, 2C exists and Medirama is there, 5A or TOD him if you can or run high jump and escape that situation.
 Labrys - Charm -
 Margaret 5-5 Mute This matchup is even, literally. But is "Favored" if the Yukari player isn't attentive on what's going on since Margaret is a type of character that you have lab the matchup against and have a good game sense to know what's up. Both shares the same defensive options, Both character's neutral are annoying to deal with on both end, Yukari mobility is top notch so it's really hard for Margaret to catch her, Yukari can deal with wakeup Suplex easily. In general what Yukari has to worry about is Margaret 2B and j.2D since these are good against her, Margaret has a strong neutral in the ground and covers a lot of areas so generally, you want to be in the air moving around, where Margaret’s 236C will whiff on you before tossing out orbs when you’re fullscreen (j.D of course). Almost every whiffed 236C should get punished by a redirected arrow or j.236A at the minimum. Margaret’s sweep isn’t very useful against Yukari, so you won’t see it too often. It’ll mostly be used for when you try to set 5D/2D or use 236A at neutral. If you’re going to move directly above her (aka, 2B range), do so with a super jump. This way, you can airdash past her 2B or be high enough for Yukari’s j.C to have less chances of being anti-aired. The latter depends entirely on how early Margaret 2Bs, though. So in offense Yukari frametraps are GOOD, if you keep around using 5A/5AA/SB Magaru stagger and keep it tight, Margaret can't use reversal mash unless she does IB mash 2B but for that the Margaret player has to gamble and think if pressing 2B is correct or keep blocking it, since IB'ing 5A's or light attacks in general and contesting can be a risk so they're gonna respect it too due to the amount of things you can do around it, however Power Slash is a strong reversal super so careful with that one. Don't use too much jump cancel/pressure resets since Marg can really mash 2B on reaction and beat these things and j.C throwbait her Throw/Suplex if you expect it to see it coming. In defense Yukari DP is usable to beat pressure gaps, HOP pressure resets, giving the Marg the possibility to hop pressure means a lot for her, breaking Personas with 5A is crucial cause 5A is jump cancel and means she can go back to neutral again, example of those is 236D, if you block a 236D, instant block it especially the last hit and 5A, God Hand is another move you can beat with 5A. Margaret setplay is annoying for Yukari so learn how to delay tech j.22C setplay, defense is key for Yukari.
 Marie - Mute -
 Mitsuru Kirijo - Mute -
 Naoto Shirogane - Charm -
 Rise Kujikawa - Mute -
 Shadow Labrys - Mute -
 SHO Minazuki - Charm -
 Sho MINAZUKI Unfavored 5.5-4.5 Mute Minazuki is one of the only characters who can beat what Yukari does with so much ease, 4A/j.B/2B are really strong and very effective moves against her and Knives can force her to take action. In this matchup, defense and solid neutral is key as you'll be facing with these moves very often, especially if you fight against someone with very good fundamentals. While this matchup sounds annoying this is winnable. Minazuki has issues against j.2B so use this more to shut down his anti-air/4A attempts, j.2B is also jump cancelable on block/hit so you can jump cancel j.D and throw arrows, try to stay away from the 4A range as much as you can, j.A is also a good button against him. In offense doesn't really have a reversal mash other than DP, 5A is slow so frame traps with Yukari along baiting out Minazuki DP should lead to a big punish so Minazuki has to respect your pressure for the most part. You can roll 2D teleport or DP on reaction if you see teleport on the screen.
 Teddie 5-5 Mute Majority of his items deal with orbs well, but he struggles to catch Yukari if she can avoid/destroy items. Stay out of Teddie’s 5B/2B range since he can deal with 5D and j.D fine, 2B is jump cancelable. So my tip is avoid setting up orbs when he is close enough to use 5B/2B with or without a microdash to cover more distance, 5B mainly cause it's a really strong mid range poke (that is a hell of a move). Use 236A and j.236A at this range to discourage him. Teddie can use use SB 2D Teddie to avoid raw 236As at neutral and get a punish, so avoid using those without an orb set out unless Teddie is airborne and has exhausted his air actions. Use 214C/D and j.214C/D more often that your D normals. Teddie can safely punish the persona and recover in-time to block or avoid follow-ups after D normals. Force him to block or move around your orbs to disable them. Snipe his persona whenever possible with 5B/j.2B when Kintoki Douji throws the items, the best way to do this is while shooting around orbs and bombs so that they can stay active. He also has the longest distance roll and Bearscrew can be used to close distance, so using arrows without Kintoji Douji has to be thrown carefully. SB TV is a fullscreen whiff punish tool so keep an eye on this one. In offense outspace 2A during pressure or use hops to avoid reversal 2A mash, Teddie doesn't have any other button to use as reversal even 5A, so he'll be using 2A and DP the most when he isn't blocking or avoid throws. Try to make bigger holes in pressure when you're going for frametraps to cover reversal DP attempts, timing has to vary greatly. Usually going back to neutral against him is really dependent but for the most you really shouldn't, as for items.
 Tohru Adachi Yukari Favor 5.5-4.5 Mute Yukari can give Adachi a lot of struggle if she isn't close to him and isn't in the range Adachi wants to be close-mid range. She can harass him, you just have to watch out for certain things such as 2D fullscreen (losing to j.A and 5A practically anything.), or 5D but you can really shut down 5D with 5B or 236A so this shouldn't be too much of an issue, the MOST important thing here is SB Atom Smasher, this super is one of the best supers in the game and can whiff punish on reaction anything in fullscreen and you eat good chunk of damage, you have to watch out for it by playing carefully, however this super only used few times so Adachi has to think about using his meter for Heat Riser/Mandala and do the unblockables as soon as he touches you or use that meter for Atom Smasher and neutral skip. If you can avoid his most dangerous tools there isn't much Adachi can do to you. His offense is good against Yukari since his damage is high and his command grab and SB Gunshot makes his offense scary.
 Yosuke Hanamura 5.5-4.5 Yosuke Favor Mute This is a tough matchup cause both are mobile but Yosuke is better in that aspect than yukari and controls space and whiff punishes lot of things very well, he is one of the characters that can deal with Yukari's jump cancels/j.D pressure resets with ease cause of his dash, so Yukari has to frametrap him for the most part and be aware that your j.D pressure reset/jump cancels can work and makes him block, one of the other reasons is that Yosuke j.B/5A/5B are good against her, SB Dash is projectile invul, he's one of the few characters that can escape Magarula under certain conditions. Sukukaja dash on wakeup, Sukukaja and SB Garudyne can whiff punish anything, Kunai while not inmediately threatening is still annoying to work around and Glide and his offense isn't negative enough to do something real against him (Instant Blocking here is highly required for things 5B staggers) So here personally what i do is try to avoid relying on arrows; use arrows to cover specific glide angles when orbs/bombs are set out to avoid getting punished for arrow recovery. Use j.D/5D to sneak in with your dash since most Yosuke players will try to kunai most of your neutral attempts, this means that you have to use the active frames on Yukari’s orbs. Do not immediately shoot an arrow into your orbs the moment the orbs are active, cause you'll get punished however if the Yosuke does kunai and it whiffs this is a huge punish moment for yukari and do really good damage on it since Kunai has landing recovery and he is crouching, another advantage is that Yukari hits are meaningful and his burst jump makes most Yukari routes burstsafe and eat a lot of damage due to his low health. You want to use your orbs to encourage/discourage specific approaches from Yosuke. Set orbs low to the ground as a means of convincing Yosuke to go airborne. There is no guarantee that the Yosuke player will follow such simplistic patterns, but this is a decent starting point. Yosuke j.D and 5D can be beaten by Yukari j.A, this is the one and your only air button to rely on this matchup since it is active it can deal with his air movement or air to airs. Use bomb to make him play less in the air. Don't use Raw Magarula that easily unless he doesn't have meter for SB Garudyne or SB Dash like NEVER, lock him and put him on blockstun for the Magarula attempts.
 Yu Narukami Narukami Favor 5.5-4.5 Charm This is Narukami favored, it's hard yes, but Yukari can fight this matchup fine so i'll explain where she can struggle. His RPS/Mixup guessing game is insane so Yukari lacking defensive options makes it hard for her to get out, multiple safejumps to deal with several tech options and reversals, j.2A is a safe on block button to deal with fuzzy jump and he can option select throw with his 5A pressure and be safe to reactively punish reversals, comparatively mobile to Yukari, able to play a stronger mid range game, and can deal with garu's very easily with 5B and j.2B. Is also able to low profile arrows with Swift strike and wins in the close range aerial and ground game. Ideal range for this matchup seems to be right outside of Narukami’s airturn j.C distrance. From here, Narukami must move forward in order to utilize his B normals which gives Yukari room to work with. 2C and j.C can be used to clip his attempts to move forward at this range as well as 214C and 214D. Do not rely on D normals at this range since they have a decent amount of startup. Defense and learning to Instant Block is key in this matchup a lot as you need to be negative enough to challenge his stuff, use Fuzzy Jump OS when neccesary.
 Yukari Takeba - Charm -
 Yukiko Amagi Yukari Favor 6-4 Mute Yukari does really well against fans, but firebird stuff all of tools and it's very oppressive, but for that she needs to get to that Fire Level. Dia also go through all of Yukari's forcing Yukari to fight in close quarters so keep an eye on that one. Yukari's movement is very strong at getting through Yukiko's tools in exchange. IB'ing fans is recommendable so they give you free meter but also really low blockstun so you get your air options back really quick. Use 5A when Yukiko throws 5D you can really punish it and make her lose persona cards so Yukiko has to force her way in, SB Flip can go through whatever related to projectiles even Maragidyne and always try to keep her out of the close range. In defense this character doesn't really have any crazy mixup game and she has to sneak in around AoAs to open you up, IB her persona moves 5C and 2C, those moves allow to Yukiko to do 5D so always 5A it on reaction.

Tips and Tricks


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